Don't kill your cat.
When animals get tired of living then they die.
You cannot give life and take death for your comfort, so you don't have the right to take life and give death for your comfort.
Your cat has always been your friend.
Don't kill your friend.
You will know when she is about to die because she will lose the ability to regulate her temperature.
That happens in people too.

Oh so you would let an animal die suffering in pain would you???

When animals get tired of living then they die.

Animals also die when they are ill, did you not know that.

Mark you have my full 100% permission to "educate" this person.

Some people just should not be pet owners.
Some of us know that this goes with the joy of having them.
And the pain..
Companion animals do not always 'know' when their time is done, and to allow them to suffer once they reach that stage is NOT compassionate.
That is our need to step in and help them once it is clear that there is no other path.
If anybody wold be so stupid as to allow an animal to just 'die a natural death' without regard to their pain and suffering, they possibly should be sentenced to that same penalty. Hope that is clear enough.

Their lives are precious to us, and they should be afforded the dignity to pass onward gracefully once their lives have been fulfilled.

And once some laws are settled, human beings shall also be awarded that same right. The dignity to die with grace.

I am sure that I do not wish to linger here, kept alive only for the sake of others, if it is clear that my time is done. There is not point in saving life for the only sake of doing so.

As to the other misguided person..............
I hope that this discussion can perhaps guide them to a better understanding of what and how and why at times, a companion animal must be laid to rest.

It is never an easy way out. Life is sacred, not to be taken or spent with abandon...
But, there are some situations in which there is no other way.

All of you need to know right now that this is weighing heavily on my mind..
And that the pain of doing so is possibly more than some of you can grasp..
And I cannot explain it further to you if you don't have some understanding from my discussion of it by now.. You are simply clueless and therefore unreachable/.

Hope this clears some things up, friend Chris.

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

And I know that my dear Tigger shall know peace when I have given her that...................
When, and only when, I know there is no more light in her little eyes to see me with. Then it is time. And she is approaching that state.

Life is not something to be taken lightly, but one must be ready to also deal with it's ineviitble end.......
I am not there just yet, but Tigger is.

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Dunno what to say.
The vet just called.
The lab confirmed her results.
Tigger has cancer.
And it is a very progressive strain.

Her only advice was to tell me to take it day by day, and cherish each moment as if it were the last with her.

I shall.................
I may not be around here much for the duration.

Tigger loves me, and I have to give her as much back as I can for her last days.

There are no keys on the keyboard for tears or sorrow, so I shall just have to suffer it and hope you understand.

I shall be back some day.
But not today.

Meowheartbroken.
Tears for Tigger.

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Her only advice was to tell me to take it day by day, and cherish each moment as if it were the last with her.

Mark, I know you will do the right thing when the time is right for Tigger....

Sending Tigger a big virtual kitty hug https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh-zzb5jLLs

Meow!

---

Tigger

I'm sorry to hear about the news. My best wishes and thoughts are with you and Tigger.

---

The mind is a weird and mysterious place

Tigger is still OK with her life.

I shall know when the balance changes.

Tigger will go back to the vet, and I hope that perhaps it's not that final visit. When her time is up, I shall deal with the pain of it.

But please know this..............
I am not going to let Tigger go until I am very sure there is no other option.

I am sure that I shall be able to do that when the time comes, and not an instant before that time comes.
Tigger is still Tigger, it's just that she does not really know it anymore./ But, she still has her personality, and keeps loving me at night, so, there is reason to believe that she is still not a happy kitty.

She purrs on my chest at night. That is instinctive, but assures me that her soul is still intact. Her inner kitty is still functioning quite well.

And she is not to that point yet.

I have told this story before, just recently I think.

When Nero was sick, I took him to the vet, my mother and I both knowing he might not come home. I took him in a carrier that is not your typical plastic box with a cage door on the front, it's more like a laundry basket with a second one inverted on top and two slides holding the halves together. I took the top half off and put it on the floor, and I took Nero out and shoved the bottom half against the wall, still on the exam table. The vet and her assistant came in and examined Nero, and we talked about how he'd been since his last visit, and I was about to say it was his time.

And then as I watched, he stood up and walked across the table and climbed over the side of the carrier (about as high as him) and settled down inside.

And I thought, he still has some spirit left, some will to live. I don't know if it will be enough, but I'm not going to deny him that. And I put the top back on the carrier and paid the bill and took him home.

I put him in a kitty bed in the living room and he stayed there for the rest of the day and evening. When I got up the next morning, I found that he had gotten up and walked across the kitchen, probably heading for the cat box in the bathroom. But he didn't get there. He was lying cold on the floor.

He is the only one of the six cats in my life that died on his own. I do not regret this. All the others were sent along when it was obvious it was time (Alberta wasn't my decision, I was still a kid). I'm sure I kept Baby for at least one day longer than I should, and I have some regret about that. But none for Nero.

So I do know, I think, what you're feeling, Mark. This is not an easy decision, ever.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Mark,

May God bless you and Tigger, and may He be with you and
comfort you in your time of loss.

---

~Sue~

Thank you.
Tigger seems to be doing a bit better today.
I am monitoring her closely, and shall not keep her beyond her time just to soothe myself.
If I sense she is in discomfort or struggling in any way, or stops eating or drinking properly, I shall release her soul.

She spent a very long time this afternoon cuddling on my chest in bed, and put her paw alongside my neck in appreciation of her petting.
Kitty still loves me so very much.

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Don't kill your cat.
When animals get tired of living then they die.
You cannot give life and take death for your comfort, so you don't have the right to take life and give death for your comfort.
Your cat has always been your friend.
Don't kill your friend.
You will know when she is about to die because she will lose the ability to regulate her temperature.
That happens in people too.

Cat lovers don't "kill" their cats because they can. Those of us
who have had to put down a sick, suffering cat do so for the cat,
to put it out of its suffering when the outcome is going to be
death of the animal from that suffering and illness.

Some people, myself included, wish that euthanasia were legal for
humans. It is the kind thing to do when someone is sick, dying, and
in pain.

I hope you don't have a pet, and I hope you never get one.

---

~Sue~

I had a cat for 14 years that I recently lost. His name was Punkin.
He showed up as a kitten the day before Thanksgiving, and he was
orange, so Punkin seemed like a great name.

One evening several months ago he climbed into bed with me and let me
hug him and snuggle with him all night. This was a little unusual.
The next morning I realized he was very sick and his back end - back
legs - were very swollen like he was retaining a lot of water.

I don't know what was wrong with him. I got him to the vet immediately
that next morning. The vet checked him over. He was breathing oddly,
and the vet said, "When they start breathing like that they're going
to die." (Or something like that. I don't remember exactly.)

Of course we sent him to the rainbow bridge that morning. I'm tearing
up now just thinking about it.

I could have let him die on his own, but he was not himself. He was on
his way to dying so I just made it happen a little sooner. I'm sure
that whatever amount of suffering I prevented was a good thing.

I guess he knew he was dying, and wanted to be with me in his last hours.
There is no amount of gratitude that can convey how grateful I am that
he chose to lie down in bed with me that night. No amount of gratitude
to convey how wonderful to know how much he loved me.

By the way, it was just about one year ago to the day that he passed.

---

~Sue~

Yes, I know the breathing the vet was talking about. No matter what you did at that point the cat would have died. You could not have kept it alive. Same with losing the ability to regulate your body temperature. At that point you are going to die. There is no other outcome.

I think you have no understanding of the true compassion most pet owners have for their companion animals.

Unfortunately, most aging pets don't just get sick and immediately pass on.
My dear Tigger is proof of that.
And it would be heartless of me not to release her from her suffering when she gets to the point that she no longer can enjoy any quality of life.
That would be a betrayal of my responsibility and the faith and love she has shared with me for her entire life.

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Anyone who wishes to discuss the rights and wrongs of pet euthanasia can take it to the politics forum.

---

Reality Internet Personality

Anyone who wishes to discuss the rights and wrongs of pet euthanasia can take it to the politics forum.

Why? Has someone complained? I mean, other than about "Mojo"?

This is really not a discussion for a politics forum, imho.

---

~Sue~

Anyone who wishes to discuss the rights and wrongs of pet euthanasia can take it to the politics forum.

Why? Has someone complained? I mean, other than about "Mojo"?

This is really not a discussion for a politics forum, imho.

Yes, there have been complaints and some flaming. That is all I will say about it.

---

Reality Internet Personality

I understand compassion plenty. That is what I am talking about. Compassion.

Folks, let's be respectful of other people's opinions on sensitive matters. And try to be supportive of those going through rough times, even if they make choices you might take a different path on.

Otherwise don't bother posting at all.

-Fred
setiforums at ssl.berkeley.edu

Thank you, Fred.

---

"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Yes Fred. Thanks for your post.