Just made an appt to put our kitty to sleep tomorrow morning :(

[DogwoodMama]

Long story short, our 14 year old kitty, Max, has end stage chronic kidney failure. He first had signs of it three years ago (in his bloodwork) but until about 1.5 months ago it didn't seem to be affecting him at all. Then he started loosing weight, and stopped eating while we were out of town.

He's had some treatment, namely fluids under the skin, treating for a UTI, and an appetite stimulant. We can't afford the $1000+ "best" treatment so this is what we did, but I don't think he would have responded to the other anyway (which was 3 days of hospitalization plus I would have to inject him with fluids every other day and do other things.) He is still not eating, only drinking water and can't even go to the litterbox anymore. (I'm putting him in when he meows.)

Sadly, we are in the process of saying goodbye to him. I really want to scrapbook about him and what he's meant to us, but maybe it's too soon at this point. Has anyone else scrapped the loss of a pet? This is hitting me really, really hard for some reason, I just hate to lose him. And until recently he seemed/acted very healthy so it just feels very sudden.

My dh is actually taking the day off tomorrow so we can both take him...

[Gemma]

Awww I'm so sorry it's nice that you have time to say goodbye though. My dog passed away on Friday suddenly so I didn't have a chance to do that

[staciahall]

I'm really sorry you are dealing with this loss. I have a 15 year old cat that sleeps a lot and I try to snuggle him all I can.

I say scrapping some good memories might help you feel better later this week if you are up to it.

[*Celeste*]

i'm so sorry. i had to do this in april and it's so hard. hugs!

[abm234]

I dread the day! Hugs!

[marlathrall]

I'm so sorry, Elizabeth. Our furry babies become such an important part of our family and it sucks so bad when they have to go.

Gemma, I'm sorry for your loss, too.

I'm going to go home and hug my dog and cat tonight.

[Libby Pritchett]

Oh I'm so sorry! My heart is breaking for you. They really ARE a part of our family!!!

[Keely~B]

Aww Elizabeth, I'm sad for your family. That's so hard. I'll be keeping you all in my thoughts.

[LJSDesigns]

My sympathy on your loss Elizabeth and yours as well Gemma. It is so heartbreaking. I scrapped when I had to put my dog down due to kidney disease a few years ago and sobbed through the whole thing, But since he deserved my tears and a final page in the family album, it was worth it. I used Toby Keith's song, I'm crying for me.

[DogwoodMama]

Thank you, everyone. I felt somewhat unready to have him put to sleep yesterday when I took him to the vet, but watching him today I just feel awful. He's not a happy little guy at all. I think we are both confused about how this happened so quickly. I just have him settled on a chair in our computer room (on a towel, we are not always getting to the litterbox) and just try to give him enough water...

Yes, give your pets a hug! I think especially with cats things can change for the worst pretty quickly. I think for him the trigger was we went out of town and he stopped eating/drinking and a UTI set in...

I found a very old page I scrapped with him and my oldest dd when she was a baby...

[Ronisdragon]

I'm so sorry. Our pets really do become our family. I hope you get to spend lots of time with your kitty today. I'm glad your husband will be able to be with you tomorrow. You and your family will be in my thoughts. I think scrapping about it when you feel ready is a good idea.

[Julie Billingsley]

I'm so sorry Elizabeth and Gemma for the loss you have both faced Gemma, are you talking about the dog you just got this year? Oh no

Elizabeth, you've probably heard about the Rainbow Bridge poem, so I'd probably use that poem and scrap your layout with some rainbow kit. I think scrapping can be very therapeutic. I scrapped the loss of my mom just a couple weeks after her sudden death and it was hard, but healing to my heart. Again, so sorry for your loss. ((hugs))

[Stacey42]

***hugs*** I've scrapped about the loss of 2 of my older cats and know the day is coming when I will be in your shoes. Our 16 year old kitty also has kidney failure & maybe has a few months, if that. She's so fragile now but still eating & drinking & using the box, when she isn't peeing on the floor. But the vet says to prepare ourselves. We worry she'll decide to stop eating while we are away over Christmas & that the pet sitter won't notice.

It's so hard to lose a pet & harder still to make that choice. I'm glad your husband will be with you. It took me awhile to scrap about my other two cats, one 2 and 4 years now. I was able to do photo memorial pages with little journaling within a week or two but really getting the story down & how I felt took longer. Don't rush it.

[Laura_A]

I'm sorry, Elizabeth! It's so hard to lose a pet. We lost our dog in June...he was 11 years old and until the day before he died, was full of life and energy. He had conjestive heart failure and his lungs filled with fluids so fast that the doc couldn't help him. It hit us very hard, especially my husband. I haven't scrapped about it yet though. I hope you can find some peace in knowing he isn't suffering anymore.

[pewtertm]

My heart hurts for you...I had to have my cat Pewter put down in 2000, and while you know it's for the best, it's still hard. I have to say though...some of my most special memories are of holding him there in the vet's office while he slipped away peacefully...I'm so glad I was there for him in those moments.
Having someone else along helped, because there's no way I could have managed the drive home afterwards. And I also made it known that I wanted all of his things put away (dishes, litter, etc) before we left for the vet, because I didn't think I could handle coming home and seeing it. Pewter's special things were put away in a plastic bin that is still under my bed to this day.

Please take the time to grieve...some insensitive people will say garbage like 'it's not like it was a person'...but we pet owners know those critters are family, and everyone will need to grieve that loss.

This is one of the pages I made about his loss...

[YepBrook]

Putting our dog, Shyla, down was the hardest thing ever. I still feel awful about it and cry sometimes when I think about her and that moment holding her at the vets office. It was October, 2006. She was 10 years old and stopped eating and drinking. She had some signs of liver failure and to get further tests + treatment to help her were 1,000+ dollars, so after much debate we chose to let her go peacefully. It wasn't an easy choice. I still wrestle with thoughts that we gave up on her. They are our family, very much so.

Just recently, I discovered her death was probably our fault. My dad regularly fed her grapes whenever he had a snack. I warned him not to feed her table foods but I had no idea about grapes. I found out they are toxic for dogs (especially the amount she was fed for such a small dog) and can cause liver failure. She had all the symptoms. I haven't told my dad yet since they don't have another dog (I would if they did) and it would make him feel terrible.

(((HUGS))) as you go through this difficult time.

[rachaelsscraps]

I'm so sorry to hear this, I'm going through the same thing right now. Our family cat (which I've had since I was 12) is going dowhill. She's lost so much weight lately and has a vet appt tomorrow. I'm hoping they don't tell me bad news, but she is 16 years old. Today she started falling over, her back leg is getting stiff and cannot bear weight. I don't know if they'll suggest putting her down or not but I'm going to let the kids spend some special time with her tonight in case.
I can't even swallow thinking about it, pets really are a part of their family. I hope you and your family get all the comfort and peace you need through it all!

[DogwoodMama]

Rachael, that sounds really really similar to what has happened with our kitty, Max. Just to prepare you... Before we had the testing done they told us it was probably either kidney failure or hyperthyroidism. From what I've read in the past few days, kidney problems are very common in cats, especially older cats. Max is a Bengal (bred from a wild Asian leopard and domestic cat) and I think that the diet that we fed him was hard on his kidneys... it's possible that he had some special nutritional needs that we weren't aware of. I think this is hitting us hard b/c we expected both our kitties to live 16+ years, it just feels soon. Pretty much if he gets up and moves around at all, he just wobbles and can hardly stand at all.

YepBrook, I did not know that about dogs. I'm sorry you lost your doggie so soon.

I think I also am really sad for our other cat, Joshua. They've always been together, the two boys. He's less "social" and I think with us, he will be OK but I just feel sad thinking that I won't ever see the kitties curled up again, Joshua is now steering clear of Max (I imagine he smells different.)

[iScrap]

Losing a pet is losing a member of the family. My prayers are with you and your family right now. {{big hugs}}

[RealRach]

Sorry to hear. Hugs.

[DogwoodMama]

Well, we said good-bye this morning. It was sadly time, he was just so incredibly weak and in such bad shape, I think his kidneys were just shutting down. The vet assured us that though he didn't feel good at all (he could barely meow and was just completely limp at the end) that he was probably not experiencing pain. My dad buried him for us in our back yard (which my 9 year old does not know, that would upset her.)

Thankfully we have family visiting and they were a great distraction today. I had no idea how hard it is to lose a pet, this hasn't happened since I was a child, and I guess I handled it better then. (Or it was less overwhelming.)

[ripal]

{{{HUGS}}}

[nun69]

{{{HUGS}}}

[Stacey42]

****Hugs****

[jessica31876]

It is really hard when your pets either pass away naturally or have to be put down. Over the years I have lost a lot of pets who I really loved. I remember one in particular which was really hard on me. My hamster Einstein died suddenly. I played with him everyday and had had him like two years and I got up one morning and he was really sick. He passed later that day. I cried for several days. Whatever the animal is they do become like a family member. I hope you can get some scrapping done...it does help a lot I think.

[hollydolly70]

I am so sorry to read this - my heart aches for you. Losing pets in so so hard - this is my biggest fear with our own "senior" cat. Hugs to you

Holly

[Paula]

I am so sorry!! My heart hurts for you!

[DawnMarch]

My sympathies, Elizabeth. Pets are family and it's so sad when they die -- especially since we only have them for a short time.