Armed and Dangerous » Blog Archive » For those who have met Sugar
I’m not superstitious enough to believe supportive thoughts from others can help our cat survive, but I invite all our friends to think of Sugar kindly and hope for her survival because it is a tribute her life has deserved. She’s been a wonderful cat, unfailingly well-mannered and affectionate to us and friendly to our guests – the visible soul of our home for seventeen years. She’s brightened the lives of at least a couple of dozen other humans as well; at least twice I’ve seen cat-deprived friends on the verge of happy tears because Sugar was so unaffectedly nice to them.
We’re trying to keep ourselves reminded that seventeen years is a very long run for a cat, she’s had an extremely happy life, and that we have no grounds for complaint or bitterness because it’s nearing a natural and inevitable end. We know we’ve done right by her and have no regrets. Still, this isn’t easy, and not likely to get any easier before it ends.
Eric S. Raymond faces the heart-breaking decision that all of us who keep and love pets eventually must deal with. My heart goes out to you, Eric.
We have a cat approaching that age. She likes to pretend that she doesn’t care about people at all, but in her unguarded moments she reveals that it’s all a big act and she shows her affection clearly. We love her. She grew up with my youngest son. He now goes looking for her every day to see that she’s all right.
I dread that approaching time and feel for Eric as it is close for him.
I had to bury a cat recently. She had suffered from thyroid problems for a while, but she was managing well with medication. Almost overnight her kidney’s failed. The vet said that we could put her on an IV for a few days and she MIGHT recover, but she’d be on subcutaneous injections for the rest of her life. My wife and I decided that it was better to help her along to the peace that she deserved: she was sweet and loving.
I’ve got two more cats at home, 12 and 14 years of age. The elder cat also has thyroid problems, while the younger has kidney disease. The latter cat is one that I brought into this marriage. There’s no argument that she is a daddy’s girl, following me around wherever I go. I cannot bear the thought that one day, sooner rather than later, I’ll have to let her go, too.
Part of the unspoken agreement we make with our furry family members is that we will not let them suffer just to keep us happy a little while longer. Honoring that agreement is brutally painful.
I’ve used the following quotation from Heinlein’s The Door Into Summer more often than I’d like, but it seems appropriate here:
I spent eleven months enticing a feral cat into letting me touch it. Soon thereafter, it was my cat.
Five years later, when lung disease was choking him to death, I didn’t let some stranger put him down. I set out his favorite treat, and while he was enjoying it I put a bullet into his skull.
Son of a bitch. It still brings tears.
I’m the end of life care specialist for the family. It’s not that I’m happy to kill a pet*, but everyone knows that I can do what needs to be done and will do a competent job of it. My preferred method is the same as razorbacker’s.
* It bothers me some and usually I have to mope afterward. By contrast, I’ve killed dozens of men** and never suffered a twinge of remorse. Make of it what you will.
** Muggers, rapists, a drunk driver; “vaguely human-shaped dangerous animals” is a better description than “men”.
In addition to the three dogs we had two cats. We lost the older of the two last Tuesday. At age 14 she developed some form of cancerous growth in her mouth. From the time I first noticed a minor problem until the end was two weeks. We took her to the vet but there was nothing that could be done. It is painful to lose a pet…