Saying Goodbye to Your Cat

*This post may contain affiliate links for which I earn commissions.*

Having a cat or multiple cats just fills cat owners with so much joy, love, and happiness. It is a level of happiness and love that non-pet owners really miss out on. However, unless something unforeseen happens you will usually end up having to say goodbye to you cat. This scenario is so very hard and difficult to go through. Unfortunately, I have had to deal with this situation many times with both cats and dogs. It is uncommon for us to go through an entire year without having to make that last trip to the vet at least once. We have had so many cats and dogs come into our lives over the last twenty five years. Some were old. Some were sick. Some were very sick and on death’s doorstep before we even met. So many of them we were able to save and help them to have a real good shot at a great life. Some we kept and ensured they would have their best life. They all end at some point.

It never gets easier, you really never get over the loss, especially if the pet was one of those once in a lifetime bonding experiences that you had never had before or since. I have read several quotes and short little poems discussing this very challenging topic of a pet passing. One that I saw that really stuck with me basically said that cat lovers KNOW that having a cat will bring them SO MUCH love, companionship, friendship, affection, and happiness that even though the human knows they will mourn the loss of their beloved cat forever that it is STILL WORTH IT!

Think about that for a moment. We as pet owners are knowingly putting ourselves in position to most likely eventually painfully mourn the loss of our furbaby and we sign up anyway. I have met a few folks that went through the pet loss grieving process once or one really tough one and they just can’t bring themselves to get another pet. I understand their feelings, but I think they are missing so much. And we have gotten into the habit of saving/adopting another pet whenever we lose one. This is not to replace our beloved family member since that is impossible. The act of rescuing another is to HONOR our previous pet. Each time I look at our new kitty or dog I know they are here due to the sacrifice that was made earlier. I know our previous pet would want us to help out another just like we did for them. This does help a little.

I feel this topic is so important and gets discussed so little that I am going to devote multiple articles on dealing with the loss of our pets. Most pet owners don’t want to even think about losing their babies, much less discuss it in advance or many times even afterwards.

I am not here to tell you what is best or that my way is the right way and yours is not. I have always had a problem with people that critique others on how they are grieving. There is no manual. There is not set of rules to follow. Grief is so very personal and individual. These comments are directed towards a human loss which is often even more painful and difficult than a pet. However, this is not always the case. Grieving a lost pet is even more challenging because of how society views pets and animals.

I may have just lost my cat, my best friend, the one living soul that fully understood me, and was always there when I needed their support. The loss has left me with a huge hole in my life, in my heart, and in my soul. I could be in agony, but I don’t feel comfortable sharing my feelings with most other people because of how they could react in return. Some say they are sorry. Some really don’t react at all or say something very awkward or worse. A very small minority are truly empathetic and have some idea of how I really feel. This lack of empathy and sympathy from friends, family, co-workers, and bosses can often add an entirely separate layer of sadness, loneliness, and isolation. I often end up keeping most or all of my feelings bottled up just to avoid the awkwardness and additional negative feelings.

My Priority is The Pain, Suffering, and Quality of Life

In my opinion death is not always the worst outcome for a sick, injured, suffering pet. Death is always the final chapter for all living things. Humans know and understand lifespan and that most of us are supposed to live 83.5 years or whatever the current statistics say. Cats live in the moment. So if the cat is miserable and three or miserable and sixteen they don’t care! All they know is that they are miserable NOW!

By all means if they can be helped, aided, saved or not, then this should all be investigated and considered. There is a but here…A very BIG but…what will your cat have to go through to be “saved” and what benefits are there at the end of the “saving”?

Let’s say they have cancer and there is a 50/50 chance they can be saved with a lot of treatments, surgery etc. And let’s say if they are successful they can expect another 6 months of life expectancy. Is it really worth it? Is it really worth putting them through days and weeks of a horrible nightmare to get another six months? If they are very young maybe one or two years old, then maybe this would be worth adding six months. However, if they are say thirteen or maybe sixteen this is probably not a very good plan. I don’t want my cat to have had six, eight, twelve, or sixteen really great years and then have their last few weeks or months to be an awful, stressful, and painful nightmare. NOBODY wants to go out like that.

You have to ask yourself are you doing all of this medical magic for your kitty or for you? You will be sad. You will miss them dearly forever. You can’t stand to see them go until you have exhausted any and all options. What was the most common word in these last statements? It is the word YOU. Yes you are important and count, but I think my furbaby deserves top consideration in this very important choice. I am going to suffer the loss no matter how this plays out because that is what I knew going in. I knew that I would have to say good bye and deal with all the fallout that is included in that scenario when I decided to bring them into our home and our family. So things are going to be bad for me no matter what happens. All I can do is whatever is BEST for THEM. I have the power to help as much as technology, time, medicine and money will permit. And I also have the power to have one last big loving, fun, memorable send off and allow my beloved cat to go in peace, with love, and dignity.

The big question is what is best for my beloved cat? I tend to dial things back as they get older. If they are very young we will usually go all out to do whatever can be done since it’s their only shot to have any kind of life. As they get older I am less likely to put them through the ringer. Of course it all depends on what’s wrong, what’s the options for a cure, and what’s the prognosis for a recovery and quality of life after! Some pain, stress, and inconvenience can be well worth several more good, healthy years if that is a likely outcome.

This first article was really just trying to get you aware and thinking. I just want to point out death is not always the worst option. In certain situations it may be the best option or the least worst choice. I usually feel bad when I hear a cat’s ending story where the owner said that their kitty had been sick for some time and eventually died peacefully at home in their arms.

Until next time.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope this was helpful.