Very sad today

• Import
  
  Posts: 7258
  
  
  Jan 09, 2014 7:20 PM GMT

  Had to put my cat down earlier today. He was 17 years old. I'm so sad and feel completely and utterly like shit. Oh and im turning 30 in like 9 days. Somebody just put me down too, please.
  
  He hadn't been doing well for like 4 weeks. He couldn't keep food down, etc. I kept telling myself it was a stomach bug. Finally took him to the vet after xmas and the vet said his kidneys were beginning to fail. Needless to say I was upset, but thought maybe there was a small chance he would stick around for another year..... who was I kidding?
  
  Anyway, for the past 3 or 4 days he wasn't eating and his litterbox was never used. Just very sad and pathetic to watch him get old, and die.
  I hate it.
  
  I got him during the 6th grade and he's been with me ever since. He used to walk with me to the bus stop when I would go to school and ppl on the bus would make fun of me and call me "cat boy" and stuff.. I got embarrassed and told my mom to keep the cat inside when I walked to the bus. Now, i'd do anything to have him walk with me anywhere. oh well. Can't have them forever. He even moved out to California with me. He's always been there. Now he's not and I'm very sad about that.
  
  ;(
  
  
  
  

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• MikeW
  
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  Jan 09, 2014 7:25 PM GMT

  Hugs. Sorry to hear that. I know how it feels to loose a close furry friend. Sometimes it feels like they're the only real friends we've got.
  
  Turning 30, however, is not a reason to be put down. The best is yet to come!

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  Jan 09, 2014 7:27 PM GMT

  I'm sorry, hugs. No pets here, but I do get a bit attached to some of the stray cats that run about my complex.

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  Jan 09, 2014 7:31 PM GMT

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• hooded_strang...
  
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  Jan 09, 2014 7:37 PM GMT

  MikeW saidHugs. Sorry to hear that. I know how it feels to loose a close furry friend. Sometimes it feels like they're the only real friends we've got.
  
  Turning 30, however, is not a reason to be put down. The best is yet to come!

  
  
  Isn't that the truth. Had lost a furry friend as well over a year ago.
  
  Sorry to hear, man. *hug*
  
  17 years is a long time and it's great that you got to spend that together.
  

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  Jan 09, 2014 8:00 PM GMT

  I felt somewhat the same when I had to drive my mother to the vet to put down our dog because my tough dad couldn't hack it. But afterwards I had to go 30 years between dogs because more apartments are cat- than dog-friendly, and dogs being pack animals are less independent than cats, faring best in the company of other dogs making owning them even harder. Plus dogs need to be walked rendering them nearly impossible for single people with careers with long hours. But even though I finally have dogs again and they're the longest-lived large breed that'll likely be with me for 15 years that only serves to prolong my dread of their inevitable departure. Take comfort in knowing that you can get and maintain another cat as soon as you want. Not to diminish your loss but most situated adults I know or knew with pets wind up replacing theirs within the month. My parents have been saying that their latest dog will be their last since 1988, after which they had four more.

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  Jan 09, 2014 8:08 PM GMT

  What a great pet owner you were (and will be again). That's so cool, having a cat with you all those years. I've gone through what you're going through several times with cats & dogs. It about kills me when one has to say 'goodbye'. What gets me through it is the feeling that our beloved pets love us so much, and they know we've done our best to give them a warm, loving place they can call 'home'. I even believe they wait for us at the gates of Heaven - and we'll be reunited again one day. I also believe our departed pets would definitely want us to share their former space in our home with a new pet in a similar situation (needing a place to call 'home'). So what helps me get through a loss is to make a home for a new pet who needs one. Not to say the new pet takes the place of the beloved pet, but it really helps both me, and the new pet.
  
  Long and rambling, sorry - but I hope this helps you.

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• PR_GMR
  
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  Jan 09, 2014 8:38 PM GMT

  Sorry to hear about your loss, Import. I'm a cat lover, so I can relate. Your kitty now rests in peace.

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  Jan 09, 2014 8:43 PM GMT

  I'm sorry to hear about your loss

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• Import
  
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  Jan 09, 2014 8:53 PM GMT

  Thanks for the kind words, everyone.
  
  The hardest thing in the world was to walk into the vet knowing i'd walk out without him. This morning I made the decision and called and the vet said I could bring him in within the hour or wait until the following day. I took the appt today, why have him suffer another day of vomiting and not eating?
  
  When i got to the vet I must have looked like a hot mess. The receptionist was sympathetic but informed me they were running a bit behind and that I could take a seat in the waiting room. Being the wreck that I was I said I'd sit in the car and asked if she could just call me when they were ready. I did not want to sit in the waiting area crying my eyes out like a crazy person in front of other people waiting lol.
  
  Sat in my car and just looked at my cat in his cat carrier thing. It was hard to wrap my head around the fact that I am voluntarily handing him over to be put to death. I almost couldn't do it, but knew there was nothing else that could be done. So I get the phone call about 10 mins later and thats when my heart just sank to my stomach. I prob sound like some "crazy cat lady" but I dont even care. he was the best. I miss him already.
  
  took him inside and took him out of his carrier. He looked scared and it was cold. I was petting him and trying to comfort him in his last minute or two of life. They put him up on the table. Stuck a needle in his neck and it was over. 17 years of affection and joy gone in 2 seconds. I felt like i had tunnel vision afterwards. I just couldn't believe it. lol, I think I must have looked like i got punched in the face or something cuz the receptionist told me I could exit through the back door.... probably not to scare off the other patients waiting in the waiting area. .. it was like "walked in front door with a cat, walked out the back with nothing except a swelled up face from crying" ugh! not my custest moment.
  
  
  anyway, i took the day off from work. guess I'll clean out his litterbox and start getting rid of some of his stuff. . . Keeping his collar tho.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

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  Jan 09, 2014 8:59 PM GMT

  
  Hugs
  

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  Jan 09, 2014 9:15 PM GMT

  Import saidThanks for the kind words, everyone.
  
  anyway, i took the day off from work. guess I'll clean out his litterbox and start getting rid of some of his stuff. . . Keeping his collar tho.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Import - - - thanks for sharing this. It is good that you were there petting & comforting your cat right to the end. I'm sure your cat felt loved - totally loved and he appreciated you and all you did.
  
  One thing: You mentioned getting rid of his stuff and I'd hold off on that. I found a lot of comfort in letting a future new animal use the things that belonged to the former animal, especially his bed and collar. It gives me comfort seeing the newer animal using and being comfortable with those same items. Hope that makes some sense. Somehow, I think a new pet can sense that a former pet lived among those items and was very much loved in that house.

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  Jan 09, 2014 9:17 PM GMT

  Import, I wish there was something I could say to give you a lift, but I and Bill know this grief very well.
  
  I will say what a very good Vet said to me once. That this is the price of all that kittie's love and companionship over all those years, and also a huge sign of how much and greatly you love. Also, what you've said here changes how I think about you, and in an extremely good way.
  
  *gives hug, aches*

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  Jan 09, 2014 9:48 PM GMT

  Sorry to hear about what happened
  
  Just try to think about how lucky he was to live to such an old age, being looked after by someone that cared about him. I have had lots of cats over the years and I always thought it was worse when they got run over or died of an illness when they were still young.
  
  As far as taking him to the vet to be put down, it would have been much harder on him to leave it if he wasn't eating. Sometimes people are in a similar position at the end of their lives and forcing them to hang on often seems very cruel.

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  Jan 09, 2014 9:54 PM GMT

  I still haven't gotten over the death of my cockatiel two years ago. The death of a pet is traumatizing. The only thing that helps is remembering how good you were to that pet and how lucky they were to have you.

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• MikeW
  
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  Jan 09, 2014 10:34 PM GMT

  Import saidI prob sound like some "crazy cat lady" but I dont even care. he was the best. I miss him already.

  
  I totally get where you're coming from. My last two cats, Mr. Scratch & Mr. Sniff, were brother's from the same litter. They were the sweetest ever, especially through some of the hardest times. My vet made house calls so, when the time came, Sniff about a year before Scratch, I got to hold them in their last moments. Something very powerful about that. Saying good bye to someone you love always hurts.

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  Jan 09, 2014 10:43 PM GMT

  I am totally bawling over this. I know, and I think most of us know, what's like to lose a pet (companion). 17 years is a very good life. Even with fish I can sense they know the end is near. I had a betta not eat for 22 days (some kind of parasite got in its head, I'm guessing), but he came to my finger all those last days, like he wanted to hold on. Even went to the top to try to eat, but could not do it.
  
  When my black lab, Sadie, died, I felt like a piece of my soul tore away. You never get it back. Why is death so painful? Maybe we'll find out the answers when our time comes.
  
  Surround yourself with pictures and good thoughts of your cat.
  
  

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  Jan 09, 2014 11:47 PM GMT

  Aww, hugs from me too. My cat was 12 when he was suffering from kidney failure. He had a seizure at the vet's office and died on Christmas Eve, 1999. Many of us completely understand the loss of a pet, a beloved friend. I'm choking up for you. My husband and I dread the day when our Pomeranian leaves us. Sadly, our pets don't live forever. In a way, that's good, because who would take care of them after we are gone? Know that you gave your kitty the best life. Sooner or later, you can give the gift of your love to another pet, and I assure you that you'll love your next pet just as much.

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• BloodFlame
  
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  Jan 10, 2014 2:04 AM GMT

  I'm very sorry for your loss. But hey, it sounds like he had a nice growing with you. So you'll always have the memories of him. He sounded like a nice cat.
  
  I hope things get better and it never hurts to get a new cat. I'm not saying he/she will ever replace him but it sounds like you like animals and there are lots of animals who are needing a loving home and owner.
  
  Take care hugs

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  Jan 10, 2014 2:24 AM GMT

  

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• winwin
  
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  Jan 10, 2014 2:28 AM GMT

  I know the feeling, so sorry for your loss!

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• JasonWantsIt2...
  
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  Jan 10, 2014 3:01 AM GMT

  <3 <3 <3 so sorry for your loss

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  Jan 10, 2014 3:14 AM GMT

  Damn you Import.....I've never even met your cat and you've made me cry. *Sigh* I wish I could hold you and comfort you right now. I know it feels all wrong to kill something you love, but one thing I'm sure of is you did the right thing. You gave him the biggest gift any human can give their animal; remove it's pain and suffering.
  
  If I may make a suggestion: Instead of throwing out his litter box and toys, maybe take a walk through your local shelter. There are so many great homeless cats that need a good home. I know it may seem too soon, but I think it would help you heal. Getting a new cat in no way suggests that your other cat is being replaced. Besides, saving a life will help you deal with losing a life. Just something to think about.

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  Jan 10, 2014 4:31 AM GMT

  What happened to its other 8 lives?

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  Jan 10, 2014 4:32 AM GMT

  hellass saidWhat happened to its other 8 lives?

  
  
  Is that supposed to be funny?

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