Tiger- b. Apr 1993, d Dec 31 2007
Today I had to make one of the hardest decisions of my adult life. I had to have Tiger, the younger of my two cats, put to sleep. He had been battling hyperthyroidism since July. Right after Christmas, he quit eating. We tried syringe-feeding him for a couple of days and he ate nothing those two days except what we essentially force-fed him. Based on that, we knew it was time to let him go.
(Warning: reader discretion advised- sad content follows. In other words don't read if you don't want to cry.)
I had been keeping Travis posted about what had been going on, so he knew this was a possibility. Tiger had always been his favorite of the 3 cats and when we divorced, he would have liked to taken Tiger with him. He knew, though, that Smoky and Tiger were old friends- we had gotten Tiger when Smoky was a year old; they had been together all of their lives and it would have devastated them at ages 13.5 and 12.5 to have separated them. Because of that Tiger and Smoky both stayed with me and Oliver, who was the much later addition (he adopted us in 1999 when the older two were 6 and 7) went with Travis. It worked well because Olly always managed to bug the piss out of Smoky and Tiger, and it still gave Rhianna a familiar furry presence at her father's. Because of those features, I had already planned to give Travis the chance to be present if/when it came time to euthanize Tiger. It was, in my eyes, the only kind and decent thing to do.
So this afternoon, we met up at Animal Aid. Rhianna had decided earlier in the day that she wanted to be there. I gave her the choices of not being in the same building at all (e.g. going to day camp), being in the building but stepping outside of the room during the process, or being there to the end. She chose the latter. So all 3 of us loved on Tiger and shed tears together while the vet & tech got everything ready. Dr Gurht knew we were going to be coming and, therefore, was pretty well ready for us. The way they work payment is that all you pay is the office visit fee and then whatever donation that you are willing/able to do; that money goes for spay/neuter assistance and for emergency animal care. Travis was kind enough to pick up the tab for that knowing I had been paying for everything else.
Everybody was so kind with us and gentle in handling Tiger. They explained exactly what would happen and what we might see and also gave a referral for somewhere we could go if any of us (and especially Rhianna) needed some grief counseling after his death. They gave him a sedative before injecting him with the anesthetic agent that ended his life. He went quickly, quietly, and very peacefully. He just drifted away. We were able to leave through the side door so we didn't have to walk out through the busy waiting room. It was a small mercy but an appreciated one. We wrapped his still-warm body in the towel that had lined his carrier and put it back in the carrier to bring it home to bury.
Travis followed us along in his car back to the house and did the lion's share of the work in digging a hole to bury Tiger in. While he did that, I placed him in a small box lined with one of Rhianna's old flannel baby blankets. The three of us filled in his grave. As of yet it is unmarked but I think Rhianna and I will go get one of the garden stone kits and will make a pretty marker of some sort.
The house sure feels empty with just one cat in it, but I know we did the right thing. Not only was he not spontaneously eating kitty food, he wouldn't even eat kitty treats. Holding him in his favorite upside down position made it hard for him to breathe. He didn't purr when he was petted anymore. His quality of life really took a nose-dive over the last few days. It was much kinder to help him go instead of having him linger on and be miserable. It is a relief knowing he's OK instead of wondering what I was going to come home to. One day it will be time to add another feline friend to the family.
(Warning: reader discretion advised- sad content follows. In other words don't read if you don't want to cry.)
I had been keeping Travis posted about what had been going on, so he knew this was a possibility. Tiger had always been his favorite of the 3 cats and when we divorced, he would have liked to taken Tiger with him. He knew, though, that Smoky and Tiger were old friends- we had gotten Tiger when Smoky was a year old; they had been together all of their lives and it would have devastated them at ages 13.5 and 12.5 to have separated them. Because of that Tiger and Smoky both stayed with me and Oliver, who was the much later addition (he adopted us in 1999 when the older two were 6 and 7) went with Travis. It worked well because Olly always managed to bug the piss out of Smoky and Tiger, and it still gave Rhianna a familiar furry presence at her father's. Because of those features, I had already planned to give Travis the chance to be present if/when it came time to euthanize Tiger. It was, in my eyes, the only kind and decent thing to do.
So this afternoon, we met up at Animal Aid. Rhianna had decided earlier in the day that she wanted to be there. I gave her the choices of not being in the same building at all (e.g. going to day camp), being in the building but stepping outside of the room during the process, or being there to the end. She chose the latter. So all 3 of us loved on Tiger and shed tears together while the vet & tech got everything ready. Dr Gurht knew we were going to be coming and, therefore, was pretty well ready for us. The way they work payment is that all you pay is the office visit fee and then whatever donation that you are willing/able to do; that money goes for spay/neuter assistance and for emergency animal care. Travis was kind enough to pick up the tab for that knowing I had been paying for everything else.
Everybody was so kind with us and gentle in handling Tiger. They explained exactly what would happen and what we might see and also gave a referral for somewhere we could go if any of us (and especially Rhianna) needed some grief counseling after his death. They gave him a sedative before injecting him with the anesthetic agent that ended his life. He went quickly, quietly, and very peacefully. He just drifted away. We were able to leave through the side door so we didn't have to walk out through the busy waiting room. It was a small mercy but an appreciated one. We wrapped his still-warm body in the towel that had lined his carrier and put it back in the carrier to bring it home to bury.
Travis followed us along in his car back to the house and did the lion's share of the work in digging a hole to bury Tiger in. While he did that, I placed him in a small box lined with one of Rhianna's old flannel baby blankets. The three of us filled in his grave. As of yet it is unmarked but I think Rhianna and I will go get one of the garden stone kits and will make a pretty marker of some sort.
The house sure feels empty with just one cat in it, but I know we did the right thing. Not only was he not spontaneously eating kitty food, he wouldn't even eat kitty treats. Holding him in his favorite upside down position made it hard for him to breathe. He didn't purr when he was petted anymore. His quality of life really took a nose-dive over the last few days. It was much kinder to help him go instead of having him linger on and be miserable. It is a relief knowing he's OK instead of wondering what I was going to come home to. One day it will be time to add another feline friend to the family.