Im in serious need of consoling. I had to put my kitty to sleep 2 days ago and Ive never had to do that before to any of my many other animals.
She had cancer from what my vet could gather (ill get results this friday)
It infected her lungs and heart and she was having such trouble breathing so I decided to put her to sleep because she didnt deserve to die gasping for air.

She was 11 years old and Ive had her since I was 15 years old. She's been through everything with me and Im so devestated that I cant stop crying. I had her cremated and will get her ashes Friday as well but I cant find the perfect urn for her.

Anybody out there go through this before?

I am so sorry!

When my Husband and I got together we got 2 kitties. We lost one to cancer and the other to other complications 12 and 13 years later. It's very hard! My husband is a Cancer Doc and he considered trying to give Kyle chemo but in the end chose to let him go, as the quality of life wouldn't have been good.

I am so sorry for your pain

Here's a from me too Sandi, I have been through this several times with dogs and I certainly understand your pain and hurt. I know how hard it is for you.

Thank you both

I understand how you feel sandi, over the last 7 years or so I've had to put down two childhood cats( one to cancer and one due to dementia) and my beloved dog susie who also had cancer.

Here's a big hug for you , the pain will go away I promise

thank you

At the moment it feels like itll never go away but I know in time itll hurt less, I just wish it wouldnt take this long

Me & her were so attached to each other. She was the only animal that I ever was able to really bond with.

I just feel so lost without her

I understand the feeling two well. My horse and my dog died within eight months of each other. I've been dealing with this pain for the past year now. I had to put down my horse but my dog died of cancer (on his own, in his sleep).

Sandy *HUGS*

I've never had to do such thing, but I know how hard it is to give a love one away.... but know she is resting without pain now

I am putting my dog tomorrow. Not looking forward to this.
Like he is a 10-12 year old lab mix and three, four weeks ago our pool guy noticed he was limping more than usual (which sounds bad, but Lucky has always used only three of his four legs). Took him to the vet and did a buttload of x-rays, turned out a kid shot him with a bb gun in the foot (it was close to the surface so it wouldn't have been a visable ouchie) a few months ago. It was infected and they ran a lot of tests and showed that as a puppy his hip was broken intentionally (we got him when he was a year and some months) and the vet said he only had 50% lung compacity along with arthitis and a head tumor. Oh and he lost his mate 6 months ago as well so he was depressed. We thought "get the infection out, get the bb out, keep him inside, and everything will work itself out". Over the weeks he'd eat and then throw up or not eat at all, just lay on the couch all day, he'd go halfway to the mail box with me, but have a hacking cough all night and day. Went Monday for a check up appointment and my mom told me to ask the vet honestly what he thought about Lucky's life. He showed me the x-rays and showed me the area where the previous vet said it was just bad lungs. Said it was blockage and the bb was just a tiny part of the massive problem and that it'd be an act of mercy to put him down. I couldn't put him down then, so I went home and told my family. We thought two weeks, but Lucky eats and then vomits his food up within a few minutes with blood in it. Also he has poopy problems.
So tomorrow I am taking him to the vet. I don't know... what do they do when they put them down? Are they gentle? I have never done this by myself. I am scared for him. I am getting the ashes made into a stone for the garden (which sounds morbid) and burying his leashes and colars.

I keep telling myself that but it was the hardest decision I ever had to make but I didnt want her to die gasping for air. She deserved better than that

Kim first of all It takes a lot of courage to do this. I just went through this (I started the thread) My vet gave my kitty a shot to relax and then just gave her a shot to make her a sleep. She didnt make any noise..she just fell asleep and I held her through it. It took like a second it seemed. Ashes into stone huh? Good Idea. Ive never heard of that.

One question though - why couldnt they just amputate his leg if its infected? Wouldnt that have helped? When I was younger we had to do that to my family dog and he lived a good while longer.

Kim I know what a hard decision this it but sometimes it's for the best if they are suffering. If you possibly can do it stay with him and hold him it is very difficult but he will be with someone he knows and loves instead of in the hands of strangers. Take care and stay strong for him.

Sandi is right they just relax and go to sleep.

Remember we are all here for you.

Kay

Kim - It's very peaceful putting your animal down. They feel no pain. I know from experience. I also know because I worked for a vet for a great number of years and have seen some of my favourite patients put to sleep. Not easy but a great comfort when you see them in pain and then put at ease.

:hugs:

Kim - It's very peaceful putting your animal down. They feel no pain. I know from experience. I also know because I worked for a vet for a great number of years and have seen some of my favourite patients put to sleep. Not easy but a great comfort when you see them in pain and then put at ease.

[quote=\"Sandi\"][quote=arimi]Sandy *HUGS*

I keep telling myself that but it was the hardest decision I ever had to make but I didnt want her to die gasping for air. She deserved better than that[/quote]

What did she have? Your kitten exactly...

Thanks for the kind words, everyone.
I got it organized. I figured if I had it all set up before it happened and I could just take Lucky in and not have to figure out what'll be on the stone and everything it'll be good. Lucky and I are sleeping in the family room tonight together with the other dogs and cat. I figured out the burial arrangements. They are going to cremate him and then put his ashes into a garden stone and have his name carved into it. They asked if I wanted his date of birth and date of death on there, but he's a shelter dog so we don't know when he was born. Instead I asked if I bring a copy of the Irish/Celtic trinity knot they could engrave that instead of the date stuff. My family is major Celtic (Dad is German, Irish, Highlands of Scotland and my Mom is Irish) and we have the knots and crosses going through our house and outside and even though Labs are Canadian, Lucky is Celtic through association. I am going to bury his colars and leashes along with his mate's stuff under the stone. Sound okay? My grandma liked it.

Oh and regarding the amputating of his foot the vet said they could have gotten the infection out and the bullet was at the surface. Just he had so many things wrong with him, but it seemed like a month ago he was fine and now... I talked to my city council about making parents pay a high fine if their child is caught with a bb gun without parental supervision and the chief of police is talking to my homeowners association sometime soon. Like when I went on Monday to the vet with Lucky everyone decided to tell me these horror stories about their pets and bb guns so I don't know...

My kitty had cancer in her lungs and it spread really quickly and she wasnt getting enough oxygen. I had actually taken her home after an emergency visit hoping she would pass away in her sleep like all my other animals growing up. Ive never had to put anyone to sleep. She was first and hopefully my only but now I know how to be brave for them. I had to do it because I could tell she was fighting it and as we all know cancer isnt always fightable. Every breath she took was a struggle and it was seriously killing me. I still miss her very much that writing this actually has me in tears. She was my bestfriend and will always mean the world to me

Good for you trying to make a change! BB guns are a hazard. When I was younger 2 of my friends ended up in the hospital in alot of pain because my other idiot friend shot them by mistake

I was so... weepy while putting Lucky down. Seriously it was embarrassing. My vet is in the middle of a Petsmart and you have to walk past all the adoptable dogs to get to the vet. That sucked. Then they showed me what I had ordered. I saw this stone thing and it was SO UGLY. It was a rock that you find in the hills, spray painted a color, then with a little wood plaque with the dog's name in it, and a little drawer to put the ashes in. So I had to get everything re-worked while I am sitting there crying like a baby. I was a mess and all the vets and techs gave me hugs and said that he went down fine and such. What irked me the most was I was leaving (my face looked like I had been punched because I was a mess.) and I saw the vet smoking outside. I ordered Lucky in a cedar box without his d.o.b. or d.o.d. is that okay and I will bury his colar and such in his favorite spot in the backyard. The only problem now is I see all these Lab puppies and I want to take them home because I know I can deal with the terrible puppyhood (been there, done that) and I know I could give them a good home. I am thinking too in the back of my mind one of those puppies could be Lucky. That's probably dumb.

Sandi- awww... I am sorry.

My heart goes out to everyone here that has recently lost their pets

I lost one of my rats a couple of weeks ago, She was a fighter, but pneumonia got her. I felt bad because I'd left her with the vet in the morning, while he tried to save her, but when it became obvious nothing could be done, I gave permission to have her euthanased. So I wasn't there with her at the end, and I felt guilty. But the vet was fantastic! He wrapped her in a towel and carefully laid her back in the carry cage I have, so she wouldn't be too distressing for me when I collected her that evening. They treat her body with respect, and I'm grateful for that!

Over the years I've lost 4 rats, numerous rabbits, and 5 dogs. The rats have always died of pneumonia (they're prone to it), and most of the dogs lived a full life and had to be put down due to complications with old age. Only one had a short lifespan - she had leukemia and died naturally one weekend. We knew she was dying, but she was happy and not in pain, so we didn't go the euthanasia route. Then, one day, she just curled up my Mum's feet, put her head on Mum's foot, sighed, and died...

It's never easy losing them And even harder when it's our decision to end their life. It always leaves me devastated! All the pets are buried in my parents garden - we joke that we'll run out of space soon

Euthanasia is painless, by the way. The animals are given an overdose of pentabarbital, which is an anaesthetic. So they literally go to sleep before they die, and they feel nothing.

Its also extremely quick..I barely had time to take a breath and she was gone

Kim~ I think this is a lovely ritual. So many people seem to feel such things are silly concerning the death of a pet but I think it's very important. For many/most of us our pets can be as close as family. They ARE family. We need the ritual to honor them and to help ourselves cope with the grief.

We lost a kitty a while back and the vet “took care” of her for us. My husband never recovered that we hadn’t brought her home. At the time it was the thing to do. Cold massive rain for days and we had a baby.

Later when we lost another kitty my husband had the Vet’s hold him for us thru 9 days of 2 hurricanes back to back and a flood so we could bury him. I can see his resting place out the window even now as I type.

Letting an animal go is another horrible sedition. On the kitty we buried during the flood. He should have died years before but my husband couldn’t bare to part with him. He’s a doc and you can keep an animal alive if you go to extraordinary measures. But it’s not the best thing to do. He finally let go an hour after my husband told him it was OK.

There are times when the kindest thing is to just let them go. But how to make such a decision? I have horses and that is very hard. It’s difficult to deal with a dead horse. If they die acutely it’s very difficult. They are very big. The horrors of moving them to a gravesite intensifies the death itself.

I have a horse who I will have to make such a horrible choice in the near future. She’s 26, old for her breed. Her mother died when she was 8 weeks old so I raised this mare by hand. She was my baby. I have a place to lay her and I watch her every day. At times I thought we were getting close then she’ll rally. Her teeth aren’t so good, she’s getting skinny, she’s been on special food for 5 years but I’m going to have to move her to even more special food when I next get grain Wednesday. I pray I will know the right time to let her go. But thankfully it’s not today.

Sandi - I just read bout your kitty, I'm sooo sorry.

We had to do this a couple of years ago. My mom had a Cocker Spaniel, we had her for 17 years [a long time for a Cocker]. In the end it was jsut too hard for her. She was blind, deaf, had problems with arthritis and then just confusion all around. We knew we needed to do it.

Dad scheduled an appointment, but mom found out. She didn't tell dad that she knew. She was upset that he didn't bring her the ashes... she wanted to spread them in her garden where Cinnamon always dug.

Mom had a really hard time. The next year dad got her another Cocker for her Birthday. A different color. Mom loves her, but still misses Cinnamon sometimes.

to all!!

I wanted my kitty to pass away at home and I kept telling her to please let go but she knew deep down I didnt really want that. Her and I could always read each other extremely well. Of course she also didnt want to go since she was only 11 years old. She was fighting for me.

Her and I had a bond that was sooo tight and I know Ill never find it again. I know Ill see her again when I pass away - she'll be waiting for me ready to jump on my lap and sleep on my butt!
That was the hardest to deal with - she always slept on me..I was her bed (she was only 8 pounds at her heaviest). I miss the feeling of her on my while I sleep.

Im just so glad that my boyfriend soon to be fiancee got to meet her and fall in love with her. She was the love of my life It was us against the world - Ok I need to stop because I cant stop crying now

Thank you HowdyPez

Vin - I didn't realise that Fae is so close to the end of her life (it was Fae you were talking about?). You will know when it's the right time though. However, much it hurts to make the decision...

I agree about the ritual in order to be able to grieve and move on. With the dogs, we always marked their graves with a headstone of sorts. But with the rats I've developed a new ritual. They each get a miniature daffodil planted above them. A small flower for a small creature . It doesn't matter how long I have to wait until they come into season and I'm able to buy the plant, they get that plant! Raven's is currently sitting atop her, in full bloom