kyukidojen
05-20-2008, 12:53 AM
Our Chloe, whom some of you are familiar with, was put to sleep this evening. For those who don't know, she spent the first 15.5 years of her life being beaten, starved, and generally mistreated. She came to us in the summer of 2006, and we were able to give her almost two good years. She's been battling lymphoma for quite some time now. The tumors in her abdomen were enormous, and in the last week, the sweet girl we knew (okay, not always sweet - occasionally downright obnoxious) left us. She was replaced by a depressed, aggressive, slightly psychotic cat in a broken body.
We took her in tonight to have her put to sleep. She was so frantic that they were unable to place a catheter. So my husband held her while they did a peritoneal injection of a sedative. Once she relaxed, my husband held her in his arms, I placed my face against hers, and they found a vein for her final kindness. Tears flowed freely, and the vet's tech had to leave the room.
I miss our girl... and I found myself so thankful for the fact that we now have a 2.5 year old and a 9 month old. We'll probably adopt one of the three kittens we are fostering right now... our house is empty, somehow, without Chloe in it. I know it was her time, but it's still hard. She was such a beautiful cat - and not just on the outside. I wish that the last morning I woke up with her in the bed with me (over a week ago - it used to be every night, but she has been sleeping with the water bowl) could be forever burned in my memory. I know it will, in some ways - but I don't want the details to fade.
She got her very own order of fries on the way to her appointment today - and her life ended with one of her favorite things: a car ride. It got her so happy that I was contemplating turning the truck around and taking her back home. Then she went back to my husband's lap and I saw the huge wet spot on my shirt. It brought me back to reality - to the fact that she had lost ALL control of her bladder. To the fact that she was no longer enjoying her life.
She is the first pet my husband and I have buried together at our new home. We bought the house I grew up with. Chloe's spot is next to my dog - the one who came to our home when I was in third grade and was part of our lives for 13 years.
We took her in tonight to have her put to sleep. She was so frantic that they were unable to place a catheter. So my husband held her while they did a peritoneal injection of a sedative. Once she relaxed, my husband held her in his arms, I placed my face against hers, and they found a vein for her final kindness. Tears flowed freely, and the vet's tech had to leave the room.
I miss our girl... and I found myself so thankful for the fact that we now have a 2.5 year old and a 9 month old. We'll probably adopt one of the three kittens we are fostering right now... our house is empty, somehow, without Chloe in it. I know it was her time, but it's still hard. She was such a beautiful cat - and not just on the outside. I wish that the last morning I woke up with her in the bed with me (over a week ago - it used to be every night, but she has been sleeping with the water bowl) could be forever burned in my memory. I know it will, in some ways - but I don't want the details to fade.
She got her very own order of fries on the way to her appointment today - and her life ended with one of her favorite things: a car ride. It got her so happy that I was contemplating turning the truck around and taking her back home. Then she went back to my husband's lap and I saw the huge wet spot on my shirt. It brought me back to reality - to the fact that she had lost ALL control of her bladder. To the fact that she was no longer enjoying her life.
She is the first pet my husband and I have buried together at our new home. We bought the house I grew up with. Chloe's spot is next to my dog - the one who came to our home when I was in third grade and was part of our lives for 13 years.