Sad - cat of around 18 years is being euthanized

My cat of around 18 years is being euthanized on Wednesday.
He has survived an amazing range of problems, from prolonged kidney failure to being outdoors, his collar wrapped around his shoulder, for weeks last winter.

The kidney problems have returned, and he's had a kidney stone for a couple of weeks now. He's pretty darn miserable, his coat is becoming extremely shabby, he's not comfortable standing, sitting, or laying down, and the prescription food hasn't done much of anything.

The only three options now are surgery, euthanasia, or waiting for the kidney stones to kill him (the last isn't really an option). Since he's 18, has a poor prognosis even if the kidney stones are removed (not to mention the minimal chance of him surviving the surgery), and would probably spend the rest of his life in pain while recovering from the surgery, euthanasia is probably the best option (though really hard to accept).

I apologize in advance if my normally sunny demeanor is dimmed in the next few days.

 

Noo! Its always sad when you have to put a pet down. Trust me Ive gone threw this with a cat before, and I know how you feel. Sorry.

 

I understand your sadness, been there. Be brave for the sake of your very sick long time friend....."and in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make" Beatles/Paul McCartney

 

I'm so very sorry sirdarksol.

 

You gave him 18 years--that's a long, full life for a cat. I said goodbye to my first childhood pet cat when she was 16. It is always hard. RIP, kitty.

 

I'm sorry for your loss....I too, lost an 18 year old Cat to the same thing..It is a very sad time...It is never easy to say goodbye..

 

I went to see him for what would probably be the last time today. (He's living with my parents. I don't think I said that in the original post). It's such a difficult call to make. He's obviously uncomfortable, but he's also still kind of bright and has a decent amount of energy. It's really hard to keep telling yourself "The only way he can live is if he has the surgery, and he's never going to fully recover from that surgery" when you see how well he's hanging on.
Thanks for the support, guys.

 

I went to see him for what would probably be the last time today. (He's living with my parents. I don't think I said that in the original post). It's such a difficult call to make. He's obviously uncomfortable, but he's also still kind of bright and has a decent amount of energy. It's really hard to keep telling yourself "The only way he can live is if he has the surgery, and he's never going to fully recover from that surgery" when you see how well he's hanging on.
Thanks for the support, guys.

And like you said only a little different, my cat he was like 5 years old, he was a stray we adopted, had something similier but not the same, and he got the surgery, and it failed and we had to put him down, sometimes putting it down is the kindest thing to do, even though we don't think it is.

 

I'm so sorry your having to go through this difficult time. It's really hard to make the difficult decision. How are your parents doing with this? Hang in there.
Carol

 

Mom's doing relatively okay. Dad (who claims to be a cat-hater) is being extremely supportive. He told Mom that cost wasn't important. Whatever is best for the cat is best for the family.

 

Well, Spike went peacefully, Mom said. Mom is still missing him, of course, and broke down on Friday morning. My brother is going to be in respite care over the weekend, so hopefully Mom and Dad will get to go out and have some fun this weekend.

Here are a few pics of Spike. He was once a much more robust, healthy looking cat. It's kind of sad to see how sick he looks in these photos.

Edit: Take a close look at the other cat in the picture on the left. It's made out of some sort of spray foam with corn-husk "hair".

 

sirdarksol,
Bugger.. Sorry to hear about Spike.. 18 years is a good innings for a cat, and he would have had the best of care and affection.
Best wishes to you and your family.

 

SirDarks...My heart breaks with you as you have to say goodbye to your cat. As a life long cat lover, I can absolutely empathize. Sending good thoughts your way.

Val

 

:console: Spike was a beautiful cat. Thank you for sharing his pictures with us.

 

Hey Sirdarksol ... I'm so sorry to hear about your loss :'(. I can imagine what you and your family must feel like. To me, losing a family pet is just like losing a family member. Our pets live with us for so many years that we, naturally, get so used to them we start to think of them as family members. Even more - BEST FRIENDS. So I do understand how hard it must have been to let him go. I can't imagine what I'll do when the time comes for my cats in the future ... but I don't even want to think about it now. Anyway, the bright side of the story is that your beautiful kitty lived to be 18 years old - how many cats live up to that age? I don't think many. So he was very lucky, you know. He also had a loving and caring family, and what could be more important than that? I think all that matters is that he knew he was loved by someone. We all die, so we can't do anything about it. I like the quote "Every man dies, but not every man really lives." It can be applied to animals as well. So ... at least your kitty had a good life . That's the bright side .