He’s a cat. A 15 year old cat. With diabetes and respriatory problems. I’m 16 - I don’t remember not owning him.
He’s dying. We’re putting him down in 45 minutes, but he’d be dead in two days anyway. He’s refusing to eat - I gave him a bit of water and a pillow to lie on until we take him to the vet.
I had a cat for 13 years. Name was Noche. Bought her as a kitten for $1.50 at a pet shop. Solid black with green eyes. Just looked at me and said “take me home.” So I did. Played with her a lot, even managed to get her to do a few little tricks. This was before I married. She was with us until my kids were in their teens.
There were other cats, too. Noche had several litters before we got her fixed, and one of her kittens (Imp) grew up with us as well. Noche was a good cat. Gentle. Funny. Affectionate.
She got sick enough for the vet and they called to say she had an incurable condition. Cancer and something wrong with her heart. I told them to go ahead and put her down. On the phone. As soon as I hung up I started crying and couldn’t quit the rest of the day.
I never cried that much over relatives. But that cat was so close and so loving and so much a part of my life that it was something I just couldn’t help.
If Buttons was like that for you, I can understand how you must be feeling now.
Go with him.
I let my brother take our old dog Billy when it was his time, & I’ve never frorgiven myserlf.
I feel really bad because my brother, who’s Button’s owner (we have 4 cats, one each for me and my two brothers, and one for my parents) has to work. But the poor cat is doing so badly that I wouldn’t be able to stand waiting until he got home.
Is it possible for you to call your brother and for him to come home for a few hours? I know I would move heaven and earth to be there for the last moments of one of my pets.
If not, is it absolutely out of the question to wait until your brother comes home? Any way at all to make the cat more comfortable?
He said he didn’t mind being there. We weren’t even in the room. We just said goodbye and hugged him. He purred… didn’t even sneeze…the nurse carried him to a temporary (less than an hour) kennel and we left. He’s gone.
Mind not being there.
Awwww, I am sorry.
Pets are so much worse to lose than anything else, honestly. They are always there to relieve stress, and take your mind off anything, and make you feel better. I especially like how (dog or cat) whenever you come home they act like it’s the first time they’ve seen you in months, every time!
My mother has a disability that used to affect the whole family, because of the necessary things that had to be done as a result. She could be never left alone, couldn’t go out on her own, etc etc. Until one day a dog was trained for her, and it changed her life and ours. This dog helped our family for 15 years or so, and I was there from the start until when he had to be put down. It was just better for him, it was getting harder and harder each day for him as he got older. It was the hardest thing for me.
Anyway, just wanted to say, someone out there knows how you feel. You know, it’s funny how an animal can be with you for so much time in your life and you don’t realize it. My cousin’s cat was 26 years old when it passed away. It’s mind boggling to think about how much he had been there for!
My sympathies 
My cat is very sick, and is only 4 years old.
I am sorry for your loss. I know it is hard.
My condolances, Speaker.
My brother and I cried like babies when we had to put our 16 year old cat down.
Trite as it sounds, remember the good times with Buttons. Lucky cat to live in a family that cared so much.
I had to take our 18-year-old cat in to be put down just over a month ago, when he went into kidney failure. Mr. Legend was out of town, but we agreed it was more important to be sure our kitty didn’t have to suffer longer than necessary than to wait until he could come back to say goodbye.
I’m sorry for you and your family’s loss. It’s hard to let a beloved pet go, but I’m sure you gave Buttons the very best life you could, and making sure he didn’t have to suffer at the end was part of that.