On Wednesday (July 16, 2003), I made the very painful decision to put my loving cat of 10+ years to sleep. He had a blockage somewhere in his kidneys and it prevented him from peeing. He had been in and out of the vet for a period of 2 weeks at that point. Although correctable and we did have the money, we decided to not go through with it due to the cost and burden it would put on my wife (pregnant with our second child and full time mom to our first). And there was no guarantee that he wouldn't block up again soon afterward, and the recovery process would be lengthy.

I was debating whether or not I'd go "see him off", but I decided I'd be an insensitive jerk if I didn't. I went to the vet and say goodbye. I arrived there, and he was in a cage amongst other animals. He was VERY antisocial, and when I spoke his name, he perked right up and came to me. I carried him in to one of the waiting rooms. When I set him down, he started acting like himself - sniffing things, meowing like he usually does, and exploring the room.

The vet came in and we discussed options, and after that long discussion, I reluctantly agreed to Euthanise. All the time Stinky was trying to pee, licking himself, squatting, etc... it was obvious he was in pain. My wife and I both talked with him, pet him, and made him feel as comfortable and "at home" as possible for a period of about 30 minutes. Then the doctor came in with a sedative. This made Stinky very loop, and eventually he was completely limp (but breathing).

I picked Stinky up and placed him on the vet's table. I talked to him, told him I loved him, apologized to him for not going through with the surgery, told him that my wife and daughter loved him, how great of a kitty he has been to me, all the time petting him. The doctor then administered the euthanasia and as I was petting him and talking to him, telling him again I'll miss him and after about a minute he stopped breathing. At that point I completely broke down crying. After that initial crying surge passed, I said "Goodbye Stinky. I love you and I'll miss you." Gave him a kiss and walked out of the room.

He was a wonderful cat. I couldn't have asked for a better friend. I will *DEARLY* miss things he did:

• Scratching at the door when I was in the toilet
• Purring incessantly while being pet
• Chewing all the tails off his toy mice
• Licking my face (and mine alone!) and head-butting me
• Playing very well with my 2-year-old daughter
• Jumping up in my lap while on the computer
• Snuggling up to me and my wife while asleep

In Loving Memory of Stinky
April 23rd, 1993 - July 16th, 2003

Copyright © Neil Bradley
July 20, 2003