The loss never get any easier...
Discussion
I had to make that dreaded decision on Saturday to let him go.
He would have been 14 this year which was an acceptable age given his brother died before he was 6 due to a long list of medical issue so I always thought he would follow soon. In the last couple of years he did his 'Dying Swan' impression we called it, he would lick so much of his fur off and be a mass of scabs and lose a bit of weight but trips to the vets never found a cause and he would look dreadful for a while and then bounce back.
Only this time whilst the scabs healed the weight never went back on. He wasn't that underweight, he'd lost half a kilo but it was noticeable. He hated going to the vet, getting him in the carrier would be a nightmare, your hands in shreds but the rest of the time he was the most gentle of cats. He would wail the whole time in that pitiful way cats do and occasionally there might be a small stress wee in the carrier. That was nothing compared to what he did at home. He had some neurological issue, his eyes would constantly flick from side to side never staying still, but as he got to about 8 he stopped using the little tray. A Trip to the vets yielded no UTi's or anything other than a healthy cat so we assumed stress and filled the house with those plug in things but that made no difference. So for the rest of his life he did both his business's next to the litter tray- right next to it, just not in it. We came to a non verbal agreement that he would use the towels on the floor of the bathroom to absorb his business and I could easily boil wash them so I had a washing machine installed in a plastic garden shed just for his towels. And so life carried on for many years with this little quirk until the last month when I went into denial that he would be fine. I think I knew in my heart he wasn't as he just wasn't putting weight back on. On Wednesday I finally took him to the vets who found a lump in his abdomen, he stopped eating, was wobbly on his feet and not coming up to my bed at night instead staying on his stress bed over the radiator all day and night. A follow up was booked for Saturday but I knew the time had come to let him go.
Bailey (or wee wee and even pisspants and he was affectionally known as in his final years), you were the strangest cat I have ever had and life is not the same without you. Sleep well my little man xx
He would have been 14 this year which was an acceptable age given his brother died before he was 6 due to a long list of medical issue so I always thought he would follow soon. In the last couple of years he did his 'Dying Swan' impression we called it, he would lick so much of his fur off and be a mass of scabs and lose a bit of weight but trips to the vets never found a cause and he would look dreadful for a while and then bounce back.
Only this time whilst the scabs healed the weight never went back on. He wasn't that underweight, he'd lost half a kilo but it was noticeable. He hated going to the vet, getting him in the carrier would be a nightmare, your hands in shreds but the rest of the time he was the most gentle of cats. He would wail the whole time in that pitiful way cats do and occasionally there might be a small stress wee in the carrier. That was nothing compared to what he did at home. He had some neurological issue, his eyes would constantly flick from side to side never staying still, but as he got to about 8 he stopped using the little tray. A Trip to the vets yielded no UTi's or anything other than a healthy cat so we assumed stress and filled the house with those plug in things but that made no difference. So for the rest of his life he did both his business's next to the litter tray- right next to it, just not in it. We came to a non verbal agreement that he would use the towels on the floor of the bathroom to absorb his business and I could easily boil wash them so I had a washing machine installed in a plastic garden shed just for his towels. And so life carried on for many years with this little quirk until the last month when I went into denial that he would be fine. I think I knew in my heart he wasn't as he just wasn't putting weight back on. On Wednesday I finally took him to the vets who found a lump in his abdomen, he stopped eating, was wobbly on his feet and not coming up to my bed at night instead staying on his stress bed over the radiator all day and night. A follow up was booked for Saturday but I knew the time had come to let him go.
Bailey (or wee wee and even pisspants and he was affectionally known as in his final years), you were the strangest cat I have ever had and life is not the same without you. Sleep well my little man xx
As you may read elsewhere on here, we made the similarly decision 4 weeks ago for our cat. The knowledge that things were getting worse, with zero hope of getting better. Not a difficult decision, but difficult to go through.
Your cat looked like a fine fellow, with plenty of character. The efforts you went through with laundry...well, you certainly loved him. What more could he have asked for?
Your cat looked like a fine fellow, with plenty of character. The efforts you went through with laundry...well, you certainly loved him. What more could he have asked for?
TUS373 said:
As you may read elsewhere on here, we made the similarly decision 4 weeks ago for our cat. The knowledge that things were getting worse, with zero hope of getting better. Not a difficult decision, but difficult to go through.
Sorry for your loss too TUS373.TUS373 said:
The efforts you went through with laundry...well, you certainly loved him. What more could he have asked for?
I used to say to him not many people would put up with his behavior but I'd just get that look back! Despite having 5 other cats still, the house feels so quiet and is now visually different without the towels on the bathroom floor. Smells better too though which I always knew would be the ying to the yang when I did eventually lose him!
Well, the family has suffered a second loss for this year. My daughters cat passed away unexpectedly this morning, she was only about 7. We believe she suffered a stroke of some sort and was gone in seconds in front of my daughters kids.
She came from a rescue. She was in a bad way and had had so many kittens when she was barely a kitten herself that her rib cage was spread and set like that - I have never seen anything like it, yet she was the most loving cat ever. Whenever I visited she would be all over me for ages.
I am going to miss her so much, sleep well Kitty cat.
She came from a rescue. She was in a bad way and had had so many kittens when she was barely a kitten herself that her rib cage was spread and set like that - I have never seen anything like it, yet she was the most loving cat ever. Whenever I visited she would be all over me for ages.
I am going to miss her so much, sleep well Kitty cat.
solo2 said:
Well, the family has suffered a second loss for this year. My daughters cat passed away unexpectedly this morning, she was only about 7. We believe she suffered a stroke of some sort and was gone in seconds in front of my daughters kids.
She came from a rescue. She was in a bad way and had had so many kittens when she was barely a kitten herself that her rib cage was spread and set like that - I have never seen anything like it, yet she was the most loving cat ever. Whenever I visited she would be all over me for ages.
I am going to miss her so much, sleep well Kitty cat.
What a short lifeShe came from a rescue. She was in a bad way and had had so many kittens when she was barely a kitten herself that her rib cage was spread and set like that - I have never seen anything like it, yet she was the most loving cat ever. Whenever I visited she would be all over me for ages.
I am going to miss her so much, sleep well Kitty cat.
RIP little one
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