TG is holding Hearns, our 18-year old cat, who has been dying all day.
Actually, she’s been dying for a week, refusing food and barely able to take water; we’ve been giving her IV fluids for most of a year, and we stopped yesterday. She doesn’t seem to be in any discomfort, but hasn’t had the strength to move for a day or so now.
Littlest Guy and I dug a small grave for her in the yard this morning, and talked about what it meant to have responsibility for another living thing.
Condolences, AL. Hearns depends on you for love, attention, and companionship and, obviously, she’s getting a lot of that. It’s tough to lose an old friend like this.
I’m sorry. Although I am a dog lover versus a cat lover, pets become a part of our family – a part of us.
When our dog Snooper, couldn’t eat any more and wouldn’t take himself outside, and feeding him by hand make no difference, we knew it was his time.
After he breathed his last, my husband took his 4 wheel drive up on top of a local hill via a road he created himself and sat upon that hill for a while. I sat at home and cried like a baby.
Snooper had been an answer to prayer… Remember the Night Stalker of So Cal? Well, we lived in the general area in a yellow house. I prayed for a dog like “Lassie” – a dog that would protect my children and become a part of our family. Several months after his capture low and behold this little bundle of fur was found by my kids.
He was not only a protector of my children but a friend to us all. He was our “3rd” child for almost 15 years……..
We still miss him to this day.
Pets are special, they are like our children, and our heart hurts when we lose them. We are fortunate to have a 2nd Snooper — Pepper is his name. He is a 115 pound black lab with a little rotwiler thrown in.
He is a big teddy bear, a protector of my granddaughter now and my 4th child….
My thoughts and prayers are with you…..
Cheryl
Sounds like renal failure. We have a 13 yr old cat in the early stages. You’ve given us an idea of what is to come.
FWIW, renal failure is a non-painful and very peaceful way to pass. The toxins that are normally removed by the kidneys will slowly build up in the blood; and the patient goes into a euphoric state (gets high), goes to sleep and passes. It’s how my father made his transition.
Dude. That sucks. My first cat had very similar problems, and was eventually put down prior to actually dying of renal failure. For the last few years of his life my mother (a nurse; she took care of him after I left for college) had to give him insulin shots every day. He died over 10 years ago, and it’s still hard to write about.
My wife and I got two kittens shortly after we married, and next week will be our 13th anniversiary; before too many more years, I’ll have to have the same conversation with my “littlest guy” (and little girl) you’re having now, and I so not looking forward to that. Good luck & God speed to you and yours.
Man, I do feel for you and totally understand. We have 3 cats now and have a small graveyard in the back for 6 others. We lost one last April and the pain is still there. Take care and know that kind thoughts are with you at this time.
Lynn
Armed, i am so sorry.
They never live as long as we do, and when you take an animal into your life, I think you make a pact with them. No heroic measures, and I will never keep you alive for my own needs. How do you tell a cat or or a dog, i’m going to cut on you (surgery) and make you real sick (chemo) so I don’t have to give you up just yet?
My vet hands out pamphlets with this in them.
“Rainbow Bridge”:http://www.petloss.com/poems/maingrp/rainbowb.htm
Sorry, man. I don’t like cats as a general rule, but I liked Mrs. P’s first cat, Aslan. Your story reminds me of his final days.
Hearns, you can go now. It’s safe and nothing will harm you. It’s time to go.
It’s time for Hearns to yield responsiblity for the care and feeding of her pet humans to the next generation of rulers. Eighteen years is a long time to exert dominion over a household without rest.
[My master is a large (9kg), exceptionally fluffy creature named Alexander. Alexander recently required skin cancer surgery, but fortunately his alert servant had caught it early enough during a thorough brushing/worship session. As a reward for my faithful service, Alexander has become much friendlier. He hasn’t bitten my gonads during intimate encounters with my woman for quite some time now, and he even passes up the opportunity to bite my hand while purring! I am truly blessed.]
TJ,
But biting dangly bits is fun! 🙂
So sorry to hear about your cat. My oldest cat, Fremont, is 13 and is in the final stages of cancer. Losing a cat is _so_ hard. My best wishes to Hearns for love, dignity, and peace in her final days and hours.
Sorry to hear it, AL, and condolences. I lost a fifteen year old a year ago.
Sorry to hear that, AL. Over Christmas, we had to put down the best Golden Retriever that there’s ever been. She was an obediance champion, and training her helped my wife get past her abuse problems. Copper was also the warmest, friendliest, most empathetic dog I’ve ever known or heard of.
Losing a favored pet is heartbreaking, and many of us stand with you.
Oh sweetie, so sorry to hear it. My condolenced to all of you. Hugs…
AL: I will be forever grateful to Hearns for being such a model patient and by “her example”:http://windsofchange.net/archives/005815.php, giving me the “confidence”:http://www.acepryhill.com/archives/000573.html that I would be able to care for Uno with her IV injections.
It is my hope that her last moments are peaceful and that she is surrounded by her loving people.
They know when it’s time and I think they appreciate the peaceful love and support.
I’m primarily a dog person and have gone through this with several. We tried heroics with one girl and in retrospect, extended the length of her life at the expense of its quality. I won’t do that again.
The hardest was a newborn pup of my breeding who wasn’t going to make it. The mother (an incredibly attentive caretaker of her own and other puppies) knew, and pushed this one away when it was 3 days old … I fed it by hand hourly, kept it warm and extended its life by 2 more futile days. That was the one I dug the small grave for and I still think of that little guy when I’m over by the stand of birch trees.
That we can grieve for them is a sign of what they give to us.
So sad.
It makes me think of the people in Iraq who had to bury their own human children killed by Saddam or Coalition forces.
Tragedies come in all shapes and sizes. Our lives are made better, collectively, when we all work to prevent this kind of pain from being inflicted on each other.
My heart goes out to you – Hearns is a lucky kitty to have survived CRF for so long. We lost our 20 yr old Fooz to CRF a couple of years ago.
Prayers and good vibes to you and to Hearns. She will always be alive as a part of you.
A Abu M;
Those children died in the name of freedom. A greater cause cannot be envisioned. It was worth it.
A.L., I’m so sorry. I lost a cat to FIV slighly more than ten years ago – she was a special gift, both in finding her, and losing her. She was a noble creature and taught me nobility by example. I cherish her memory every day. You and your family will walk with the living presence of Hearns, forever.
She died this afternoon; when we got home she was in the laundry basket we’d set up for her under the window.
TG had just picked me up, and we wrapped her in a Fast by Ferraci T-shirt and set her in the grave Littlest Guy and I had dug.
We covered her, raked the ground and went and sat for a bit…
A.L.
I’m terribly sorry.
Camille was 17 when she died, but I wasn’t with her—we were not living in our house, and having learned the hard way that she hated moving, I wrote “Take care of my cat” into the lease. The renters were so upset to tell me, even though the last time I visited her after a year away, she looked at me and yawned. I think that’s what I like about cats.
I left the cat hair on my black suitcase for six years. Finally the suitcase gave out.
{{{A.L. and family}}}
I am so sorry for your loss. It sounds like Hearns had a peaceful end to a long and happy life.
One question for you – what does her name mean?
LOL – when we got her as a kitten, she had a sister who we also took. The tended to spar a lot, so we named them Hearns and Hagler, after two excellent boxers at the time…
…as opposed to my old cats from long ago, who were named Hottentot and Hohenzollern. I’ll leave the source of those names as an exercise…
A.L.