Sleep well my beautiful girl

[darlingpuss]

We just had to have our beautiful girl put to sleep and I just can’t stop crying.

She was 18 years old and we’d had her since she was 10 weeks old. Such a gentle, beautiful cat our Molly.

Over the past few month she’s lost a significant amount of weight and she’s been drinking more, sleeping next to the water bowl. Earlier on she has drunk so much water she must have inhaled it and I could hear her breathing water in her nose. We took her quickly to the vet who checked her over and felt that her kidneys were quite enlarged. The vet agreed that the kindest thing to do was to let her go.

She was still eating so I wasn’t sure whether it was too soon but the vet said eating isn’t just the indicator of health, she said she was probably feeling quite nauseous and pain in legs as she was so rickety.

She didn’t complain when the catheter went in, a sweet baby until the end. Goodbye my gorgeous girl xx

I'm so sorry for your loss. When they have been with you for such a long time, they have shared so many changes in your life, and it's hard to believe they are not there any more. I cried on and off for weeks when my 19 year old had to be PTS - also kidneys, like your girl. It is so hard

It was all a bit sudden really. She’s been going downhill for a while, very slow and creaky in her legs and would yowl and cry a lot. She starting sleeping by the water bowl, waking and drinking loads and sleeping again. She would eat a bit but often looked a bit nauseous if that’s possible for a cat to do that. Today she’d clearly inhaled water and the floor was soaked as she had been almost swimming in it seemed. She looked at me with really doleful eyes and I just knew it was time.
She was such a gentle cat and would never scram or bite. Was amazing with the children when they were little. I’m only sorry she got a bit stressed in the cat carrrier to the vet, I do wish we’d had someone out to the house before she’d inhaled the water today. She had calmed down in the vet though and was enjoying a fuss by the nurses.

I kept asking the vet if it was the right thing to do and she did reassure me. Hopefully in time I will see it as a kindness. At the moment it feels like we got rid of her.

That does sound like classic kidney failure; if you hadn't acted she would have deteriorated further and been in serious distress. You 100% did the right thing at the right time, although it will take time for you to feel that way. You need to grieve first and foremost.

Ah sweet baby - what a great age x

Oh it's such a sad time but it's one of the last and kindest things you can do for them. My mum who has always had animals always says..better a month too early than a day too late....

Does it? Because she was eating I was concerned we’d done it too soon. The large puddles around the water bowls and sitting and staring at the bowl and sleeping next to it wasn’t right.

The decision to put to sleep was so hard, I’ve never had to do it before. I feel like I’ve let her down as I’ve killed her when she was no longer useful to us. I know that makes no sense but that’s how it feels

Oh OP I’m so sorry. We’re getting close to that time with our darling 16 year old boy. He’s likewise rickety and his appetite is erratic. He’s currently on steroids and long term arthritis pain relief in addition to his thyroid meds and is happy enough day to day but we know we’re on borrowed time.

We’ve already made the decision with our vet that a week too early is 100x better than a day too late, when the time comes. You’ve made exactly the right decision at the right time x

Oh you poor thing, it’s always the hardest decision to make xx

Bless you and dear Molly Puss ❤️

So sorry, OP - it’s the absolute worst. You mustn’t think on it as “killing her”, though. We had to have our lovely girl pts aged just ten with cancer, and I see it as letting her go with grace, surrounded by love. It was the hardest decision I have ever made, but absolutely the best one for her to make sure she didn’t suffer. It sounds like you did the same.

I'm so sorry darlingpuss. She sounded a beautiful little lady
My boy will be 22 this year and me and dh plan on a vetinary service that comes to your home and puts them to sleep here <gulp>
He is still sprightly and enjoys a good sniff around the garden, enjoys his grub and keeps.himself nice and tidy.
We will know when the time is here though as you did. Kindest and most loving thing is to let them go even though being without them is the hardest thing .
❤️

Please don’t feel like that. You absolutely did the right thing to save her suffering. You have done the hardest but kindest thing to give her a peaceful end rather than keep her struggling on. I know it doesn’t feel like it though. It’s actually the most selfless thing because you put her pain before your wants and gave her a safe and trauma free death.. plus you were there so she knew how much you loved her. Be kind to yourself and sending you hugs.

I’m so very sorry for your loss….heart breaking …x

I'm so sorry, OP. I had to have my beloved cat put to sleep a couple of weeks ago and it is the worst thing. You gave Molly a fantastic life full of love and there is no better gift than that.

So sorry for your loss. Putting our pets to sleep is one of the hardest decisions to ever make but also the last act of kindness we can do. I had my last cat PTS due to kidney disease. We worked on the premise and our vet agreed, that we’d go for quality of life over quantity. Take comfort that you gave your cat a happy and lovely life.

Thank you all, I am still unsure whether it really was time.

In her favour she was eating ok and still roaming out and about a bit into neighbours gardens but apparently she was also drinking a lot in their places too.

The inhalation of her water was what I called the vet about but that had cleared by the time we had taken her down. The vet checked her over and found the enlarged kidneys and sue to the extreme weight loss and lack of muscle declared that she was probably in pain at times and probably felt nauseous.

I did agree that it was for the best but now feel awful that maybe we could have had a little more time with her. Vet did say we could have brought her home but it was likely that she would have deteriorated to the point it would have been an emergency and that wouldnt have been fair on her.

Your vet is absolutely right. Cats are very good at hiding when they are in pain - they have to be, in the wild they cannot afford to appear vulnerable.

Unfortunately it's likely they are often suffering before their humans are aware there is anything wrong, and by the time symptoms start to show, if they are already elderly and it isn't something curable, there is a real risk that buying more time, however precious, is merely prolonging suffering.

Whenever the decision is taken to PTS it will always be hard, and you will always think 'could I have had one more day/week/month?' but as pps have said, the worst thing you can do for your cat is leave it too late.

It will get better, this is very, very early stages for you in your grief, but you will come out the other side, in time, and remember the happiness you had with your cat and all your precious years with her - it will take time but you will reach a state of peace.

I’m so sorry for your loss- I’m just over 2 months down the line from you - part of me still feels like I “killed my cat “ and what could I have done differently but I do also appreciate that for my boy it was time - it’s just so hard to let go! But I promise you it will get easier. X

Sorry for your loss. We are in exact look y the same position and our cat has stopped eating and drinking loads. She weighed 2.8 kg last week and was 2.4kg today. The vet has said if she does not eat today/this evening, we need to make an appointment tomorrow to PTS. Just keep crying and she just turned 14 but I also don’t want her to be in pain.