Just wanted to post about our lovely cat Bramble who was put to sleep yesterday. I read through a lot of threads on this board during the past days and got a lot of comfort from reading about cat owners in similar situations.
Bramble was my 13th birthday present back in 2001 - I asked for a dog but my Mum saw Bramble when she was looking around rescue centres and fell in love with her - best decision we ever made. They guessed she was 3 or 4 when we adopted her.
She was nervous at the start and took a long time to come out from her cat box and gradually explore our house. The rescue centre suggested she should be an indoor cat and she lived very happily in our house and in the back garden. She loved our little family (any stranger coming in the house would have her down on her belly and scooting to the nearest hiding place). As soon as you sat next to her or started to stroke her she would purr immediately, and would "chat" back if we spoke to her in the right way. Before she became unwell she loved her food and would hang off the fridge door with her front paws while it was being prepared - also would happily attempt to swipe any food off our plates and loved a morsel of hot buttered toast, homemade sponge or cheese!
She loved sitting in any sunny spot and would roll onto her back when she was sunning herself. She patrolled our garden and when it was windy would gallop like a horse from one end to the other. For most of her life she enjoyed playing with toys, particularly sitting up on her scratching post and batting away anything we threw towards her - perfect coordination almost every time.
Her role in our family became even more important when my Dad passed away just over 2 years ago. Bramble and my Mum had such a special bond - she stayed with my parents when I moved out, and since my Dad died she has been such a comfort and companion to my Mum. I hope she knew how loved she was and how much she helped us in our suffering.
The decision to put her to sleep was heartbreaking. She had renal failure and we tried what we could - we tried taking her to the vet twice a week for fluids but it was clear that it was distressing her more and more and it wasn't giving her the quality of life that we wanted for such a special cat. Our vet loved her too and supported our decision. Bramble had been living in my Mum's bedroom for the last week or so of her life. She still purred when we stroked her or at the sight of her food dish (although often wasn't interested in its contents). The sun came in the window in the afternoon so she still got to enjoy a sunny spot. As she reached her final days she moved up to sleep on the pillow next to my Mum's side of the bed (she had never done that before) and on her last day as soon as my Mum got out of bed she moved to sit on her side. We sat with her and told her we loved her and our lovely vet came and put her to sleep yesterday afternoon at home.
Bramble really was the perfect cat for us and we loved her to pieces. The house is so empty today and it's breaking my heart - because I miss her, and because I have to go back to my own home and leave my Mum here alone, without our beloved cat. The pain is immense but it is the price we pay for so many wonderful years with our cat as part of our family, and we were lucky to have her in our lives.