Bless Your Little Kitty Heart

Losing a pet is difficult.  Extremely difficult.

They’re part of your family; your children.  They need to be fed, bathed, brought in for regular checkups, etc.  The thought of losing them is heart-rending.

Smokey, our cat, came to us one day as a stray.  She was roaming the backyard when Will arrived home from work.  She was such a friendly cat, not scared or mean at all.  She rubbed up against Will and circled around his feet several times.  Even though I told myself I would never own a cat, the minute I saw her I knew I wanted to keep her.

We wanted to rescue her.  She was malnourished, had patches of missing fur, and cuts scattered around her entire body.  We’ve had her for about 3 years, but we know we gave her the best 3 years of her life.  We gave her lots of love and attention.

We found out today that she has a massive amount of fluid in her stomach, a few small tumors in her chest that will worsen her respiratory system, and was beginning to have liver failure.  It was nothing we did to cause it; it’s old age.  Even if we caught it in time, the outcome would still be the same – doctor said the best thing is to euthanize her.  She’s uncomfortable and she wouldn’t have much time to live.

In just a few hours, Smokey will no longer be with us and as upsetting as it is, we don’t want to see her suffer anymore.  She will be in a better place very soon.