Flying Crane
Sr. Grandmaster
my cat, Grendel, 15 years old, was just diagnosed with kidney disease. I am afraid I will be telling her goodbye, in a few minutes. 
Sitting here in a veterinarians office
- Thread starter Flying Crane
- Start date
John Brewer
Blue Belt
That is the hardest part...sorry
Headhunter
Senior Master
Sorry to hear that
I know that pain, brother - had to make that decision on one of mine recently (though she actually went before we had to follow through). We do what we can for them, and sometimes we do the only thing we can. It's how we pay them back for all the love.
Feelin' it with you...
Feelin' it with you...
OP
OP
Flying Crane
Sr. Grandmaster
It's done.
Now I need to go home and explain it to my three year old son.
Now I need to go home and explain it to my three year old son.
I'm so sorry. They bring so much joy to our lives, but then take a piece of our heart with them when they go, every time.
JR 137
Grandmaster
Sorry to hear that. We had two cats, and had to put one down last summer, and the other one two summers before that. Odd thing is one of my 2 daughters was 3 both times. Both times, we waited a day until we were strong enough to tell them without losing it ourselves.
They're not pets; they're family. Losing them was actually harder than losing some people. Sounds stupid on paper (or a screen), but it's true.
My condolences.
They're not pets; they're family. Losing them was actually harder than losing some people. Sounds stupid on paper (or a screen), but it's true.
My condolences.
OP
OP
Flying Crane
Sr. Grandmaster
Thank you, and I agree. She was our first, brought her home as a kitten. About three weeks later we brought home another one, our little boy Beowulf. They had a difficult relationship, and then Beowulf got cancer and we had to let him go about a year and a half ago. Grendel got to be an only kitty for a year and a half, and that is what she wanted.
They were our first family, and they graciously made room for our son when he was born. He loves them, and while he was not quite two when we lost Beowulf, he still remembers and he asks about him often, wondering if he might come back. He doesn't fully understand death just yet.
He hasn't asked yet about Grendel, so we are just letting it go for the moment. But I've been a mess for the day.
JR 137
Grandmaster
Your story sounds just like mine. I started dating my wife about two months after she adopted the second cat, Buddy. She adopted Katie a few months before.
Both had kidney failure. My youngest was about 18 months old, and my oldest was 3 1/2. Telling her was very tough. We were just honest as much as you can be with a kid. We couldn't lie and say she was coming back. When Buddy passed away, it was the same thing, only we had to tell both of our daughters.
Both girls still find ways to mention Buddy and Katie almost daily.
Both cats were about 16 years old. Living with them for that long and taking care of them makes them family. It's impossible not to feel that way.
Having been where you are, all I can say is it gets easier. But it's going to get a bit harder first.
Again, my sincere condolences.
OP
OP
Flying Crane
Sr. Grandmaster
Yeah, part of my morning routine is feeding the cats and scooping the litter box. Breaking that routine is weird. Yesterday I took out the litter box and threw it away, put her food dishes in the dishwasher, washed the top blanket on our bed where she sleeps, and swept out a mountain of cat hair from under the bed and elsewhere. It was kind of amazing.
This morning we will tell our son.
This morning we will tell our son.
There's a surreal quality to life after this kind of change, IME. After our oldest dog died a few weeks ago, we moved the youngest's food dishes to where she had been (they had been separated to prevent food battles, which they were prone to with each other). I still don't feel like I have enough bowls when I go to fill them.
I've buried 5 cats belonging to my wife and myself as well as another 3 belonging to a close friend/unofficially adopted family member. It never gets easy.
We never end up having kitty vacancies for long though. I believe there must be a sign on our front door visible only to cats which reads in bold letters: Suckers Live Here: Show Up If You Want All the Food And Loving You Can Handle.
We never end up having kitty vacancies for long though. I believe there must be a sign on our front door visible only to cats which reads in bold letters: Suckers Live Here: Show Up If You Want All the Food And Loving You Can Handle.
OP
OP
Flying Crane
Sr. Grandmaster
I lived for a while in an area with a large and uncontrolled feral cat population. I worked with the local SPCA to trap and spy/neuter and release, and processed probably 25 or so cats working out of my back yard. And this was just one block of many in that area, the true population was likely many times that much. Some of those cats became my friends, some of which I had to have euthanized along the way. Some were old and sick, one got hung up on the back fence and ripped up his back leg to the point where it needed amputation, so we had to have him put down. One decided she was ready to come inside so we let her. She was tiny, but ruled the house and bullied our other two, tho she was incredibly sweet to my wife and I. She was old and sick and suckered us into spending a pretty penny on vet bills before we had to euthanize her.
Yeah, I'm a sucker for the critters.
