Making the hard decisions...

So, at the end of Friday's blog entry I mentioned that I thought Saturday would prove to be a difficult day. Boy was I right. Tony and I ended up having to take our kitty Stranger in to the vet to be put to sleep. :-( He was such a sweet kitty, I'm really going to miss him.

This was probably the hardest decision I've had to make. He and I used to lay on the couch together and watch TV. I would put my arm around him and through his arms and I would scratch on his chest and chin. He would purr and purr and purr, louder than a motor boat.

This was so sudden for us, two days after his diagnosis we were taking him back in to be euthanized. That is what was so sad for us. But, we did get to bring him home for a few days so that we could love on him for a little longer and say goodbye in our own way. The reason we had to take him in was because he wasn't eating or drinking and he would not come out from under the bed. I didn't want him to starve to death slowly, how painful and horrible would that be... So, I had to make the difficult decision to just take him in and take away his pain the best way I knew how. I will always have those last moments with him at the vet. The animals are given 2 shots during this procedure, one is basically a great margarita sedative and it sort of makes them go to sleep and relax. The next is an overdose of anesthesia and that stops their breathing. I stayed for the first shot, but had to leave before they gave him the second shot. I knew when the first shot took affect because he quit purring and just started to breathe nice and easy. Cats not only purr when they are content/happy, they also purr when they are nearing the end of their life or if scared or in pain. I was petting Stranger as he was on the table and he just purred and purred. I know a lot of it was because he was probably in a lot of pain and very scared at this point, but he did stretch out his neck a few times for me to scratch under his chin, so I know he did like me petting him. I talked with him for a long time Thursday and Friday nights and even fell asleep with him on the floor a few times. I told him some of the best memories I have of him and talked to him about how we will miss him. I talked, cried and prayed for strenth a lot.

Today while working from home I opened the door on a special delivery addressed to us. Our Veterinarian's office sent us a house plant with their condolences. I thought that was one of the nicest gestures, we were definitely not expecting that at all. If any of you are looking for a good vet, Northern Oaks Bird and Animal Hospital. Dr. Byrd is great.

Thank you very much to all of our family and friends for all of your love, support and well wishes over the last couple of days. It means a lot to us to have you in our lives.

I've got to go, just writing the paragraphs above made me cry, I hadn't cried today, I guess I was due.

Much love,
Lisa