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- Nov 23, 2016
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That was beautiful Thank you..
That was beautiful Thank you..
To both of you, and all others who have recently gone through this, I feel your pain. I have lost two beloved cats this last year, one at 8 years old from heart failure, the other at 14 from stomach cancer. I only had to make the decision for my Persil, and felt so guilty, not for making it but for not seeing sooner what I should have seen, and leaving it too late. Three months later, I am still crying for her.I made that painful decision with my cat, Sammi just a couple days ago. She gave me 17 years of her life and she was like my kid. I am still hurting terribly and I found this site and knowing that there are others in my situation has helped me a lot . Thank you.
Thank you so much JennyR.. i still am at the point where i cant speak or think of my baby JAxx without tears.. When i can get there.. i will tell and share how wonderful my baby... i cant.. ( I had to type ....my baby WAS.. and it brought me back to tears )..
Omg thank u so much for this.everything u say is true. I miss her so much we had such a bond between us she would often head butt me come for a fuss love her cheeks being rubed. For about a month now she had deteriorated she used to sleep in her bed in the bedroom would spoil her with chicken and her favourite tuna. Taking her to the vets to be put down was the hardest decision I've had to make although I wanted her at home in the last few hrs she was suffering. My husband took her to vets I was so heart broken I couldn't even say goodbye. Haven't even slept in the room she was in yet. I hope there is a rainbow bridge where she is happy and content and I hope one day I will see her again. Thank u so much for this reading I can relate to this. Xx
AS you have read above, many of us have been thro9ugh what you are going through now, and it is awful. But I think you have to put yourself into the mind of your cat. He was ill, he was in pain, he didn't know how to tell you, how to make it stop. Every day he continued it would have been worse, and no amount of your holding him or petting him would have taken that away. He will never feel pain again, never be frightened. It is the last and best and bravest thing any owner can do, to put away the selfish feelings that make us want to hang on, in favour of releasing someone we love from all anguish. I am sure he knew you loved him, cared for him, and he would not want you to wish any more pain on him, though it means pain for yourself. Be happy for him, even though your heart is breaking.This made me feel a little bit of reassurance. My cat was put down yesterday, my beloved best friend since childhood. He was in pain.. But I feel that he had a little more time left. His life was cut short abruptly. I wish I had more time with him. I am beyond miserable. My heart aches and longs for his presence. I feel like a murderer, that I should've stopped the whole thing and been some kind of hero. I just want to hear his meow one more time.. Hold him, pet him, tell him I love him, that everything's gonna be alright. But I'll never wake up to him on my kitchen table meowing and begging for attention or food.. This house is so empty. I don't know how to cope, I just keep sobbing and sobbing, filling myself with guilt and depression. I miss him so much. I've never experienced any greater pain.
Gosh, this hurts to read... and most of us here can relate... I will tell you something I read when I was searching for answers with our euthanasia decisions days later, online, I read where a veterinarian said, "Better a week too early than an hour too late...". Sympathy to you, I have never had a human death that hurt or touched me as deeply as our 2 cat deaths in recent years.This made me feel a little bit of reassurance. My cat was put down yesterday, my beloved best friend since childhood. He was in pain.. But I feel that he had a little more time left. His life was cut short abruptly. I wish I had more time with him. I am beyond miserable. My heart aches and longs for his presence. I feel like a murderer, that I should've stopped the whole thing and been some kind of hero. I just want to hear his meow one more time.. Hold him, pet him, tell him I love him, that everything's gonna be alright. But I'll never wake up to him on my kitchen table meowing and begging for attention or food.. This house is so empty. I don't know how to cope, I just keep sobbing and sobbing, filling myself with guilt and depression. I miss him so much. I've never experienced any greater pain.
I know you have heard it so many times. The beautiful, loving and incredibly empathic essay/letter you wrote healed my heart both before and after my heart-rinding decision. It has spead through-out the world. It has been such a gift. Thank you.A note for those who have lost a cat, or are worrying about when that moment comes.
When we decide to share our lives with a cat, we are making a decision to break our own hearts. That's not melodrama. At some point, that bundle of fur will get under your skin. It doesn't matter how big and tough you are. I've seen British Army Special Forces soldiers cradling their beloved cats with tears in their eyes, hoping against hope that something will put off that fateful moment when they must part. I've seen busy mothers of five children who rule their household with an iron fist reduced to bawling children because they miss their cat. At some point, that cat will work its magic. Its eyes will connect with yours. Its head will rub against yours. Its heart will connect with yours. At that point, you secretly swear your devotion to the animal. It comes under your protection, and you will sacrifice anything to keep it safe. In return, the cat will share that look with you. The one that says "I love you too". That's a special gift, and unless you have been loved by a cat, it is a meaningless one. But if you HAVE been loved by a cat, then you know the value of that gift. It means that the cat will give you a lifetime of love. They will literally spend their entire life in your company. You will feed them, protect them, keep them warm and safe. And they will give you their entire life.
Their entire life. That's their commitment. And what is yours? Easy, you commit to the knowledge that at some point in the future you will be given a terrible decision to make. That decision will be the last you make for your cat. That decision will result in a transference of pain and suffering. You will take away all the pain and suffering of your cat, and you will begin a process of pain and suffering yourself. That's the price for the look. When they look in your eyes with love, that terrible decision is the price. It's a moment that all cat owners dread, but a moment that comes to us all.
So should we feel bad when our cat passes on? Of course we should. We are losing someone we loved, and someone that loved us. The grief will be terrible, but it will be transient. It WILL pass. You will then be left with memories. Some of these memories will bring you tears. Some of these memories will make you laugh. But the pain and the suffering will fade.
So when the moment comes, you have to find a strength within yourself. You're about to do something incredible. You're about to give a display of love and devotion rarely equalled. You will be given a decision about whether to allow your pet to suffer and thus save your own pain, or whether to remove all pain and suffering from the cat, and take it on yourself. If the time is right, you will know, and you will make the right decision. And then you should be so proud of yourself. In the midst of your own grief, and suffering, you should take such strength from the knowledge that when the moment came, you decided to choose your cat's welfare in favour of your own. What greater love can any pet owner display?
So for those that think they have to make that decision soon, take strength. Know that your moment has come. The moment where you wrap up all the love and devotion you have for your cat into one incredible moment and do what's right. For those on the other side of that decision, then well done. I'm proud of you, and your cat would be proud of you, too. Your cat is forever pain-free. You are in pain, but I promise it will pass. Don't worry, some of us know how bad that pain is. You are not alone, and we know how much it hurts. It's terrible, but it will pass. Then you will have the memories, which you should treasure.
I like to think one day I will be re-united with my pets. There will be no crashing together as we run towards each other as in the rainbow bridge poem. There will be no kisses. We will simply give each other that look. The look that says "I love you, and now I know how much you love me"
really pretty girlSome pictures of Lotje, my late female cat. I adopted her as a shelter cat in november 1990, when she was about 7 months. She passed away in february 2011. We shared a lot and moved to different places, but she never lost her way or her loyalty.