Rest In Peace

I did end up putting my cat to sleep yesterday. Boots has been sick for a while now and I was in the Vet’s office once a month for the past 5 months for some reason or another. Before we were able to beat whatever was wrong and she’d bounce back, even when she had pancreatitis in November. Boots’ health had been failing for a long time.

About a week and a half ago she stopped eating and pooping. The x-rays showed a dark mass in her lower abdomen that we were all hoping we just a lump of poo she was having trouble passing. It happened earlier last year too but she was eating dry food back then. Boots was on an all wet diet since then, so I couldn’t imagine what could have been causing her problems. The Vet gave me Laxatone and we hoped she’d pass the mass with a little help from the hairball remedy. It was not to be. Boots had gotten so weak by the end of the weekend that she stumbled when she walked and I was forcing water down her throat with a medicine dropper. I had to make the decision.

It’s very hard to watch a pet be put to sleep, especially after an illness. Both of my cats were very sick by the time they were put to sleep and there are always complications with that. But I refuse to let them go through that alone and I was there for both cats as they passed away. I’m sorry they had to go through that and it absolutely tears my heart apart that they weren’t able to pass peacefully in their sleep. But it was time for Boots and her age and health would have made any other measures I could have taken painful and just senseless. We could have done exploratory surgery but I didn’t want to put the both of us through that. The Vet was pretty sure that the mass was a tumor or some other growth by then anyway. The ending would have been the same no matter what.

I miss Boots and I fully expect to continue to look down to make sure I’m not about to step on her tail for the next few months. But she’s in a better place and not in pain anymore and that’s pretty much all I could wish for her.

Goofy...