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Registered: ‎06-25-2018

this may help anyone who has to make a difficult choice

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Posts: 3,580
Registered: ‎06-03-2010

Re: this may help anyone who has to make a difficult choice

@shortbreadlover  Thank you for posting.  That is a hard decision that all of us who love and adore our pets will have to make at some point.  It's never easy, but I try to remember that they do not understand all the tests, probing, surgeries, and endless visits to the vet and not feeling any better. 

 

I think it's important to remember that they are counting on us to make the right decision when there isn't any options left, even if it is not the decision that we want.

 

I cry whenever I think of having to make that decision.  It's absolutely heartbreaking. 



......You look like I need a drink.....
Honored Contributor
Posts: 19,658
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: this may help anyone who has to make a difficult choice

IF IT SHOULD BE

If it should be that I grow weak
And pain should keep me from my sleep,
Then you must do what must be done,
For this last battle cannot be won.

You will be sad, I understand.
Don't let your grief then stay your hand.
For this day, more than all the rest,
Your love for me must stand the test.

We've had so many happy years.
What is to come can hold no fears.
You'd not want me to suffer so;
The time has come -- please let me go.

Take me where my need they'll tend,
And please stay with me till the end.
Hold me firm and speak to me,
Until my eyes no longer see.

I know in time that you will see
The kindness that you did for me.
Although my tail its last has waved,
From pain and suffering I've been saved.

Please do not grieve -- it must be you
Who had this painful thing to do.
We've been so close, we two, these years;
Don't let your heart hold back its tears.

You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.
Honored Contributor
Posts: 17,892
Registered: ‎07-03-2013

Re: this may help anyone who has to make a difficult choice

I was thinking I needed to make this decision for my late kitty.  He was shy of his 18th birthday and had a few issues.  I was so upset when he passed on his own because it was a surprise.

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Posts: 13,484
Registered: ‎11-24-2013

Re: this may help anyone who has to make a difficult choice

@KingstonsMom I've read this a number of times and, like today, each time I read it I bawl my eyes out. Smiley Sad

Honored Contributor
Posts: 19,658
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: this may help anyone who has to make a difficult choice

@Love my grandkids 

 

I found this when I was trying to face the inevitable with one of my fur loves, Harley.

 

It helped me realize that I had no choice but to think about what was best for him, not my own selfish desire to not be without him.

 

RIP my dear Harley, I still miss you every day.Heart

 

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You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.
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Posts: 6,120
Registered: ‎03-29-2019

Re: this may help anyone who has to make a difficult choice


@CAcableGirl2 wrote:

@shortbreadlover  Thank you for posting.  That is a hard decision that all of us who love and adore our pets will have to make at some point.  It's never easy, but I try to remember that they do not understand all the tests, probing, surgeries, and endless visits to the vet and not feeling any better. 

 

I think it's important to remember that they are counting on us to make the right decision when there isn't any options left, even if it is not the decision that we want.

 

I cry whenever I think of having to make that decision.  It's absolutely heartbreaking. 


 

 

 

 

 

 

@CAcableGirl2 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About five years ago, I had my heart cat, Blackie. If an animal can be a person's "soulmate", he was mine.

 

He was about fifteen years old then, and he had stopped eating.

 

I took him to his vet to have him check over, and the vet gave him a injection of something to help stimulate his appetite, which worked for about 24-hours.

 

When he stopped eating again, I again took him to the vet, and a different vet examined him, nose to tail. and did some other stuff. What, I don't remember.

 

I do remember her telling me that to treat him, I would have to bring him in on a set schedule for treatment, but even with treatment, he would never be like he once was.

 

 

I knew that it wouldn't be fair to him to keep taking him to the vet for a treatment that wasn't going to make him 100%, and I knew that he wouldn't want to go through that.

 

 

So, I made the heart-breaking decision to have him put down.

 

When he was young, I made a solemn vow and promise to him that I would never let him have even one moment of suffering.

 

I'd rather say good-bye one day too early, rather than one day too late.

 

I looked in to his eyes, and stroked his long black fur, and told him oer and over again that I loved him, so that I was the last person he saw, the touch that he felt, and the last voice that he heard.

 

I'm tearing up now, just thinking about that moment.

The Sky looks different when you have someone you love up there.
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Posts: 3,580
Registered: ‎06-03-2010

Re: this may help anyone who has to make a difficult choice

@Anonymous032819  reading your post brought tears to my eyes.  I have been there, when they are looking at you, and you know deep inside that it's time and they know it's time too.  They are ready to go, and it's the most difficult thing to do.

 

I know when my dear doggies need to go, I will need to call my ex who loves them too, because I will be an absolute mess. 



......You look like I need a drink.....
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 6,120
Registered: ‎03-29-2019

Re: this may help anyone who has to make a difficult choice

Shortly after my cat Blackie died, I felt an overwhelming need to write his story, so I did.

 

Have tissues with you.

 

 

I titled it "Blackie's Last Story"

 

 

 

 

 

I am old. I have lived for fifteen summers. This will be my last. I won't live to see the seasons change. I am in the winter of my life.

 


I have only lived with one human for the entirety of my life, and I wish that I didn't have to leave her, but my body is betraying me. I have no choice, no say in the matter. It's not a matter of if I die, but when.

 

 

I see my human struggling with coming to terms with my mortality. It's so hard on her! She cries and cries and cries. I know that her heart is breaking, and my heart breaks for her. I know that she is struggling with accepting the reality of my mortality. I wish that I could comfort her, but my body is quickly shutting down. I know that she is going to have a difficult time letting me go, but it is something that she will have to do.

 

 

I have already talked with Charlie, the other cat that lives with us. He's a good guy. He loves my human, too. I have told him that I am dying, and asked him to look after my human after I am gone. I asked him to comfort her through her grief, because I know that she will need it.

 

 

Charlie said that he would.

 

 

Yesterday, when my human fell asleep from the exhaustion of crying, I stole outside one last time. I have always loved the outdoors. I loved the feel of the warmth of the sun on my long, black fur, and the wind ruffling it. I even didn't mind when it would gently rain. My favorite thing to do was to hunt. The thrill of stalking my prey, only to finally capture it. Oh, how my human would make such a fuss and praise me!

 

 

 

I wanted to feel the sun on me one last time. I wanted to feel the wind on my fur for one last time. I took stock of my life, and I knew that I had lived a good one. I just wish that I didn't have to leave my human! I don't want to leave her! I love her! But, as I said, I am dying. I can accept my mortality, the question is, can my human? How long will she have me linger in a body that no longer works? How long until she lets my soul run free? On the one paw, I hope that it's soon, as my body is quickly giving out. Yet, on the other paw, I want to treasure every moment that my human and I have left.

 

 

My human just came home and I pleaded with her to end my sickness. She responded by telling me that she heard me and understood what it was that I was saying. She then looked deep in to my eyes, and told me that today was the day that I was going to die.

 

 

It's bitter-sweet knowing that you are going to die soon. Yes, I'm glad that my suffering will soon be over, but as I said before, I just wish that I didn't have to leave her, because I love her so.

 

 

My human put me in to my carrier for one last trip to see my doctor, and on this trip, I don't cry, not even once, because I know that my journey will be over soon. And, a part of me is looking forward to it.

 

 

 

We are in a little room, waiting for my doctor to come in. My human can't take her hands off of me. We both know that it's only a matter of time now. I am ready. My human tells me over and over again, just how much she loves me, and how much she will miss me.

 

 

 

The feeling is mutual.

 

 

The doctor comes in and examines me, and tells my human the cold, hard reality of my deterorating health. Nothing can be done to bring me back to the healthy cat that I was in my prime. Thankfully, my human doesn't want to subject me to any "treatments". She knows that I wouldn't want that.

 

 

She knows me so well.

 

 

Just like I know her so well.

 

 

My human resigns herself to the only "option" that is left. She tells my doctor to end my suffering.

 

 

Finally.

 

 

The doctor shaves a spot on my foreleg, then injects something that makes me very sleepy.

 

 

My human is petting me, telling me over and over again, that she loves me, all the while looking in to my eyes.

 

 

My human, that I love with all of my heart, and have trusted with my very life, is the last thing I see, hear and feel, as things grow distant and dark.

 

Finally, I am free.

 

The Sky looks different when you have someone you love up there.
Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,757
Registered: ‎09-06-2014

Re: this may help anyone who has to make a difficult choice

Unfortunately, it is part of being a pet Mom.  I know people who say they will never get another animal because it hurts too much to let them go.  It is devastating but with time I have always adopted another cat.  There are so many that need homes and they add so much love to your life.