Your cat was polite? You must have pleased Bast, or someone, to have a cat like that.
I’m so sorry for your loss. I had the same done for my Tobermory not long ago, and Istill wish he could get up on my shoulder one more time.
Keep us updated, and come here to vent as needed.
Try2B, I don’t know if this will help or not, but I’m offering it in case you’re worried about the utter SWIFTNESS of the shot.
About 8 or 9 years ago, I had a sweet little girl Missy who developed kidney disease. I had gotten her from another family that just didn’t treat her well at all, and she was very much loved and treasured by me. But it was time for me to let her go because of the kidney disease.
So my vet offered what he referred to as a “long-acting” shot or something like that - I honestly don’t remember what it was called - I was too upset at the time. But what I do remember is that it gave me much more time with my kitty than that normal shot.
The vet gave her the shot and then left the room and closed the door so I could be alone with her. I sat with her in the rocking chair they had in the room and held her, nuzzled up against my neck, rocking and petting her and quietly speaking to her. She was purring. She just eventually went to sleep in my arms and then stopped breathing. It took about 5 or 10 minutes, and it was one of the most precious times in my life. I put her on the examining table when it was all over and she was gone, and the vet and I continued to pet her while we were talking about the pet cemetery coming to pick her up the next day.
I had been saying goodbye to my little girl for just over a day, giving her her favorite treats, holding her like a baby (she loved that and would generally go to sleep in my arms whenever I did it,) and just cuddling her. I could tell she knew it was time, though.
Some people might mock me for being so sentimental about an animal, but those of us who have much-loved pets will understand what I’m saying and how it felt. And I’m forever grateful to the vet for giving me the opportunity to spend just a few more minutes with my sweet little kitty so she wasn’t scared and was actually purring. Maybe if the idea of an “instant” shot bothers you, like it did me, you could ask your vet if they have that longer-acting shot that gives you 5 or 10 more minutes of time with your kitty.
God, I need a tissue now, even though it’s been such a long time.
Hugs to you and scritches to your little girl, Try2B.
Tough, very tough. I feel for you.
My oldest cat has been dealing with kidney disease for three years now - we thought he only had weeks or months when he was diagnosed but he sort-of hit a level and has been on cruise. Another cat went very quickly with it - you just never know. All the borrowed time in the world won’t make it easier when he goes so he gets pretty pampered as long as he keeps eating and drinking (and peeing).
Thanks for all your kind wishes, everyone.
Welp, it was kind of awful actually. She has been rather low-energy lately, but when it came time to put the catheter in her she dropped her strange ‘polite kitty’ thing that she did and sort of freaked out. So the vets decided to give her a sedative first (we had it done at the clinic- my gf thought she’d associate all this with our home if we did it here). So they gave her a shot and we just tried to comfort her, bawling like babies. The sedative made her weak and drooly, she was sticking her tongue way out and kind of sank down. They took her in the back to put in the IV catheter for the drug, then brought her back out. She didn’t look terribly peaceful with her tongue hanging out like that, but I don’t know what I expected either. The drug worked really fast while we stroked her and bawled away. I went ahead and put her tongue back in her mouth and it seemed much better. There has been so much second-guessing of when to do this or if we did all the right things for her, but at the end we were convinced that it really was her time and that we really had gone out of our way for her, with the special food, the water fountain, the subcutaneous fluid injections we’ve been giving her for almost a year, all the recipes and things to get her to keep eating even as she eventually lost nearly half her weight. I think she was starting to suffer this past week and it was good to not allow that to get worse.
She wasn’t technically my cat, she was my gf’s. Scarlett the cat, aka Scarlito Bito. The way she reacted to me was apparently one of the deciding factors in my gf dating me. Once we moved in together Scarlito did seem to become my cat- she just liked to follow me around, slept on my side of the bed, this kind of thing. I used to pick her up and hold her like a baby too- I think she thought I was trying to show her the things on the walls and ceilings or countertops, so I’d carry her around like that and show things off to her while she looked around all wide-eyed. At the end I held her body like that one more time before we wrapped her in my gf’s special scarf that Scarlett will be cremated in. Now I’m quite sad, but also relieved and glad we were not too selfish in forcing her to suffer unnecessarily.
So long, Scarlito Bito. Maybe later I’ll post a pic for you cat lovers. sigh
Rest assured, you did the last, best thing you could possibly have done.
if I could ask God just one question, and have it answered, what I’d like to know is do we get to see our beloved pets again?
Yeah, we found the second-guessing really hard, too. We discussed Max (our cat) quite regularly, to discuss what we were doing with her treatment and how we thought she was doing. She was the first pet that either of us had to put down - I think we’d have a better handle on it next time. I don’t think it will be easier - just that we’ll know better what’s going on.
I’m so sorry, Try2B, but you did the right thing. Hugs to you and your girl friend.
I’m sorry for your loss, Try2B. I’ve only had to do this once before and I know how hard it is when it’s a beloved friend, but I really do think it’s the last act of friendship and love we can give our furry companions.
I’ve mentioned this in other threads like this, but one thing you might do is write down your good memories of her in a little book–the cute things she did, the endearing habits, that sort of thing. I still find comfort reading through mine, and it’s been 8 years since I had to send my little 5-year-old kitty Meep on her final journey.
I’m sorry for your loss as well.
It is a measure of our empathy as a culture that we care so much for (some) other species.
You and your GF were good humans for that cat.
I’m sorry for you that the final experience was “kind of awful” as you put it but keep in mind that this was still the absolute best alternative.
The way my old cat went, well I just don’t even like thinking about it because it’s very sad and hurtful to think we didn’t give him a proper end to his great life, and instead he just wandered around outside until he died, possibly from heat or cold or whatever.
So, take some solace that even though your cat may have freaked out a little bit in the end, she got to be with you in her final moments and you know that she died quickly and painlessly, which is all we can really ask for.
Now, please allow me a moment to go to the restroom and dry my eyes because I am so sad for your loss!
I’m sad for your loss, Try2B. I went through the same thing with one of my dogs. Kidney failure, loss of appetite. Didn’t want her to starve. The vet reassured me I was doing the right thing. I was there for Daisy and petted her and reassured her I loved her. She went peacefully. It was like dropping right off to sleep. It’s a hard decision to make, but when the time comes, you know you eased your pet’s suffering.
May you find solace in your memories of your furry friend. I know I will with mine.
I am so sorry for your loss. I have been there with a few pets myself and it never gets easier.
Try not to second-guess yourselves. It is far worse to wait to long and know your beloved pet has suffered needlessly - trust me.
I feel like I am going to have to stop cueing the violins on this message board pretty quick. I feel like it could be perceived as trolling, as apparently nothing is sadder than a dead kitty. For instance, last night in bed, once it was obvious there was no kitty to pop in to collect her evening num-nums, my gf cried so hard she gave herself a nosebleed- something I didn’t even realize was possible. I don’t think I have ever cried so much, even when my life (completely but temporarily) fell apart ~12 years ago. Usually on this board I seek out unsympathetic responses to my most unconventional or half-formed ideas without giving much reason for people to conclude that I’m especially smart. This time is different and I’m glad to see even some of the people who are good at giving me what I’m looking for be so sympathetic in this thread. Ultimately I don’t really know how to behave on here; I’ll get back to annoying you all in the usual way soon enough though. I always feel neglectful of responding to everyone when I start threads, but I just can’t keep up.
The thing that convinced me we were doing the right thing was by considering how things would have gone if she were a wild animal. She had become weak enough that she would have been effectively incapacitated on her own, and a predator would have got her or something would have happened to her. We were keeping her protected from all that, her whole life, but at the end it left her vulnerable to something unnatural- starving to death. This was a kitty who at one point had a weight problem and who had no trouble eating seconds, reduced to the last stop before skeletal. So we took the unnatural step of having her euthanized first. Gawd, it was awful. I don’t know if she knew what was happening, but there was an element of terror for her being handled by the vets. That was a horror to us, along with the horror of the whole context. But it was not without its sweetness since everything came back to just how much we cared for this kitty, the only cat I’ve known who would actually work a room if we threw a party, presenting herself one by one to the guests to be acknowledged and petted. Often there would be one person she would skip, “Pardon me sir, but I’d prefer if you did not approach my person thank you very much” and she would not allow just that one to get close. We could never figure out what she was reacting to…
Anyway, I practically promised a pic.
What beautiful eyes!
Try2B I know what you’re feeling. I did the same last tuesday. It’s gutwrenching. Our Bella was 6. She may have had an illness, or because she was the runt of the litter, but her kidneys were way into failure. We’re counting our 6 years with her to be one of those ‘candles that burn twice as bright last half as long’ things.
We still have her sister, who doesn’t show the same symptoms, and that’s a help.
I suspect the Vet immediately knew the situation. My work requires a pretty good feel for reading emotions, and he was struggling with giving us all the information and letting us draw all the conclusions. It’s clearly not one of the better parts of the career.
In so many ways, this year has been the year of ‘been there, done that’…so many things we’ve seen before, know how to handle, and unfortunately, we’ve dealt with this, too. So we’re greiving, and keeping on keeping on.
Yup - pretty kitty.
My condolences to all of you. The day I had to let Whitey the Wonder Cat go was the worst of my life so far, and I relive it every time I see these threads.
My condolonces to you as well. We just went through this in February. Here is what I wrote on my vet’s memorial page about my Skyekitty:
Anyway, we did the whole thing too, the subq fluids, the special foods, the antibiotics, the appetite stimulant pills, the celluose for the constipation, and I even made her a special “studio apartment” in our downstairs bathroom. The vet asked me if I wanted to stay for the procedure and I had no hesitation. I wanted to be with her, I felt it was the kindest of gifts I could give her. She never closed her eyes, the vet had to close her eyes. I miss her so much, I am crying so hard right now.
Oh, and to add insult to injury, my husband’s cat, Zoie, died unexpectedly two weeks later of a pneumothorax…we had to made a quick decision to put her to sleep or seek out emergency care not even knowing if she was going to make it in the car ride over there. I don’t know what was worse…the long goodbye with Skye or the unexpected quick goodbye with Zoie. They both sucked.
Again, I am so sorry for your loss. I have never heard my husband cry as hard as he did for these two cats that he complained about so much when they were alive. See, he does have a heart…
I know! 
That is terrible. The decision was hard to make because we felt the disease was robbing her of good years and we didn’t want to take any more time from her than necessary. But 6 years is too short! I’m sorry. I’ve been so sad that I haven’t kept the perspective that lots of people go through the same thing all the time.
We are mindful to be grateful that we had such a great kitty though. Eventually letting go is just the way it is. I think I will always miss her, but all in all it was worth it.
