To Love a Tabby
This handsome guy is my tabby, Fuego. We adopted him from the Humane Society 10 years ago (I can't believe it's been that long!) when he was six years old and he's been a constant, loving presence in our lives. We call him our "old man;" all he likes to do is sleep and he's been that way for a long time. That said, he likes to do it against you and he will issue a very quiet but distinctive purr to let you know how much he loves you. He's a little prince and he just went blind.
His health has been failing slowly for a couple of years now, but just this year he seemed to suffer some kind of stroke that left him much slower and more fragile than usual. He doesn't jump like he used to and he has a lot of potty accidents. The vet suggested putting him down and we agreed that it might be the most humane thing to do as much as we don't want to do it. Then our baby (well, two-year-old) tortoiseshell got sick and we used the funds for Fuego's euthenasia to treat her. Then her treatment didn't work and she died on us, and I'm still devastated over it a month later. I don't know if I've ever loved a cat that much and she was just so young.
Fuego just went blind a few days ago. We noticed when he started to bump into things. Coupled with his accidents and the way he yowls sometimes like he's in pain, I know we need to let him go. It's just very hard to do.
Have you ever had to euthanize a pet? How did you manage to do it?
Photo courtesy of sarajean