Hi, Well today is one of those days where we folks who have pets must say goodby to them and release them from this life for their own good and relief from pain.

One of our cats, who was over 15 years old and lived with our daughter, was not looking good the last couple of days, we she took her to the vet and found that she was badly dehydrated and had kidney and probably liver shut-down, so it was time to let her go. But after 15 years she did have a good life and it was something, what with her age and all, that was not all that unexpected.

Strange how these animals tend to get a hold on you down over time and we can only be thankful for what time we are granted to have with them and how they have enriched our lives while they are here.

Just thought I would share this with other pet owners, both past and present.

Take care, Sgirty

i'm sorry they are sweeties and it can be hard.

I am soo sorry to hear of your loss.. I myself have two kittys and i can't imagine haveing to let either one of them go..I hope that you are able to get another one soon...

Mary (++)

We were where you are just a few weeks ago. I'm not that spiritual, but I find The Rainbow Bridge to be very comforting. May it comfort you and your family , as well.

I know the feeling, My cat had Leukemia, and i think im personally responsble for its death. I was playing with it and accidently shoved it and it began to meow. And the doctor one of the lungs poped, or something like that... i felt so helpless

Hope you find a new pet.

So sorry..got my pup Kaylee..cant imagine the babe not here!

Hi Larry
I know how it feels....we lost 3 cats this year.
Amos our big old tom died in my arms. I couldn't just let the vet just do it, I had to be with him untill the very end. He had kidney failure too. The saddest day in my life.

Its a hard thing to do but at least she is free from pain and suffering now. Bet she's having a great time up in cat heaven.

Sympathies
Peter

Kidney problems are (sadly) common in older cats, I've had a couple die because of it over the years. One of my mother's cat has recently been diagnosed with diabetes and has to have insulin injections daily, which isn't fun for either the cat or my mother.

Condolences

I am sorry for your loss.Once a pet is taken in,it is family forever and losing a pet will always be a family loss.
Rick

My condolances.

It's never easy to have to say goodbye to someone or something dear to us.

It's always a rough thing having to put a family pet to sleep.... I've had to do it many times over the years, and it really never gets easier.

I'm very sorry for your loss. Don' t mind me for blabbering, but a loss of a pet to me is like losing a family member to me.

Properlly cared for pets WILL without a doubt enrich a persons life. They're actually allowing prisoners in jail to train animals for differant reasons, seeing eye dogs, dogs to help the deaf, dogs detect and sense and protect people about ready to seizure from epilepsy etc.

These animals have changed how these inmates see life. Some of these people never knew what love was until they were assigned to a animal for any one of the reasons above. From what I understand, any prisoner that has gone through the the animal training program and has been released back into society hasn't been returned to prison yet. Pets are good mojo and in my opinion, that's a great program.

Rainbow Bridge is a concept that I hold dearly to my heart. It doesn't take much thought after thinking about it no matter when or where, I can soon become a teary-eyed wishfull thinking old man. I have a hard time even describing it in conversation to someone who doesn't know what it is. I can picture it in my mind! Its just so beautiful and to tell you the truth, I just want to see my dogs, my babies, again.

Is it me or does that emoticon look more pissed off than sad?


Larry,

I'm sorry to hear of your loss, being amongst several pets at my house, I know exactly how it feels to lose one so dear.

I had to put one of my dogs down due to a tumor which was causing him a lot of pain. I rarely cry, i have taken human life and did not care. I did not cry at funerals for family members, but i could not hold it back when i put my dog to sleep. I still now and then call his name when i hear something.

Sorry to hear about your loss. I've had to put down two dogs this year and it was some of the hardest things I've ever had to do. The most comforting thing is to know that they didn't suffer and it ends any suffering they were going through.

I suggest getting a new cat as having our new puppy really helped me get over the loss of my two buddies.

Tough times, I know. I have had to put down several pets over my life and none of them were easy.

Right now we have four cats and a BIG dog. I doubt the oldest cat -- 18 years -- will make it through the winter. But we love her, and comfort her ... she's a grand old lady cat (they call them a "queen"). She's also very tough, so we'll see what happens. If the old girl makes it to spring, she will live through summer -- she absolutely loves the heat!

Swapping 'cat' for 'dog', you're not alone in doing that.

Hi, Thanks for all the replys here. Very much appreciated.

I'm surprised sometimes at people who usually don't have all that much in common to find a "meeting ground," no matter what their back-rounds may be, when it comes to pets and various subjects about them, either their own or others'.


Since Ghost had lived with my daughter for several years, we really were not all that close to her on a daily basis, but whenever we would go over she would come out and greet us and want to be rubbed--really demand it-as her due. So even thought she grew up in our house earlier, she still remembered us.

No, I don't think the family will get another cat for a while, what with three grandchildren--ages 5, 2 and 3 months, plus a Laborador as well, they have all they can handle at the moment! Ha, ha! Sometimes it's quite a "circus" when we go over there. Ha, ha!

Now we here have 3 cats in residence, so they are very much a big part of the lives of my wife and me and this losing of Ghost has made us both aware that one of these days we are going to start losing them too.

The two oldest are now 11 1/2 and in very good health, but the vet has told us that ususally between the ages of 12 and 15 signs start showing up of the deterioration process that all carbon-based life forms start to go through as we advance through our life cycles.

The youngest, a big white male, is only 8, so he is in his prime, at least physically. Sometimes we do wonder about his mental state though. Ha. ha!

Thanks again and take care, Larry

I am sorry to hear about your loss. I lost many cats to cancer. My last cat "Tanker" was my best friend, when he passed on, so did a piece of me. I have never gotten over it.

At least there is no more suffering.

JOHN

I'm so sorry! That is hard, I've had to put down some of my critter's. It still amazes me how attached you can become! When I'm having a bad day I can come home and know someone's waiting for me to cheer me up. I've got a sick kitty and it breaks my heart to know that I will have to make that decision when the time comes. The only thing is that you have to think of all the good times and that makes the pain worth it!

You have my deepest sympathy - my best buddy (Harley) is getting old 13 he's a Springer Spaniel and when the time comes I will do what is best for him.
I like to believe that when God made man he looked down and saw how clueless we were he made dogs and cats and sent them here to teach us about love and honor -I know my greatest friends have had paws not feet , there is so much we can learn from them- love without judgement and commitment. I am sure your cat was well aware of the love you felt and it was given back many times over. You might consider adopting a cat from a local shelter out of repect for your departed pet, this way another animal will benifit from the bond that was forged out of care.