How did you end your relationship with your cat?

Question

Death? Did you put him or her to sleep or another way? How old?

S/he ran away?

Did you give or her away?

Took to a shelter?

My cat is only 5 and I can't foresee how we are going to part ways. It's majorly depressing to think about him dying or me putting him to sleep. I almost wish him to run away in a few years! Does that sound awful?

Answer 1

i had to put 3 of my cats down because they were very old, with the problems that old cats have. i held them close when they had the shot.
but i know what you mean,,,,i now have those 2 dogs (in the avatar) and cannot imagine losing them.
you dont want your cat to run away,,,then you'd worry forever about what happened to them, and imagine all sorts of awful things.

Answer 2

Yes!! Everything dies and there is nothing anyone can do about it. So instead of worrying about the future, enjoy the time you both have. take lots of pictures of you with your cat. give your cat the best life possible. So that when it is His/her time you can let your best friend go. You will know that you loved this cat and this cat knows it was loved. Do you think you would sleep well if the cat ran away. I had my cat for 15 years. He had a great life. He moved three times and was an outdoor cat. he always came home. I have great memories of him. It broke my heart when I put him to sleep. He was old and it happened fast. He could have died outside, alone. He came home and came to me to end his life out of pain. Would you want your child or your parents to just go away so you would not have to deal with the pain of them passing? No, you want all the good times you can have with them. That's what makes up who we are. Love your cat, enjoy ur cat. Quit worrying about years from now. Enjoy today. tomorrow has not happened yet.

Answer 3

My cats have either died of natural causes or have been put to sleep because an incurable illness was causing them to suffer.

Euthanasia is the most difficult decision to make and the one that every loving pet owner dreads, but when you can see that your friend is in pain or has no quality of life, then it really is the final act of kindness that you can do for them. Euthanasia literally means 'gentle death'. I have always chosen to stay with my cats as this gave me the chance to hold them and tell them one last time how much I loved them.

I know that it might seem that your cat running away would be the easiest option, but in reality it's one of the worst. You would never truly know what happened to him and would always be wondering did he find another home, was he injured by a car or predator. For many people, not having been able to say goodbye properly to their pet makes the pain of losing them hurt all the more.

My last cat was 19 when she had to be put to sleep because of kidney failure, but no matter how old they are, we always wish that we'd had more time with them.

Your cat is still very young and hopefully has many happy years of him, so enjoy him. Believe me, when the time comes your love for him will give you the strength to make the right decisions for his welfare.

Answer 4

He was 13 and very ill.
We put him to sleep.
The reason you're hoping he runs away instead of gets put to sleep is because you've never been with an animal that's put to sleep. It's the most gentle process. The vet lets you hold and talk to your pet as they give the needle and your pet gently stops breathing. It's a very healing process, especially if your pet has been very sick like mine was. The feel his body relax into peace made me feel so much better.

Your cat is only 5 though so hopefully, you won't have to make these decisions for a very long time. :)

Answer 5

No, I understand completely. My first cat had to be put down and I cried for a week, but I know it was better for the cat, because she was 19 and very old and she was very sick and supposed to die in agony sometime in the next three months. But I couldn't be in the same room as she died because I would have gone crazy. Instead my parents were the ones there while she died, and I'll always regret not being there for her. :(

And I'm somewhat wishing as well that my cats run away when they get to be around fifteen. But there's not a very good chance of that happening because they're already outdoor cats and they always come home.

And I'm darn scared to death for one of my cats because she's always hanging around in my neighbor's garage where there are tons of toxic chemicals and flammable items... and it would be easy for her to get stuck up inside one of his cars.

Answer 6

Are you going through an, exceptionally, early menopause, or what? The average cat lives to be 14-16 but, this time can be cut by 50% if your cat is allowed to be an outdoor cat so, obviously, indoors is where he should be. What else is going on (or not going on) in your life that is causing you to look for a reason to be depressed and have an obsession with this issue? We are born to die aren't we? I haven't met anyone who has lived on earth for 6,000 years....
I think you should concentrate on spending "fun time" with your cat before your cat becomes depresssed from hanging around with you!!

Answer 7

I once had a elderly cat that appeared to be slowly wasting away even though his appetite was still good. He was no longer grooming himself and his fur look dirty and scraggly. I took him to the vet to see what was wrong with him and it turned out he had feline leukemia. I decided to have him put to sleep. It's a tough decision to make but I feel it's more humane that to allow the animal to suffer and get sicker while he's wasting away.

Answer 8

No, me and my girl had a cat named Shadow who was sick too. We took her to the vet and had her put to sleep. An animal is like a baby!! I hate to see either suffer!! So we did what we knew was right and i feel better because of it!!