RIP to my sweet cat Pudding Pot. Did I do the right thing?

[ExcitingTimes2021]

I don’t really know why I’m posting this but the feeling of guilt and what I can only describe as immense pain is ripping me apart. Last week I noticed my cat was a little off, and wasn’t eating all her food but I just put it down to the increasing heat. However by the second day her breath started to really smell so I took her to the vests and they said she was in acute renal failure and wanted to admit her for aggressive IV fluid therapy to try repair the damage. After 5 days of aggressive therapy there was minimal improvement and the vets didn’t think she would survive much longer even with treatment as the toxins levels where so high in her blood and she was becoming anaemic. So we decided to take her home so her last few days so she would be in her own space with her own things.
She had two settled nights with us then on the third day she just stopped eating completely, was vomiting every time I offered her food, was weeing far more then she was drinking and just looked miserable, she didn’t want to move off our bed. We called the vet and he said said although he hoped she would have afew more days with us he thought it might be time to say goodbye.

We took her to the vets to be euthanatised but now I just feel so guilty like I cut her life short. Should I have given her more time or would the time she had left just have been filled with suffering? The vets can’t do home visits at the moment and she just looked so small and frightened sat on the vets table. We brought her favourite blanket and as soon as we walked in and put it down she tried to hide under it and that vision of her is just killing me. I just wanted to pick her up and bring her back home. I miss her so much.
I’m 8 months pregnant and she has sat with me every night through the pregnancy. When I was feeling crappy she would just sit in my knee and rest her head on my bump. I just feel so sad she isn’t here to be the big sister. It feels so strange this morning. Not being woken up at 5am with her demanding breakfast. I feel I have done the wrong thing. I need her back in my life x

Thanks everyone. I still just feel so awful, she must of been so frightened going back to the vets. I miss her so much. The pain is so unbareable. I didn’t realise how much time I actually spent with her and ‘Chatting’ with her until she has gone. she filled all my free time just chattering away to me or demanding to sit on my knee/close by and when I would come home from work her little face just lit up. I start my maternity leave early in just a few weeks as I have a very active job and now I can’t stand the thought of being alone in the house without her. X

You feel awful because you love her. She clearly loved you too. You put your own heartache aside to do what was best for her. That's amazing. Its an awful decision to make.

You took away her pain and suffering. You did a good thing, the best thing for her, even though it doesn't feel like it right now.

I don’t understand why it had to happen to her. She was the sweetest little soul and she has just been taken away from me with no warning and no answers. I’ll never find another cat like my Pudding. I’m sorry. I’m just trying to get used to not having her around but I just don’t want to get used to it. My poor girl x

My cat was a week from diagnosis of renal failure to being PTS, even fluids only gave him a good half hour a day. It's so fast I really do think even a day longer would have been just for our benefit not his (we went at 1am in the end for his final journey). Please don't second guess yourself, you did the right thing. So sorry for your loss

Oh OP I'm so sorry for your loss I completely understand how you feel. I had to make the difficult decision to have my cat put to sleep last year. He became seriously ill very suddenly and the vet said they could probably give treatment but he'd only last a week or two and he'd have suffered a lot of pain during that time and advised me it would be kinder to put him asleep.

I felt so guilty making that decision and it was so hard to do it but I knew deep down it wouldn't have been fair to prolong his life when he was suffering so badly. He died peacefully in my arms and I was absolutely heartbroken.

I've gotten through it by focusing on the many happy memories I've got of him and how loving and affectionate he was to me thats all you can do really is remember the happy times you had with your beautiful fur baby and you'll never forget her or the bond you had with her.

This is heartbreaking to read. I lost my cat 11yrs ago and I'm still not over it. She was the most amazing and wonderful cat and the 2 cats I've had since just don't compare.
Being without her left a void in my life I can't fill and like you, I didn't realise how much of my time I spent just chatting with her and being with her. She followed me around and 'helped' with everything I did.

I have a daughter now and it would have been lovely if I still had my wonderful cat to play with her.

You 100% did the right thing for your cat. She would have suffered had you not had her put to sleep.
Had to make a similar decision with one of mine and I don't feel guilty about it because it was definitely the right thing to do. The vet said I could take her home to pass away naturally but she would be in pain.
3 days before this she appeared happy and healthy - then suddenly she was on death's door. It was a large tumour pressing on her lungs.

I'm so sorry OP, you did the best thing for her you really did. My beautiful 20 year old Buns died of renal failure in Febuary and I've cried almost every day since I miss her so much.
I've had several cats with renal failure over the years and continuous aggressive fluid therapy normally works for a few weeks and then leads to sudden death in my experience. It's so much kinder to have them PTS and end their suffering.
You've done the best thing for your cat.