Her kidneys have been failing for some time. Sweet little girl, she always found her way to my lap when we sat down to watch TV.

Our neighbor, the vet, came over to put little Tiff out of her misery. Tiff was on my lap until it was all over. The weirdest thing - I have no memory at all of any of it. Complete blank.

Whatever details I know came from my DH. Maybe there is a self-protective action going on at some level. The very idea of my sweet little cat's lifeless body being scooped into a plastic bag and taken away makes me feel sick, so I guess it's just as well that I don't remember.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

I'm so sorry for the loss of your sweet cat. I know it hurts. My cat was also 17 when I had to put him to sleep. The vet and her assistant did everything right, but I still found it very traumatic. Maybe forgetting is a great kindness to you. She was in your lap, and she knew she was loved and treasured.

I'm sorry, catnip. Losing a pet is so very, very hard.

I am so very sorry. The loss of a fur baby is a terrible, terrible blow. Hugz and puppy kisses from my house.

I'm so sorry, our furry family is so important, and so heartbreaking to lose.

I’m sorry for your loss.

I lost one of my dogs almost three weeks ago.

The whole situation was a mess as the vet we had started going to about a year ago didn't know what he was doing in terms of diagnosis, etc. We went back to the old vet (he is just hard to get into as he works mostly with big animals) and he found out that he had a tumor on his pancreas. If I wasn't already drugged, I couldn't be handling it. I have his brother still who has diabetes and went blind at the same time his brother was dying. I rescued them and the vet said he thinks they were at least 2 years older than I was told when I rescued them.

My son does not want any more dogs as he can't take losing them anymore.

I had one bad experience having a dog put to sleep. What other way can we say it? Not put down. Something that seems more loving. Otherwise, the other 3 have been peaceful. My first dog was killed and I don't know which is the most traumatic. It is just horrible in every way. Hate to say it, but I just keep drugged up. Nothing addicting. I can't deal with losing him.

I'm sorry to hear this, catnip! I love my pets more than I like most people. It's very hard to see pets suffer and leave us. Thank you for doing the right thing for your Tiff. I'm sure Tiff loved her catnip!

Oh, sweetheart. I’m so sorry.

I know what it's like and I feel for you Catnip.

I'm so sorry too, catnip.

That was one lucky little kitty to be so loved. You gave her a good life.

I trust you have very good memories of the better times.

I am so sorry, catnip.

We [in our family, this means cat lovers and cat rescuers] have been through this so many times, and regardless of the circumstances, it just never gets any easier.

I empathize so much with what you are going through now, and...

We do very much care.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/15/2023 10:08PM by Tevai.

I'm so very sorry. Losing a cat or a dog is devastating. It takes a deal of mourning before you get a new one. But then you have to start over from scratch.

So sorry for you. My cat was 20 years old troubled with arthritis but it was stomach cancer that took her. Been a number of years and I still miss her. I have her ashes.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/2023 01:09AM by matt.

Still dealing with the sudden decline of my 15 year old kitty. In Dec 2008 after our 19-year-old-cat died from failing kidneys, we went to the animal shelter and came home with two kittens, a male and a female. They grew up as buddies, then went their independent ways. He became DH's cat, adventurous, jumping into high spaces and falling off, various injuries, and going downhill. With lots of care and a good vet, he got better, but there were several time last year I thought we were losing him.

The female became my cat, my close and affectionate companion, expecially during Covid. Playful, loving, energetic, and definitely a Zoom-Skype cat, always hogging some attention on her.

One day she began acting weird, the next day as well. Then she stopped eating, so I took her to the emergency vet. She had lost weight, was so skinny. She had a mass in her abdomen, probably cancer.I was going to take her back for more tests, but by day 4 I knew she wasn't going to make it. Our vet was able to arrange her final visit. It was such a quick and unexpected decline. I held her at the end, and after petting her and brushing her with her favorite brush, she was gone.

I had a difficult time the first week. (This was 2 weeks ago.) I miss her so much. In my case, I do remember her last moments and her peaceful and quick end was a comfort to me. In a few weeks, when we are feeling better, we will find another cat, this time an older adult who needs a loving home for her last years. Sadly, there are so many of them waiting for a home.

I hope you find comfort in your loving memories of your kitty.

I had tears in my eyes as I read your words, Phantom Shadow.

I am so sorry for your loss.

I'm sorry for your loss as well, Phantom Shadow. Whenever I visit the SPCA, I always see some wonderful older cats. I'm sure you will find a loving companion when you are ready.

I lost my sweet cat in August, and I am still not quite ready for another companion. But at some point I will be.

I am sorry for your loss of your kitty.

I am so sorry for the loss of your sweet kitty.

Glad she was so loved and taken care of by you.

I'm sorry. Been there.

You were there for her, in her life and at her passing. That means a lot. Remember the good times. And it's OK to be sad when you lose a friend.

As well...I am sooo sorry for your loss of your sweet little Tiff.

I miss each & every one of my fur babies of my youth & moving forward to now.

Too many times I have watched as the life fades from their eyes as I cradle them in my arms...simply. just. heartbreaking. tears.

I found this some years back in one of those Cats magazines at the Pet Store checkout. It's been posted on my fridge seemingly forever. It often helps me to to realize again that we are all just passing through...& that it was such a fortunate turn of fate in many instances that allowed me to share some of my own short life with some incredibly sweet & one-of-a-kind feline friends & characters...in short to help me kinda deal with that greatest of all losses feeling(s) of the moments I shared with each & every one of them. & each of those moments mattered!

From An Old Cat...

You wonder, perhaps, why I'm quiet these days. I no longer insist on sharing what you are cooking, nor hug your neck and purringly hum you to sleep. I don't scratch the trees anymore, nor chase my shadow around the yard on a sunny summer's day. Instead I sit and listen...to a world of which you are not aware, beyond the limits of my tired and malfunctioning body.

I need to ask for your help one last time. Please call our doctor and arrange for him to help us, too. I know this is a hard thing for you. But please do not grieve for me. I do not fear death the way you do. To me it is a natural thing, as beautiful as the dawning of a brilliant new day.

I know you will miss me greatly. We have spent much time together, my old friend. But i will really not be gone. Only changed and free. Perhaps you will be unaware, but I'll still share your nights and purr you into sweet dreams.

Stay with me when we visit the doctor. For as I transcend, I do not want to lose track of you, my loved and trusted one. As you have watched over and cared for me these many years, now I can watch over you.

Grieve and cry over my empty body, if you must. But I am no longer there. I am with you now, perhaps even closer than before...living in your thoughts, in your dreams, and in a consciousness of which your are only vaguely aware.

This is not goodbye, my friend, only temporary parting. Let me live happily in your memories until you see me again.

"In memory of Tao, my friend and my teacher."
Darleen Daniels
Cheyenne, Wyoming

I am crying.

Sorry to hear about this, thankful for the dogs and cats I have had and all the great memories

So sorry to read this Catnip, how are you doing?

We have two cats that mean the world to us and I’ve had cats all my life. Losing them is so hard.

Thank you all for your kind condolences. We have two other cats, but I don't have the bond with them that I had with Tiff. I'm coming up on my 76th b-day, so getting another kitten would be out of the question.

Our middle-aged cat (about 8 or 9) has absolutely NO use for our youngest cat (maybe 1 1/2 years old). She and Tiff often napped together, and I think she is grieving too.

I am sorry for your loss. I remember too well cradling my last 2 Cocker Spaniels as they passed.