Chrissy had a cat. A particularly fine cat, he was. Spoiled rotten, as house cats can sometimes be. He was pampered, protected and loved, as pets sometimes are.
Chrissy had her cat Turbo when i first met her fifteen years ago, so Turbo was at least that old.
I scratched his kitty head more than once myself, and he met all the requirements one might put upon a cat, i.e., show up for scratching, purr a bit, then look aloof and ignore people.
But fifteen-plus years is getting on in years for a house cat, and his health hadn’t been good for the last year or so. The last several months have been rough, and Chrissy and I talked several times about what she could do to get him to eat and to restore him to health, but fifteen years? That’s a lot of years for a cat, even a very well cared for, loved, and pampered cat.
Last week he took a bad turn and Chrissy had to do what may be the worst task a pet owner might have to do, take him to the vet for the last time.
I know it was hard for her. I’ve done it myself before. Sometimes the best you can do for your little friend is let go instead of putting one through more suffering in the hopes of eking out a few more weeks.
I know this. So does Chrissy. But that doesn’t make it easier for her.
Had to put down the dog I grew up with a week before Christmas some years back.
The suck was strong that month and it was a lot of years before I could afford the time for another pet.
The cruelest part of sharing your life with an animal is knowing you will out live them.
Send Chrissy some good vibes from your readership.
My heart goes out to Chrissy. I have been through that ordeal a couple of times my self. I just lost a cat that I brought home for my daughter as a kitten 15+ yaers ago. The two of them where VERY close. My daughter was 2 yers old at the time and just loved that little kitten. Give your friend a big hug for me.
My sincerest sympathies to Chrissy. I’ve had to do that several times and it never got easier.
I think I know how a person feels when their companion for so many years leaves . I lost my Tinker last year after she was with us for 12 years.But we still have her Sister, Belle who is now 13 !
MC,
I left Chrissy some kindness in her comments. What I can’t do though, is to give her a kind hug, a shoulder and a shared tear.
If you’d be so kind as to proffer such in my stead, I’d be honored.
Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX
It is hard to do what must be done but when an animal can’t talk, you have to do what you feel is best. I have had to put down 3 CLOSE friends in the space of 5 years and the pain is still with me from each and every one. There is one thing that does help though and I hope that it helps you and her:
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together….
Author unknown…
I have a 12 year old cat and I’m starting to worry about the inevitable. My comfort comes from a poem posted in the vets office, called the Rainbow Bridge. It is great comfort to read and it can be seen here:
http://www.petloss.com/poems/maingrp/rainbowb.htm
My best to Chrissy.
Oh, so sorry for Chrissy…pets are so hard to let go. We just get so attached to them.
Chrissy:
Each time you lose a pet, it leaves a little hole in your soul. You will never forget the lost oneand they will always be missed. But the hole would be much bigger if they had never been there, and when you cross the rainbo0w bridge, they will all be waiting patiently for you to rejoin them. I share your sense of loss and emptiness.
The thing that always gets me is the… the doubt. Is the pain REALLY that bad? Is all hope REALLY exhausted? Am I doing this more for my convenience than for the sake of mercy?
And the trust in their eyes as the doc slips the needle in. ::sigh::
Our hearts go out to Chrissy and you.
M
My sympathies to Chrissy and via con Dios to Turbo–I’m not into all the imaginative stuff that Speedy laid out, but the general idea–yeah, all spirits are whole when they leave the brokenness of mortality.
As my pets have aged (and I’m 52, so I’ve outlived a few), I’ve had to remind myself that they are animals, not people, with limited capacities and life-spans, made as they are to fulfill their own purposes. We have a much-loved, very cool dwarf rabbit who’s now about 9 years old–we know he can’t last much longer, but he sure has been a joy that will never be forgotten. He has arthritis in his spine, so we give him “medicam,” a vet version of ibuprofen so he can do his rabbity things without too much pain (medicam works for dogs and larger animals, too, in varying dilutions). It’s day by day, but not in a fearful way–in the sense that each sprint, hop, and snuggle has extra value.
When they cease to know joy or become erratic and hazardous, the time has come for that spirit to go back to its source and in due course, for a new companion to be brought into our lives. Death should never leave us lessened, but enriched by the spirit that has passed and better prepared for the future.
Thanks everyone. I appreciate the kind words…more than you know.
My head knows it was the right thing to do, but my heart is still having a little trouble understanding.
I just keep wondering….should I have just waited one more day…one more week…would he have made it one more month? Again, my head knows the answer to all of these questions, but I haven’t convinced my heart, and I still question myself. I guess I always will.
I have played the “what if” game. What if I had waited? What if I had taken him to another vet? Although my vet is the best. What if I had tried to force feed him? What if…what if?????
Maybe he would be here another day, but my vet said, I have to do what is best for TURBO…not me. And he agreed, it was the best. Just doesn’t make it any easier.
I am taking one day at a time…..but I do miss him so very much!
When we put down our female Greyhound, we felt pretty sure it was right but that doubt WAS there and it bothered us until the vet called us and told us they did an autopsy of our girl. She had a stomach tumor and issues in her digestive system that they had not caught and assured us, the timing was right. Were it not for that, we would have always carried that doubt with us. I can’t thank them enough for doing that for us.
It is very sad, because they are innocents. Somewhere I read that animals don’t have free choice in a moral sense; and since they cannot choose, they can’t sin; so they go directly to heaven.
May this thought help you through a hard time.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a311/TopFisher/FINAL.jpg
There is never an easy way to say goodbye to a friend of many years.
Kily was her friend for 19, mine for but 7.
I guess I was lucky to have lived on a busy road and really never had to go through this event. Though I had my challenges as well, from the very young to an 11 yr old.
Best to all that have to make such a decision, gawd knows it it is never easy!
RIP Chrissy