Loosing a family pet,

[niamhm]

had to take the family cat for the Big Sleep today ,knew it was coming , she was 16 and hadn`t been well for a while , but boy was it traumatic,the kids were devastated as was the Mrs, went myself with pussy willow to the surgery ,the vet. was great, really good ,and I must admit I shed a tear or two,feeling pretty low just now ,just got to keep telling myself it was for the best, sad day in the Mckenzie household, gonna see if some music helps...

[olan]

Sorry to hear that. Loosing a member of the family is very hard....

[spzretent]

The worst part is the owner having to make the decision.
My dad was a vet and I used to work for him on saturdays.
Usually the last few appointments were for euthanasia.
It was always tough to watch.
Plus I have lost my fair share of dogs over the years.
Horrible feeling. I'm sure it sounds trite now but time eases the pain.
Sorry for your loss.

[runcible]

You have my sympathy and lots of it. We had a bad period for cats here and lost 3 in less than a year - the pain is hard to describe and you feel almost guilty it hurts so much. I hope the positive memories - must be many of those with a 16 year old cat - will last a long time...

[redcloud]

Sorry to hear that man. I've been there too. We had to put a much loved cat down about 7 or so years ago. Very sad moment. We now have a very old beagle (12) and two cats (age 4) that we adopted from the Oregon Humane Society. We live literally 5 minutes from downtown, yet there is a forest that surrounds the city. There are coyotes in the woods and in the past three years we have lost two cats to coyotes and one to traffic. We have since decided to lock our two cats inside around dinner time before the sun sets and so far (touch wood) all is fine.

BUT, just this past summer our beautiful, long haired silver blue moggie (Romeo) became horribly ill after what we think was due to eating a mouse that had been poisoned or an exposure to toxoplasmosis. He stopped eating and drinking and within days he lost half his body weight and went into liver failure. We took him to the vet and after two days of fluids and attempting to force feed him (and $900 vet bill) they sent him home to us with some antibiotics but with the expectation that he may well die. My wife and I, determined we were not going to lose another cat literally spent 16 days hand feeding him three times a day a slurry of high protein cat food mixed with sardines and water. We also shot antibiotics down his throat and we even bought a bag of fluids and needles from the vet. For two weeks we fed, administered fluids and gave him medicine in our kitchen (we couldn't afford another $900+ bill). The day we saw him eat on his own was an amazing moment. I captured it on film and we both shed a tear. Romeo is now healthier than he has ever been, his coat is beautiful (sardines!) and he weighs more than he ever did. He's a true picture of health and a very special cat in our life. Our vet is also amazed and has praised us on many occasions.

I must also say that when our dog passes it will be a very, very sad moment. We have had him since Dec 1999. The kids have grown up with him and he is very much a big presence in our house. I can't even begin to imagine that dreadful day.

[Hofstadter]

Wow. You guys all sound like awesome, amazing owners/family members for your pets. I have never had an animal of any sort in my family, but if I ever do in the future, I'd want to model myself after yall. Condolences man.

[Luminescence]

Sorry to hear that. We lost two of our Greyhounds earlier this year. It's horrendous. You think they're just a pet, but you become so attached to them. Guess it's because there's no bad in a pet and they show us unconditional love.