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SnuffleUffleGrass
04-01-2019, 10:12 AM
I try to remind myself of several things whenever i have a pet with health issues:

1) Animals don't feel sorry for themselves (that's a human condition)

2) Death is often merciful, and it's our responsibility as pet owners to know when it's time to help a pet die (in the wild, sick animals die quickly and mercifully - in captivity, they depend on us to know when it's time to go and to do what needs to be done to minimize suffering)

3) Every animal dies of something. If it's time, it's time.

4) Quality of life should always come before quantity of years of life. Ask yourself, what is my pet's quality of life right now?

5) Pets don't understand complicated, painful, expensive surgeries that will only give them an extra six months of dubious-quality life. If you're looking to pay $5k to give a 15-year-old cat a procedure that will cause it great pain and will have an unknown outcome, then perhaps it's time to have a real conversation with your vet about quality of life and cost / benefit analysis.

This so much.

Cats especially get victimized by owners who won't put them down humanely when the cat is old and suffering from serious issues, like diabetes or motor function issues.

I had a dog for 14 years and we had the vet put him down when he had a massive stoke and was obviously not going to last long anyways. I didn't want him to know anything else other than happiness and comfort.

charlie61
04-01-2019, 11:50 AM
This so much.

Cats especially get victimized by owners who won't put them down humanely when the cat is old and suffering from serious issues, like diabetes or motor function issues.

I had a dog for 14 years and we had the vet put him down when he had a massive stoke and was obviously not going to last long anyways. I didn't want him to know anything else other than happiness and comfort.

Right! Animals don't understand prolonged suffering.

R-209
04-02-2019, 01:14 PM
Hobbes is gone now.

It was harder than I thought. Leading up to it, I had felt numb. But when it was time to put him in the carrier, it hit me all at once.

No one to blame, nothing that could have been done. Still angry.

SnuffleUffleGrass
04-02-2019, 01:19 PM
Hobbes is gone now.

It was harder than I thought. Leading up to it, I had felt numb. But when it was time to put him in the carrier, it hit me all at once.

No one to blame, nothing that could have been done. Still angry.

Those feelings of anger and hurt are part of the process of grief.

Think of the happy times, and the love.

charlie61
04-02-2019, 01:45 PM
Hobbes is gone now.

It was harder than I thought. Leading up to it, I had felt numb. But when it was time to put him in the carrier, it hit me all at once.

No one to blame, nothing that could have been done. Still angry.

I'm so sorry.

Focus on how he's no longer in any kind of pain.

Death is only a tragedy for the living.

R-209
04-03-2019, 04:30 PM
I had some trouble this morning when I automatically began preparing his food.

It's not all over because Riley still needs me.

Fucking cancer.

WendiStarr
04-03-2019, 05:04 PM
Aww, I'm so sorry to hear about Hobbes. :( You still have Riley. You need each other right now because he's probably missing his companion too. Give him extra love and pettings.

R-209
04-03-2019, 09:44 PM
Doing okay, until that song from the old "Garfield" cartoon popped into my head. Then I cried like a baby for a while.

Hobbes was a lot like Garfield, though; fat, orange, and an insatiable appetite.

AChildOfBoredom
04-04-2019, 03:56 AM
Hobbes is gone now.

It was harder than I thought. Leading up to it, I had felt numb. But when it was time to put him in the carrier, it hit me all at once.

No one to blame, nothing that could have been done. Still angry.

I’m sorry :hug:

You did all you could.

R-209
04-18-2019, 09:33 PM
I lost Riley last night. Since his cancer diagnosis 14 months ago, I had known this could happen. But he seemed to be doing better. It was a very sudden turn. Something about a blood clot, the doctor said.

I've been really angry about this. I worked so hard caring for him, watching him for any changes and doing everything I could to keep his weight up. I gave him all his meds. I did everything I could, only for some random fucking thing to take him from me two weeks after I lost his brother.

Things just shouldn't work like that.