Anyone have to have a pet euthanized recently?

KingmidgetKingmidget Posts: 628
edited January 2008 in The Porch
Dam...this is hitting me so hard and it almost seems silly, but I had this great cat for 17 years...got hit with cancer.

I haven't experienced this since I was a kid...I didn't recall how hard it was. I thought being there with her today would make it easier, but as she went limp I broke down and had to leave. Kind of shocked by my reaction.

Not looking for remorse...just wondering if anyone else has been hit with this unexpectedly. I knew I'd be sad, but man I'm a wreck.

The girlfriend is supportive, but this cat was not a part of her life as long as she was in mine.

Its amazing me what this animal meant...I guess its hitting me now. Thanks for letting me vent
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • Marie CurieMarie Curie Posts: 1,250
    Sorry about that, losing a pet is horrible :(
    This thread might help you: http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=270199
    “Life is life everywhere. Life is in ourselves and not outside us. There will be men beside me, and the important thing is to be a man among men and to remain a man always, whatever the misfortunes, not to despair and not to fall - that is the aim of life, that is its purpose.”
    Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  • Sorry about that, losing a pet is horrible :(
    This thread might help you: http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=270199

    Thanks so much...I'll get over this with time. Wow...great, supportive thread. Thanks again for that link.
  • My cat Jezebel had to be put down almost 3 years ago. She was my first pet. She had cancer as well but was only 11 years old. Still makes me sad to think of her. Especially when I read threads like yours. I do remember being an emotional mess, crying all the time. Honestly wondered if I would ever be "normal" again. Never remember being that upset over a person passing. Eventually things do get back to normal, thankfully. Sorry to hear about your kitty. :( Take care.
    PJ FANS ROCK!!!

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  • chiquimonkeychiquimonkey Posts: 9,337
    i am so sorry for your loss :( i had to put my cat trixie to sleep, she was 13 and had cancer. it moved quick, 2 months from when she was diagnosed.

    was such a hard decision but it's truly the most selfless act there is, because you put their comfort and well being ahead of your own pain. in time you will be able to take some solace in that.

    again i'm sorry, take care
  • edvedder913edvedder913 Posts: 1,810
    I had to put down my favorite pet ever last year - my kitty Matilda. I was there when they did it so I totally understand your sorrow and reaction. She was only 8 and had cancer - it happened quickly - only about a month.

    I feel your pain, it will get better with time and you will feel fortunate that your cat was a part of your life.

    good luck and hang in there!
  • I feel your pain, it will get better with time and you will feel fortunate that your cat was a part of your life.


    ...so true. I've had to put three pets down, two cats and a dog. They were all a part of our family and I grieved them all. Nothing sad or silly about. They are a part of your life. I'm sorry.
    Nothing divine dies. All good is eternally reproductive. The beauty of nature reforms itself in the mind, and not for barren contemplation, but for new creation. ~ Nature, Emerson
  • Hi...I just had to put my dog Sasha down yesterday. I am really, really sorry for your loss.

    And if you need to talk, pm me.
    I'm not lost, but I don't know where I am...David Byrne, Talking Heads

    Regal Theater, 1994--most amazing night ever.
  • Kingmidget wrote:
    Dam...this is hitting me so hard and it almost seems silly, but I had this great cat for 17 years...got hit with cancer.

    I haven't experienced this since I was a kid...I didn't recall how hard it was. I thought being there with her today would make it easier, but as she went limp I broke down and had to leave. Kind of shocked by my reaction.

    Not looking for remorse...just wondering if anyone else has been hit with this unexpectedly. I knew I'd be sad, but man I'm a wreck.

    The girlfriend is supportive, but this cat was not a part of her life as long as she was in mine.

    Its amazing me what this animal meant...I guess its hitting me now. Thanks for letting me vent


    Very sorry for your loss. :(
  • ZanneZanne Posts: 899
    My oldest cat (13) is in for emergency surgery tonight. X-rays can't determine if she has Pyometra (a uterine infection) or if there are tumors present, but without the removal of her uterus, she will die either way. She will be operated on tomorrow morning whether or not her kidney and liver function test results support that she can physically handle the anesthesia or the surgery itself. If the surgery is not performed, it means certain death for her. I can only hope that she makes it through the surgery alive and that it turns out that it was in fact Pyometra and not cancer. If it is cancer I will have to make the decision to have her euthanized if it has spread. This has been one of the hardest days of my life. I truly understand your pain at the loss of a long time member of your family. =(

    **HUGS** (I need one, too)

    Peace
    Just me
  • Kingmidget wrote:
    Dam...this is hitting me so hard and it almost seems silly, but I had this great cat for 17 years...got hit with cancer.

    I haven't experienced this since I was a kid...I didn't recall how hard it was. I thought being there with her today would make it easier, but as she went limp I broke down and had to leave. Kind of shocked by my reaction.

    Not looking for remorse...just wondering if anyone else has been hit with this unexpectedly. I knew I'd be sad, but man I'm a wreck.

    The girlfriend is supportive, but this cat was not a part of her life as long as she was in mine.

    Its amazing me what this animal meant...I guess its hitting me now. Thanks for letting me vent

    I understand, I put down two dogs in 2007. It is very tough. Was with them both times, one was 17 and it was merciful, the other was only 5 years old but had a biting/territorial issue that was getting dangerous. Both were great family dogs and I love my dogs. And I broke down like a little kid when it was done.

    All I can say is that sounds like your situation was basically merciful and you just have to appreciate all those great years and memories. You will still be thinking about them a year from now I am sure, but I guess we just have to know that pets don't outlive people so you are guaranteed the pain of losing them. Not exactly uplifting I know.

    I have a theory that the more you care about your pets the better person you are and it is addition, not subtraction to have them. People who don't care for animals may not always care for people so you are a good person to be having the pain. Says good things about YOU.

    Sorry to hear about it, makes me think about my own pets. Take care.
    HOB 10.05.2005, E Rutherford 06.03.2006, The Gorge 07.22.2006, Lolla 08.05.2007, West Palm 06.11.2008, Tampa 06.12.2008, Columbia 06.16.2008, EV Memphis 06.20.2009, New Orleans 05.01.2010, Kansas City 05.03.2010
  • DarbyCrash wrote:
    Hi...I just had to put my dog Sasha down yesterday. I am really, really sorry for your loss.

    And if you need to talk, pm me.

    My dog's name was Sasha too, and had to put her down last year. She was 17 and had her since college. Sorry to hear about your loss, especially since it was yesterday.
    HOB 10.05.2005, E Rutherford 06.03.2006, The Gorge 07.22.2006, Lolla 08.05.2007, West Palm 06.11.2008, Tampa 06.12.2008, Columbia 06.16.2008, EV Memphis 06.20.2009, New Orleans 05.01.2010, Kansas City 05.03.2010
  • I have 3 cats, thankfully all in good health, the oldest though is only maybe 2 an a half years old. My wife introduced me to "Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul". It's a book full of stories from people with cats, or who have had cats. It's amazing. It'll make you cry, i guarantee it, both happy and sad.

    I love our cats with all my heart.

    I'm so sorry for your loss, and i understand it. Keep your head up.
    -Chris
    Male, 34

    I'm on Facebook - facebook.com/christopher.leesye1

    1998 Brisbane 2
    2003 Brisbane 1
    2006 LA 1 & 2
    2008 LA 2, San Diego 1 (EV)
    2009 LA 1, 2, 3 & 4, San Diego
    2011 St. Louis (EV)
    2012 Tulsa 1 & 2 (EV)
    2013 Chicago, Dallas & OKC
  • Niko80Niko80 Posts: 1,600
    I lost my dog last summer. I was devestated, still miss her!

    Losing that dog was the hardest thing yet. Losing grandparents has been way easier:-)
    I will swallow poison
  • Thanks everyone...your words mean allot...really.

    I smothered my fridge with her photos last night from happy, healthier days and it made me smile when I looked at them this AM.

    I know I did the right thing, but it still brings about funny feelings about if I did it too soon, strange philosophical meanderings about my control and others over the lives of domestic animals. Ahh well...heads still spinning.

    Thanks again...your all wonderful. :)

    Sam
  • callencallen Posts: 6,388
    Kingmidget wrote:
    Dam...this is hitting me so hard and it almost seems silly, but I had this great cat for 17 years...got hit with cancer.

    I haven't experienced this since I was a kid...I didn't recall how hard it was. I thought being there with her today would make it easier, but as she went limp I broke down and had to leave. Kind of shocked by my reaction.

    Not looking for remorse...just wondering if anyone else has been hit with this unexpectedly. I knew I'd be sad, but man I'm a wreck.

    The girlfriend is supportive, but this cat was not a part of her life as long as she was in mine.

    Its amazing me what this animal meant...I guess its hitting me now. Thanks for letting me vent

    Picked up Duke, mix from the Austin pound in 18 years ago....he was the man......traveled with me, made me smile every day...was just the greatest........I put him to rest last valentines day...and still shed a tear for him at least once a week.....fk its hard......have him on my screen saver on Cell phone...along with short clip......it will get better...but you'll always keep her in your thoughts. I held Duke as he took his last breath....fk gotta go now...
    10-18-2000 Houston, 04-06-2003 Houston, 6-25-2003 Toronto, 10-8-2004 Kissimmee, 9-4-2005 Calgary, 12-3-05 Sao Paulo, 7-2-2006 Denver, 7-22-06 Gorge, 7-23-2006 Gorge, 9-13-2006 Bern, 6-22-2008 DC, 6-24-2008 MSG, 6-25-2008 MSG
  • oh man... i am so sorry ...

    my doggie is 12 - my buddy and constant companion.
    she follows me from room to room and amuses us daily with her silliness.
    can't imagine her not being around.

    i feel your pain (and everyone else's as well)
    your sadness is totally understandable.


    lots of hugs to you!
    08 6/11 WPB 6/12 Tampa 6/24,25 MSG, 8/7 Ed @ Newark
    07 8/5 Lolla 8/2 VIC
    06 7/22,23 Gorge 7/20 Ptl
    04 10/8 VFC Kissimmee
    03 4/11 WPB, 4/12 HOB Orlando, 7/8,9 MSG
    00 8/24 Jones Bch 8/9,10 WPB
    1998 9/22,23 WPB 1996 10/7 Ft Laud 1994 3/28 Miami
  • Kingmidget wrote:
    Thanks everyone...your words mean allot...really.

    I smothered my fridge with her photos last night from happy, healthier days and it made me smile when I looked at them this AM.

    I know I did the right thing, but it still brings about funny feelings about if I did it too soon, strange philosophical meanderings about my control and others over the lives of domestic animals. Ahh well...heads still spinning.

    Thanks again...your all wonderful. :)

    Sam

    I started thinking the same things...
    I'm not lost, but I don't know where I am...David Byrne, Talking Heads

    Regal Theater, 1994--most amazing night ever.
  • velogatorvelogator Posts: 174
    to you. Had to put down my dog about a year ago, it is very difficult. Having to make that decision for a loved one is not easy, but it is the right thing to do. I hope this isn't morbid, but my wife and I had him creamated and we have his ashes.
    Manchester, TN - 2008
    Washington, D.C. - 2008
    Philadelphia, PA I - 2009
    Bristow, VA - 2010
    Baltimore, MD - 2013
    Milwaukee, WI - 2014
    Hampton, VA - 2016
  • RiverrunnerRiverrunner Posts: 2,419
    Kingmidget wrote:
    I know I did the right thing, but it still brings about funny feelings about if I did it too soon, strange philosophical meanderings about my control and others over the lives of domestic animals. Ahh well...heads still spinning.

    So sorry for your loss. I've been through the same thing too many times. I'm older than most of you on the board so have had several pets pass on in my life time. Unfortunately, it does not get easier. In fact, I think it gets more difficult. Like you said, I think about the life/death decision that I had to make, and wonder if it is fair that it is left up to me. If there was only some way they could make the decision. It is easier in some ways when a human dies because in most cases we don't feel a since of guilt or confusion over whether we made the right decision or not. In most cases, human deaths are out of our hands.

    All I can say is think about the good times. That is how your beloved cat would want to be remembered.
    The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals. Ghandi
  • I'll never forget when I had to put my last dog down. As she passed on there was a golden lab giving birth across the way. It was the total circle of life right in front of me. I'll never forget that moment.

    The days after were the worst, its the silence that gets you. It takes time like everything but it does get better. Whenever I read a thread about somebody looseing a pet. I always pet and hug my dog Gizmo just a little bit more.
  • I'll never forget when I had to put my last dog down. As she passed on there was a golden lab giving birth across the way. It was the total circle of life right in front of me. I'll never forget that moment.

    The days after were the worst, its the silence that gets you. It takes time like everything but it does get better. Whenever I read a thread about somebody looseing a pet. I always pet and hug my dog Gizmo just a little bit more.

    Yaaa...I dread the next days, weeks.. going home and not having her "whine" (she was great at that) for attention the minute I got in the door....she did this until her last day with me.

    And it was attention she always got through her final day, so I can feel good about that. But I will miss that cry for my affection...she purred like a locomotive. Friends always got a kick when I'd be on the phone and she'd be crawling all over me...they could hear that purr if she would be withn one foot of the phone. Geez...better move on to other things...this is breaking me up and I need to face customers.

    Thanks again everyone.
  • Marie CurieMarie Curie Posts: 1,250
    Kingmidget wrote:
    Thanks everyone...your words mean allot...really.

    I smothered my fridge with her photos last night from happy, healthier days and it made me smile when I looked at them this AM.

    I know I did the right thing, but it still brings about funny feelings about if I did it too soon, strange philosophical meanderings about my control and others over the lives of domestic animals. Ahh well...heads still spinning.

    Thanks again...your all wonderful. :)

    Sam

    I have to say that I never had to make this decision yet. The first dog I got is 13 and very healthy. But I lost a 6-year-old lab a couple of years ago. It was so shocking and unexpected, she got so sick so fast and ended up dying the night after being admitted to the vet hospital. Looking back, if I knew her condition was so serious, I would have let them put her out of her misery, or at least bring her back to die at home. To this day it still breaks my heart the fact that she died alone on that hospital :(
    “Life is life everywhere. Life is in ourselves and not outside us. There will be men beside me, and the important thing is to be a man among men and to remain a man always, whatever the misfortunes, not to despair and not to fall - that is the aim of life, that is its purpose.”
    Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  • I understand completely.

    I lost my favourite cat 2 years ago yesterday. It was a week before my birthday and I found her in my spare room collapsed. Took her to the vets and discovered she had kidney failure. She stayed in for a few days and improved a little so was allowed home. She sat on the sofa and hardly moved, didn't eat - it was heart breaking. Anyway, she had a totter to the litter tray and gave up, she collapsed. She'd had enough. She was carried back to the sofa and we made the decision to have her euthanized the next morning, my 22nd birthday.

    We took her to the vets in the morning and she passed peacefully, purring and being fussed by the people who loved her most.

    The grief for losing her was unbelievable. I remember just going to my room and sitting on the bed sobbing uncontrollably and wishing I could take it all back, I missed her so much. I mourned her for such a long time, she was my first pet that I'd taken in my own place after moving out of my parents and the first creature that depended on me and followed me around like my shadow. Whats more, 3 months later I had to have my pet rat euthanized.

    I still have a photo of her on my bookshelf to this day :)

    Losing a pet is losing a family member and it's perfectly normal to feel how you do.
    Been to this many PJ shows: Reading 2006 London 2007 Manchester & London 2009 Dublin, Belfast, London, Nijmegen & Berlin 2010 Manchester 1 & Manchester 2 2012...

    ... and I still think Drive-By Truckers are better.
  • I am so sorry for your loss. Just cherish your memories and be thankful for the time you had together. My mother-in-law sent me an article recently that made me feel better about the loss of a cat I had long ago. You might find it a little corny. You might not. It made me feel better knowing a place like this could exist. Here you go...



    Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

    When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
    All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

    They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

    You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

    Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....
    " When you want more than you have
    You think you need
    And when you think more than you want
    Your thoughts begin to bleed."
    E.V. Society


    "And by the way, their real and their spectacular!"
  • halvhalv Posts: 701
    I'm really sorry to hear about your cat.
    My cat is 17 years old and has recently not been doing so great. Has a thyroid condition and lost sight in one eye. A friend of mine lost a pet turkey and chicken in the same week. She's been devastated by this. I look at pets more as companions...other living beings your sharing your life with. It's obvious you gave your cat a great life.
  • I had to put down my dog last January. She was my best friend for 11 years. Consequently, it was the hardest/worst day of my life.

    Only time will heal your pain and sorrow. Then, when it feels right, bring another dog or cat home. You aren't replacing the friend you lost, but you have all this love to give so why not give it to a new friend. Your new pet will fill the gaping void in your heart and help you heal. Of course, you'll never forget the friend you lost. Ever.

    Hang in there, dude.
    Are you a screenwriter?
    www.screenplaymechanic.com
  • We had two cats- not related- one was 21 when we had her euthanized. She had been getting daily subcutaneous fluids for 3 or 4 years for kidney failure.
    ( guess who had to do that)
    She was an amazing cat.
    However she got weaker and weaker- although she still had good days- I was trying to keep her going, until my daughter who was away at college, could come home to be with us when we had her put to sleep.
    BUt then after we did that , we couldn't deal with putting her in the ground right away, so I put her in the freezer- until we could prepare a really nice place for her


    It sounds funny- but it helped to know she was still with us ;)

    ( the 2nd cat- died on her own- it was really sad- about a year & a half later, my younger daughter thought she heard her meowing, but we couldn't tell where it was coming from- she had seemed healthy- considering she was also about 19, but we found her in the garden the next morning- we put her in the freezer too, since my oldest daughter was still away at college & she was her cat)

    Now we just have the 13 year old lab- she is doing pretty good- but I don't have a freezer big enough for her :(


    Rainbow Bridge
    You must be the change you want to see in the world
    -Gandhi
  • CROJAM95CROJAM95 Posts: 9,870
    My family had to put down our 12 year old Golden Retreiver a few months back. It was hard since he was a loveable animal, but sadly his death was dwarfed by my fathers passing a month or so latter.2007 was a bitch for me personally.The dog was especially close to my dad, it is almost fitting that they went around the same time.I hope they are keeping eachother company.It was tough to grieve the dog being gone since my pop was sick for a while.Recently I have noticed it more. Little things hurt, but they also bring a smile to your face.
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