Oakley, so sorry about your loss.

Annie, I'm glad you are having quality time with your pet.

Annie and Oakley - I'm so sorry for what you're going through. I'm sharing your pain, as my oldest Golden girl was diagnosed with a brain tumor this week. She's 12, so she's had a good, long life, and I've been through this multiple times, but it doesn't get any easier.

Thank you Gold. I'm so sorry you're going through this too. There's simply no words of comfort. Would you please go to the topic I did yesterday asking about Dogs and antibiotic shots. My last post asked if any have gone through cancer with their pets and if so, to please explain the process to me.

I know it sounds morbid, but I have other pets and I want to be completely prepared this time.

I'm so sorry, goldgirl....it's so sad to lose our babes, and you're right, it never gets easier.

Cas is still hanging tough...

Oh you guys - Annie, oakleyok, goldgirl - I am so sorry that you are all going through these tough times with your pets. It is just so hard especially knowing that no matter what we do they are going to leave us. We love them so much and they are our undemanding companions for so many years. We've been through this with our cats and yet we are always glad to have another cat in our lives to love and have in our family.

(((hugs))) to you all.

Our dear cat Casimir of 16 years is gone. He was deteriorating and we didn't want him to suffer any more so we took him for his final vet visit today. Such a hard choice to make. But we know we did the right thing. He will be sorely missed.

Annie, I am so sorry.

So sorry to hear your Casimir has had to leave. He was a beautiful boy. They just don't live long enough. It's such a difficult loss. He will watch over you now and help you through.

Annie, I am so sorry. (((hugs)))

So sorry Annie, you did the right thing. Its never easy.

ML

So sorry to hear about your kitty. Thinking of you...

awww, Annie - sorry your beautiful boy is gone but you are blessed with wonderful memories.

So sorry, Annie. Will be thinking about you.

Thank you all so much for the kind words. I've been sharing them with DH and we both appreciate your thoughts and sympathies.

So sorry to hear this, it's a sad day indeed.

Please accept my dearest sympathies on the loss of your
beautiful "boy" Casimir. I am a lover of animals and as
Oakley said "cry more over animals than humans" sometimes...just reading all the above messages has me
all tearey eyed. Find comfort in remembering what a great
life you and your DH gave him.

Oakley and Annie,
I'm so sorry for both of you. It's such a horrible time for we humans when we lose our dear friends. You're both in my thoughts tonight.

Beth P.

Oh Annie. I wish there were words of comfort but there simply aren't any, except to say you and DH were blessed to have him, and he was blessed to have you two.

What a sucky week, huh? :(

I'm sorry, too, for your loss. It's so hard to lose these dear babies who worm their way into our hearts!

Godspeed Casimir. Annie, I'll be thinking of you. Hope the happy memories soon outweigh the sadness.

I'm so sorry Annie!

I'm so sorry, Annie. What you did today was your last and most selfless loving act for him. He was such a beautiful kitty & I know you both will miss him very much. Take care.

Oh poor kitty. Sending hugs to you and your DH.

(((hugs))) to Annie and to Oakley both, on the loss of their sweet furry friends......

Oh Annie -- so very very sorry about your dear sweet cat!

(((((hugs)))))) We grieve with you!

You've all been so generous with your kind words and thoughts and support. We really appreciate it. Today we will de-catify the house. No more pets for awhile....we haven't been pet free in 35 years.

We always said the Cas was our secret to a happy marriage....if anything went wrong, we'd blame the Cas....who forgot to buy the milk? Blame the Cas. Who forgot to lock the door? Blame the Cas.

And then of course, we had to stay together because of the Cas...if we split, neither of us wanted to get stuck with this very resentful cat who got blamed for everything!

A gal I knew at work said her in-laws did nothing but bicker at each other all the time and she couldn't stand it any more, so she gave them a cat. Suddenly the bickering stopped and all they did was talk about and dote on the cat. If we go that way, we'll need to reconsider.

But not now....

Annie, let me tell you a little story about how Grace came to be.

DH brought home another English Pointer about 11 years ago, her name was Lily. She was just like Grace. Inside-outside dog, slept with us every night. People think Pointers are outside dogs and should only hunt. Poo on that.

Anyway, Lily became close to me as my Gracie did. She got hit by a truck on my quiet dirt road when she was about 1 1/2 years old. I mourned her like I'm doing for Grace now.

I told DH, NO MORE DOGS. About 5 months later I started toying with the idea of getting another dog. I decided to get another Pointer since I knew their personality.

Long story short, I got Grace and it was if Lily sent her to me. She immediately filled up that huge hole in my heart.

In a few months, check into getting another kitty. (I've been there with cats too.) Right now you're too raw to even think about it. But the time will come sooner rather than later when you feel you need to share that love again and fill your heart back up.

I do believe our furbabies keep couple's alive half the time. lol

I am sorry annie. I know that Cas has his catnip mouse now and is having a lovely morning....c

Thanks, Oakley. I appreciate that. It took us a few months to replace Emily, our wonderful girl of 18 years who preceded Casimir, and we were glad we did.

But our lifestyle is different now. Cas was a difficult cat to care for and he made it essentially impossible for us to travel. Mom could handle him, but since she passed, it has been difficult to find someone who could deal with all his personality, health and medical issues. Now that he's gone, we'd like to explore the freedom that comes with being petless for awhile. And the thousands we spent on vet bills could be put nicely toward a much needed vacation!

Our neighbor has a cat, Jinx, who used to stop by and visit Cas when the weather was nice. Perhaps he will continue to visit us and be our surrogate for awhile.

Hi Annie, you can always go and visit the animals in the shelter if you need a temporary animal fix. Some people find that depressing but I always like to think IâÂÂm cheering them up for a few minutes.
That is a beautiful picture you posted above!

I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of both Casimir and Grace. They truly are part or our families and to lose them is so painful.

tina

RIP Casimir and Grace. So very sorry for your pain Annie and Oakley. Big hugs.

Annie and Oakley - my condolences to both of you. Only people who have loved and cared for animals can understand your sorrow. Thinking about my departed pets at the Rainbow Bridge, welcoming new arrivals, helps me through these times.

Annie - I understand your need to be cat-free for awhile. Our cat-with-IBD is terrified of anyone other than DH and me, and no one else can medicate him. Before he became ill last December we traveled frequently and used pet-sitters. Now that's impossible. So I'm going alone in a few weeks to visit the children and DGS. Ridiculous! What we won't do for these little creatures!

That sounds like a good idea, Annie. Actually, the two of you getting away, even for a night, would be nice.

Where are my manners? lol. Thank you all for the kind words.

gsciencechick, I'm so sorry. Somehow I missed that you had recently lost your kitty too. My sympathies...it's a hard time to live through.

There is really something very screwy in cat food or cat diet that is leading our domestic cats to suffer and die with kidney disease. They say it's almost unheard of in feral cats, yet the #1 killer in domestic cats.

Neighbors have a cat who became diabetic and they changed to making their own food for the cat (father is acupuncturist and specialist in chinese medicine) and his diabetes disappeared and cat is now healthy. With Cas, we had to switch to a special cat diet early on as he was getting bladder blockages even though we had him on the expensive stuff.

I wonder if our cats are like the canaries in the coal mine, warning us of how broken our food industry is....

I can so relate to the travel issues. Our kitty took meds twice per day, and would pretty much only let me give him the pills. When I traveled, he would even be difficult for DH, who he loved, and MIL never had great success either when we would both be gone. Still, I knew he was better at home vs. a cage at vet.

I told DH we should take a real trip (not to see relatives!) because we are down to one cat who is pretty low maintenance.

Deleted (double post)

This post was edited by funnygirl on Tue, May 14, 13 at 15:56

I'm so sorry to learn of the recent pet losses. Our day is approaching for cat and dog. I just dread it. DH knows that when the second one goes we're either jumping on a plane or in the car for a long trip. I can't imagine a home w/out a pet but prob won't get another. We have a son and DIL who live1500 miles away and would like us to visit more. It's just too complicated and $$$ to make pet care arrangements for frequent travel.

Just saw this article which states flame retardants are also suspect for thyroid disease in cats:
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Scientists-ubiquitous-household-chemical-could-be-killing-cats-206716931.html?tab=video

My thoughts are with you during this difficult time. Your cat could not have had a better life.ð·

Thank you all for your kind expressions. The hard part is when, like, I'm walking by my BR and I automatically glance over at the chair where he slept many afternoons, and he's not there....it'll take time to get used to that.

I am sorry about the loss of your beautiful Casimir. And to you too Oakley for your sweet pup Gracie. Pets sure are part of the family aren't they? I frequently will find myself talking more to my pets then my husband because often you aren't looking for a response. I have solved many a problem with the help of my pets.

I lost my oldest pet yesterday, my 17 year old laid back and super sweet persian Cameron. She hadn't appeared to be sick, she had just passed away at some point during the day and was found upon our return home from work. She didn't seem to suffer, and for that I am grateful. I hear what you are saying Annie. I had bought a new throw that became a favorite of her and my dog. Even he doesn't seem to have the heart to cuddle up on it now.

Kellie, I'm so sorry. Poor poor Cameron. I too hope she didn't suffer. I never ever want to see what I saw last week with Grace.

Do heart attacks happen in cats and dogs? I'm wondering if Cameron had one?

A couple of years ago I bought a really cute PB throw for the LR, and my Grace just loved it. I had to bury her in it.

I'm stunned at all the deaths of our beloved pets this past week. :(

Kellie, my deepest sympathies. It sounds like she went quickly which is easy on them, but so hard on us. Give yourself plenty of time to rest and heal...it always takes longer than you think.

I received the nicest hand-written letter from the vet who treated Cas on his final visit. What a thoughtful thing for him to do. He was truly empathetic and caring. Our regular vet also sent us a sympathy card with the story of rainbow bridge. Many I was crying so hard, I had trouble reading it.

I think it hurts so much because any time of grief seems to reopen all the scars we carry from all the loved ones, both 2 and 4 legged, that we've lost over the years.

Thanks for the sympathy ladies. Before my current gig I worked as a nurse in a Critical Care Unit, so always had a personal mission to minimize any suffering I could. We can make those choices for our pets, and I would have done so willingly, but am grateful that I didn't need to. Maybe it was a heart attack, I am choosing to think it was fast and pain free. But the suddenness is a bit unsettling because I find myself replaying the last few days to see if there is something that I missed.

But I am giving my other pets extra pets....and treats which probably isn't so good for them. Unfortunately all of my pets are getting up there is age so I think that this may be something I face again sooner rather than later.

So nice about your vet, funny I have found many vets to be more empathetic then the doctors that I come in contact with.

Hope everybody is doing well.

What a horrible(grieving pet loss) yet heart warming(all the kind words) thread - Sorry for all your losses. I cried most of the way through our furchildren are so beloved they don't argue back and make the most excellent listeners. Have a 15 year old dog who had a rough year last year I can't imagine the heartbreak. (((HUGS)))

Annie, I read Rainbow Bridge years ago and refuse to read it again. I'd be a blubbering mess. lol.

Kellie, I can see how you're baffled at how she died. You've probably searched the house hi and lo to see if anything may be out of place, somethng that Cameron could have gotten into. Do you have any houseplants? If so, check the leaves on them. So far my cat's have never shown an interest in my plants, but that could always change.

How are you doing today? Annie, how are you doing? I'm doing a lot better but I'm still haunted at Grace's last 12 hours which happened overnight when nothing could be done.

Sorry to hear your Cameron passed, KN. It does sound like heart which often goes undetected. They are lucky when it's something fast, imo. Suddenly is so hard on us though.

My vet doesn't routinely screen for hypertension, but I have begun asking for this with my elderly pets. Don't know how common it is, but heart does not seem uncommon for cats.

Thank you for asking, Oakley. I'm doing well, though I still catch myself looking for him, until I remember.

How you doing?

I was looking through my phone and came across this picture from my move a few weeks ago of my stepfather and his dog with Cameron. I started to get sad that she passed away in a "new" home until I thought back and realized that this was the 4th house that she lived in just with me alone. Sweet cat was with me for quite a long time. On my first date with my now husband she ran out the door (probably the only time she has been outside) and he spent probably an hour and a half of our "date time" time trying to coax her out from under a car. Thinking back, that was probably how I realized that he was a keeper!

Hopefully you guys are having flashes of happy memories too when you find yourself looking....