Handhold please - PTS tomorrow

[NoEasier2024]

Hi all - NC-ed for this.

My little tabby lady is 14 years old and stopped eating late last week. Got a referral and then a scan this morning and there are some tumours. She is bright and purry but still not eating much and, while she has been made comfortable, she really needs to be PTS before she suffers more.

So I have an appointment booked Weds morning. 24 hours left for me to spoil her, but finding it hard to stop being tearful. Her sister seems entirely unperturbed so far (they have always been a bit indifferent to each other).

This is not the first time I have put a cat to sleep but good god, it doesn’t get easier. I keep trying to tell myself that she had a lovely life.

I have a good IRL network and DH is taking the next few days off WAH to be with me and the cat. But I would be grateful for a handhold from the lovely cat lovers here.

I'm so sorry for your news. It's never easy. After the appointment, take some down time and have self care. It sounds like you gave her a happy life

So sorry to hear this, you have given her a lovely life, many are not so fortunate. Try to take some comfort from this. Sending you love

thank you, both. It is true - I am lucky to have a last day with her.

So sorry, in January I was in a similar situation, I spent the days beforehand just sitting with my little love, telling him I loved him. I was tearful like you, but also grateful that he was at home and until the very last day, sat outside (all wrapped up in a fleecy blanket ) with me next to him. Remember the love, it will remain with you xx

So sorry. I found the waiting really hard when the decision was made.

I'm so sorry to hear your sad news, but how lovely that your little kitty knows such love and kindness - especially in the hardest of times. We are here to hold your hand when you need it @NoEasier2024

I think your user name says it all, whether expected or sudden this situation is never easy. Sending you much comfort at this time

So sorry…. Have been there twice and it is so very sad. Sending you comfort and love and this awful time. They are only small but leave an enormous gap 🐾💞

So sorry - we had to put our darling girl to sleep in April, aged ten. She had intestinal lymphoma and although we could have done chemo with her it would have been rearranging furniture in a burning house with the timeline the vet gave us, and we opted to let her “go well”. It sounds like you are in a similar situation.

It was fucking awful, and we miss her so much, but per pp, she had the loveliest life she could have, and I am proud of us for making the right decision for her rather than treating her for us (which she would have found awful and stressful going back and forth to the vet).

Ours was still eating like a horse, catching mice, absolutely normal - the only sign had been vomiting which became more frequent. On her last day she slept in our bed overnight, had her favourite foods (tuna and Philadelphia), and the sun came out for her to lie out in the garden. She went to sleep with her people telling her how loved she was. We had a private cremation and her ashes sit in the hearth with a framed photo of her - she keeps an eye on the naughty little ginger fella we adopted.

Thinking of you and your lovely cat. Xxx

Thank you all so much for your kind words and for sharing your stories. It is all helping a little. They really do leave pawprints on your heart.

@Judystilldreamsofhorses yes, a very similar situation here. I just couldn't put her through treatment. I understand it would have prolonged her life a little but been so uncomfortable and upsetting for her. Today she will get steak and as many strokes and Dreamies as she could wish for.

Sending to you all for your own losses of much-loved pets.

Wishing you strength for today. I am sure your little lady had a purrfect life. You now get to be there on her final journey.
It is our last act of kindness for our best feline friends.

Thinking of you & your beautiful kitty. 💚From everything you have said, your decision is entirely reasonable, given the prognosis. Not that it may help much now, but she will always have a place in your heart. 💜

Thinking of you, I hope all went as well as you wanted 💐

Thank you, all. It was a very peaceful passing. She had a stomach full of steak and fell asleep as we gave her her favourite strokes and told her how much we loved her.

So glad she is at peace and you were there with her.
I saw a vet recently speaking about people who didn't go in with their pets when being pts, he said that he believes it really helps the animal to know their person is there.
Look after yourself 💐.

@Allthecatseverywhereallatonce I read something similar a while ago: the vet said "you [the owner] are their whole world" and one of the worst parts of their job is trying to put to sleep a pet that is frantically looking around, wondering where their owner is.

That phrase about being their whole world (perhaps a bit more true for dogs than other animals) has stayed with me. Each to their own, of course! But I was hopefully able to give some small measure of comfort to the tabby lady who had given me so much comfort in return over the years.

So sorry NoEasier, I know how devastating it is. Thank you for being there with her (and for the steak and Dreamies). Sending love