Gentle hugs to you and Merc.
Thanks. I am at peace with this decision, having watched Merc’s decline and seen how much it’s affecting him now. It would be more painful to try to drag out his life any longer as the spark of life and contentment dwindled to nothing.
Condolences.
I found it a relief once I made the decision. Now just focus on making his last day a good one. Sending good thoughts to you and Merc.
Yes, making that last decision does bring some relief from the do/don’t/do/don’t constant internal debate.
Whenever I go to the kitchen and make tea Merc wants a splash of hot water into his water bowl, and I’m making sure he gets it frequently, even when I’m not actually making another cuppa.
Awww…..comfort yourself by continuing to do that for awhile. Hugs from afar for both of you.
Hugs to you and Merc.
Merc, say hi to my cats on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge.
Oh I’m so sorry. It’s so hard. But yes, I think it’s better for them to go on a good day, when there’s no crisis. We are the ones who wish for more time, even as we see the cliff edge looming. They just want love and comfort.
Vale Merc, I know you know you are well loved.
Thanks, all, for your kind words and comfort. Merc went this afternoon, gently, quietly, comfortably, with the compassion of the vet and vet tech to ease his transition. I gave him three good years after his rescue from the terrors of someone’s well-cared-for house pet suddenly finding himself a stray (he was in excellent health when collected), and he liked his life here. I would not drag it out into the misery of prolonged decline.
I’m glad you found each other.
I’m glad I found Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society several years ago, a no-kill shelter that does wonderful work. The Salisbury animal control turns over stray cats they collect and can’t find the owner of to that rescue, which is how I wound up with Merc. I’d actually gone up there meaning to adopt a different senior cat but someone beat me to her, and they offered me Merc, who had shut down from the terror of going stray and being taken in, and had stopped eating. I had to syringe-feed him over the weekend till I could get him to my vet on Monday for an appetite stimulant shot. I regularly check out MRFRS’s adoptable cats page and have chosen several adoptees from there.
Hi, late to the thread. Have been designated human to several kitty cats, but honestly I’m glad the thread title didn’t refer to your own personal Hamlet decision or anything.
I’ve never had to take a kitty in to be finalized. They always manage to off themselves before they reach that point. Although our childhood kitty had to be done by the vet, his kidneys were failing and he was not a happy kitty. I still miss that cat. I look at the old photos sometimes.
My cat, St. George, named because he was a formidable fighter - mostly a fighter of me - died in my arms at age 12, he broke his jaw and could not eat. I took him to the vet. The result was inevitable. I still cry today, it is over 8 years ago.
My dog, Huxley (named after the famous author) died at age 11, I managed to get a home visit from a vet, after he lept over a wall and had a really bad landing. I did not get there in time, it was my ex-wife’s house.
But I got to bury him.
Maybe this does not fit the “last and hardest decisions”, but both events were very tough on me.
I do think it fits, as it was just as hard on you as a long-contemplated question, with the added stress of a painful crisis.
Very sorry to hear about Merc. We just had to say goodbye in January to Miss Chips to the exact same diagnosis. She was not quite 8 years old and we are still grieving pretty hard over here from losing her so young. We could have opted for surgery to maybe give her maybe a few more months, but decided not to put her through that. She was ailing quite obviously, similar to Merc. Fuck cancer.
Five days ago my son finally had to euthanize my grand-cat. Willow, his other cat was 2 when they got Dusty. That was 16 years ago and the shelter brought Dusty in a carrier and left him there. We happened to be visiting at the time and Willow raised her tail and hissed. But a day later they took Dusty out of the carrier and Willow eventually accepted him. Last fall, Dusty was diagnosed with kidney disease and since they don’t do cat dialysis (catalysis?) all they do was palliative care. We were there a month ago and he was still active. When we get there I shoo him off the recliner he loved to rest on, sit down, and then he would immediately climb on me and present his ear for scratching. He did this too a month ago, but with less energy. Then last Monday, he stopped eating, stopped moving and became incontinent. He also seemed to be suffering. Two days later they took him to the vet who agreed the time had come.
I asked my son if they were going to get another cat. No, it didn’t seem fair to the 18 year old Willow to put her through adjusting to another cat. Although she eventually adjusted to Dusty, they never really bonded. I can’t imagine Willow has too many years left and then they will certainly get at least one more.
Yes, surgery and/or chemotherapy for cancer in cats is unlikely to buy them more than a few more months of life, and at what cost to their quality of life? Especially with lymphoma, which affects a system that runs throughout their body.