Keep thinking I could have done more

[PinkSparklyPussyCat]

Some of you might remember my posts about William, the elderly stray who adopted me. I was only adopted for six months before he had to be put to sleep but I still miss him so much. I keep thinking I could have done more for him, cared for him sooner.

I'd seen him around over the last few years but he used to sleep on the same doorstep every day but, with hindsight, it should have been obvious he was a stray. He didn't start coming into our garden until April last year and that was when we started feeding him. We bought him a kennel the following month and shortly after that he went to live with my Mum for his final months. If only I'd done this sooner, he could have been so much more comfortable.

I know some people probably think he was only a stray and I hardly knew him but there was just something special about him. I can still see him lying in the vets when he was put to sleep - it seems so unfair that he had such a short time living in comfort.

Sorry, I don't mean to sound as though I'm wallowing in self pity! I just miss my old boy so much.

You made his last few months comfortable and full of love. You did a wonderful thing and I'm sure he was very happy with you. It's okay to grieve and to miss him. He obviously made a big impact on you, measure your time with him in love rather than months.

Its perfectly natural to feel you could do more.

At least he had some attention and comfort

Well from what ive learned of late that cats tend to live for the moment rather than in the past so all he may have remembered is being comfortable, happy and loved at the end. You did good, let go of any guilt..

I'm in a similar situation, kicking myself for not taking in a stray earlier. She was hanging around for months, and DD kept saying she was homeless, but I thought she was owned. Eventually grabbed her one day and took her to the vet who said unchipped, unspayed, riddled with parasites, underweight and totally uncared for. Well now she is happy, healthy, and curled up on my bed here on the CPL waiting list for rehoming, but I still feel so sad she was so small and so alone in such cold weather.

I know how you feel!

BUT - owned cats wonder around looking hungry, it is what they do! You cannot telepathically KNOW whether a cat is owned or homeless. My own cats ( the ones I own, not foster kitty here) wander round the estate. I would be very upset and anxious if people started taking them in, or whisking them off to the vet because they look hungry. They EXCEL at looking hungry!

You gave him a lovely comfortable companionable retirement.

Thank you. Deep down I know we all did what we could for him and I like to think that he knew he was loved. Even when he was coming into our garden he was getting fed 3 or 4 times a day and when I moved in with Mum I have a suspicion it was more than that! He needed feeding up though.

On the days he didn't come into our garden I used to worry about him - the day I was due to have my gallbladder out DH and I were walking the streets looking for him as we hadn't seen him for a couple of days. I'd even phoned the local vets to make sure he hadn't been handed in - I think they thought I was mad when I explained my local stray was missing! He finally turned up at 5am a couple of days later and I had to send DH out to feed him as I couldn't bend down (yes, he's as soft as me!).

Thank you for listening to me rambling on

I remember your posts about William. What a lovely thing you did for him. As humans, we over-think stuff. You and your mum made sure he didn't die alone, and was with people who loved and cherished him at the end.

You gave him love and warmth at the end of his life.

You did good, Pink.

Thank you all, your lovely words made me cry. I'm so glad I went out for a bike ride and found him in the service road that day. It wasn't long after that that I was ill and he helped me then by taking my mind off it as he needed me. He was so affectionate I don't understand why his previous owners left him behind.

RIP my little Willibobs

I'm often shocked at people's cruelty. People like you help balance it out a bit.

Thanks Rubbish. I can't stand anyone being cruel to animals - no one is forced to have a pet and it makes me so angry when people won't take responsibility for them.

I know what you mean. Pets are people. I used to live in an area where there were a lot of armed forces from over-seas. They'd just leave their cats and dogs behind when they returned home. One time, a neighbour left a 3 month old kitten behind. When they came back to clear their house, I told them I was taking care of the little lad they'd left behind. They said they didn't want him anymore, and that I could have him. When I asked what his name was they replied "Retard". He'd had a bit of a brain injury, and was a bit cross eyed. Such a beautiful nature, he loved everybody,giving furry headbutts. The night I took him in he couldn't sleep, just paddling the floor with pleasure at being in the warm I suppose. It was January and I expect he must've been bloody freezing outside.

I'm so glad you gave your William some loves and fusses, that would have meant the world to him.

Oh God, that's awful - how the hell could anyone call the poor kitten Retard? I'm so glad you took him in and gave him the love he deserved.

It happens, sadly. The Lodger was brought in to the flat opposite ours and when they moved, they simply chucked him on to the street and left him. (At about 6 months old.) I find that sort of behaviour difficult to live with.

Luckily, his story ended happily - as did your William's. There are more than a few that don't though.