TW/Death of a pet
For some reason I can't stop thinking about my dead cat. He died in April of this year and I was the only one there. I just feel like sharing will make me less sad. Also I'm not sure if I've shared this before, because I think I had just started back on the forums when this happened. Anyways....
I was still in college, about 45 min from home. My parents went on a week long vacation out of the country. My brother was in school in a different state with no form of communication.
My cat had recently been diagnosed with diabetes and needed insulin shots. We had a pet sitter for that period but she didn't know how to do the shots so they backed out. So my parents decided to board my two cats and my dog would be staying at the pet sitter's apartment.
About 1 day into the boarding and my parents being away my mom called me asking me to go pick up our two cats and stay at home with them because my now dead cat wasn't doing well. He was refusing to eat and was miserable.
When I got the cats home I couldn't get him to eat. He tried going up the stairs to go and sit on his favorite spot on the couch. When he got to that floor he passed out on the ground and started breathing really hard. I called the vet and they had me bring him in. I told my parents when I was there and they thought I was being dramatic.
They gave him insulin and some paste like food at the vet. They had to force feed him.They gave me these tubes and told me to try to feed him at home. They also gave him an IV so they had to put this bandage on his paw. Due to that he had the cone of shame.
When we got home I tried feeding my cat while sobbing. He hated it and was constantly moving away and shaking his head. I was barely able to get him to eat anything.
The next day he slept on my lap when I was in a zoom meeting. I didn't move for 3 hours after because I didn't want to disrupt him. I would take his cone off whenever I was with him cause he looked miserable.
Because he still wasn't eating I brought him back to the vet and they kept him for the day. They discovered that he had a kidney infection and it was spreading. My parents spoke with the vet and there was a treatment they could do. My parents decided to go ahead with it and wanted to wait to put him down until they got home. I told them I wanted to put him down but they wouldn't let me. They started the treatment that day.
When I got home all he would do was sit in front of his water bowl and drink. I sent so many pictures but my parents still wouldn't let me have him put down. When I went upstairs to sleep I left him with his cone on so he didn't hurt his paw.
When I came down in the morning he had gotten the cone off but hadn't done anything to his paw. That was a big sign that he was feeling horrible.
I brought him to the vet again for the treatment feeling horrible. When I got home I called my parents and insist we put him down. They finally relented and I called the vet. I was to come in at noon so he could be put down.
When he was brought into the room he look so sad and devoid of life. I was given some time to be alone with him. During this period I facetimed the rest of my family so they could say goodbye. I spent some time petting him and hugging him, sobbing the whole time.
Finally he was put down. I thought there would be a delay in the injection and his death, but it was pretty automatic. I wish the vet had told me that because I wanted to be the last thing he saw.
I was given more time to be with him. I pet him, hugged him, took pictures of his paw. When I went to hold him, something he didn't tolerate normally, he was like a lifeless doll. I knew that was normal since he was dead, but it just made it more real. Eventually I decided it was time for me to go. I left him there so he could be cremated.
We had gotten him when I was 9 years old and he died when I was 22. He was 1 month from turning 13. He lived such a long live. He was a chonker and would spend most of his time sleeping. He was my favorite and I was his. I even named him, Mittens.
It was strange because after he died and I had gotten home I didn't really cry that much. Maybe cause I knew his suffering was over?
Occasionally I think of him and feel happy/sad, today is more sad. But I'm starting to feel better after typing all of this out.
Mittens was the best cat (don't tell my other cat I said that). But this was one of the hardest things I have experienced in my life.
You don't need to respond to this. I'm an adult and you shouldn't have to deal with my personal issues if you're a minor. That's what someone on here told me once. I just needed to get this all out in some kinda public area so I knew that at least someone cared. I can't talk to my parents cause I'm pet sitting and they're probably asleep. And I don't wanna get all weepy on my friends. I'm not good with emotions. But yeah you don't have to respond to this. I'm an adult and minors shouldn't have to deal with my sad ***** moments.