Had my cat put down two am this morning...

[Neil]

...a blood clot had blocked the arteries down her rear legs which meant she couldn't move them. Took her to the vets on an emergency call...

Down at the vets I put her head in my hand as the vet made the injection and slowly stroked her head for the last few times as she quickly slipped away...

What's odd is when the vet then went off to sort something out, I still of course felt compelled to stroke the poor lifeless animal for a few minutes more... Isn't the human psyche an odd thing when it comes to dealing with death... :(

Why stroke a lifeless animal...? But there's no way I could not of!

[Mike70]

sorry to hear about that man. sucks when things like that happen. i understand the desire to keep touching the cat even after they are gone. a few years ago a cat of ours (who wasn't too old) got a blood clot in one of her lungs and there wasn't much the vet could do except release her from the pain.

again sorry to hear about that.

[mista_mo]

I think you kept stroking and petting it because well, you loved it and it ment something to ya. I don't understand how someone could not be sad or depressed if their pet died- naturally or otherwise.

[capncnut]

Why stroke a lifeless animal...?
Simple. Because you loved her. :(

[kortick]

yeah sad man

sorry

we had to put a cat down
the vet was really cool.
he sedated her and let us have a few minutes
with her while she was awake but not in pain.

he asked us if we wanted to be there when she
was put to sleep or not
we stayed until she went. it was peaceful

he even gave us the option of taking her with
us or they would take care of her remains

we took her and they gave us a degradable coffin
to bury her in

so we went and bought a bottle, dug a hole
and poured a drink for her and then finished the bottle
ourselves.

it is a rough experience if you never been thru it.

you feel like you were beaten physically and emotionally.

again, I am truly sorry.

[Danny]

ive had to have a couple put down over the last few years, like last year ,for no reason, over 3 days my 6 year old german sheppard had its nervous system degrade and his whole body shut down like an unwound clock, ive never stroked them myself, i'm more of the mind a bodys just a shell when its gone but i remember taking the collar home instead of leaving it like they offered us to do, i dunno, my mom was full on crying on my shoulder i guess is different for everyone, i've never really shed a tear over a pets death. -but then my heart turned to coal a good decade ago, i think everyones got there coping mechanisms with sadness, my usual way, upon retrospection, is by trying to make other people feel better, maybe its to get my mind off it but if you stroked your dead pet its just grief, its not weakness, its not wierd, its what really seperates all the species on the higher end of the evolutionary scale from the one who will just ignore a death. we feel in all sorts of different ways, i dont know about you but the dog and cats ive had to have put down have all, in my eyes, been as much family as my brother or mom, especially the dog. my advice would be to not let it put you off getting another cat in the future nothing will ever take that ones place since no two animals are alike and if you care enough to make this thread then you obviously consider them an important part of your life.

[ProfessorChaos]

last summer my gf and i were taking a walk down a stretch of road with a field beside it. there was a kitten who'd been run over by a vehicle, and it's back was broken and legs all jacked up too. my gf is the biggest cat-lover i ever met and she was devastated. i ended up putting the poor little guy out of his misery. it actually made me tear up, poor little fella:(

we're disecting cats in my anatomy class right now...that's kinda odd. my local community college (in my hometown of less than 9k people) has a cadaver lab, but the university i attend (just 20 min outside of metro st. louis area, population of probably 50k) uses cats....makes me wonder where all my tuition $ is going to.:confused:

back to the topic, sorry bout that neil. losing a pet is always a b!tch. i remember when my dog died (2nd grade) i stayed home from school. it was a rough thing to deal with at the time. probably still would be, but i've not had a pet in over a decade.

[Terran]

Simple. Because you loved her. :(

When my loved ones die I poke them with sticks......and make jokes....

:Disclaimer
Im not serious....

[capncnut]

Simple. Because you loved her. :(
When my loved ones die I poke them with sticks......and make jokes....
LOL. I was going to add to my first post, "either that or you're f**ked up in the head."

[Neil]

I think you kept stroking and petting it because well, you loved it and it ment something to ya.

Oh, undoubtably... But I'm basically a pretty logical/rational person who doesn't believe in life after death, but it's just odd my 'logical/rational' brain would not let me just put the cat down after it was dead... I had to stroke it for a while... Quite odd when you think about it rationally...

[Dommm]

I've never had a pet before so I don't understand how it feels to lose one, but I have lost two friends and 3 grandparents so I understand the feeling of loss, its not nice losing anyone even if it is a pet, your cats been around for years and it was probably your way of saying goodbye....

[Neil]

I've never had a pet before so I don't understand how it feels to lose one, but I have lost two friends and 3 grandparents so I understand the feeling of loss, its not nice losing anyone even if it is a pet, your cats been around for years and it was probably your way of saying goodbye....

I guess my point is... In my question I do not believe in life after death, but for some odd reason my brain decides I still need to stroke a lifeless animal. Or in the case of a relative who has just died, say something or talk to them...

It's quite odd how your emotinal side seems to have absolutely no connection to your logical side :) And also has a veto on your actions sometimes :)

[Dommm]

I guess my point is... In my question I do not believe in life after death, but for some odd reason my brain decides I still need to stroke a lifeless animal. Or in the case of a relative who has just died, say something or talk to them...

It's quite odd how your emotinal side seems to have absolutely no connection to your logical side :) And also has a veto on your actions sometimes :)

I guess my response to this is due to the fact that I do believe in life after death, though I dont know if I believe any current religious text about what happens....

[Tricky]

when i was 20 our labrador that we'd had since i was about 15 suddenly lost loads of weight & got really ill,the vet said his kidneys had just failed for no reason that they could find,he had a couple of operations to try & find out what had gone wrong but they couldnt help him & eventually we had to take him to the vets to be put down,i had to hold him while they gave him the injection & its probably one of the most upsetting things ive ever been through,after it was done i sat with him blubbing my eyes out like a baby for a while before carrying him out to the car in a blanket & taking him home to bury :(
so i know where your coming from neil,& sorry to hear it!its suprising how attached to pets we get!

[mista_mo]

when i was 20 our labrador that we'd had since i was about 15 suddenly lost loads of weight & got really ill,the vet said his kidneys had just failed for no reason that they could find,he had a couple of operations to try & find out what had gone wrong but they couldnt help him & eventually we had to take him to the vets to be put down,i had to hold him while they gave him the injection & its probably one of the most upsetting things ive ever been through,after it was done i sat with him blubbing my eyes out like a baby for a while before carrying him out to the car in a blanket & taking him home to bury :(
so i know where your coming from neil,& sorry to hear it!its suprising how attached to pets we get!

It really is. Hell, I remember when I first moved up to Chalk river from Shilo Manitoba, we left 2 of our 4 dogs in the care of my step dad. My told me later that our Bichon Frisé buddy had been hit by a car. I loved that animal soo much, he was my favourite dog and I cried for days. When my mom first told me i just burst out into tears and no matter what i tried, i just couldn't stop crying. I was also...11 maybe 12 at the time, so it hit real hard back then, espcially confounded over top of an allready messed up child hood.

Now our current one that we have had had for 14 years or so is showing his age, and i just don't want to think about anything happening to him. I dunno what i'd do tbh, he's been in our family so long that he is no longer just a pet but an actual member of our family.

[MikePizzoff]

Sorry to hear that, Neil. My cat died last Sunday... he was only 15 years old. :(

[Neil]

Sorry to hear that, Neil. My cat died last Sunday... he was only 15 years old. :(

Our one was 14 :(

WOW! I told my 5yr old boy tonight that 'Marmalade' was not well and we took her to the vets and she would not be coming home... I expected he wouldn't be able to really understand, and just shrug it off... He was REALLY upset! Had me welling up to be honest! He just kept going back to the fact he'd never see her again...

[Debbieangel]

I am soo sorry Neil, it is hard when our pets die, they wrap themselves around our hearts. They each have their own little personalities and they do love us in their own way!
I have had to put down my dog Tippy, she was a chiahuahua/terrier mix..she was my 'byebyes' dog, she went everywhere with me. I had to have her put down because she was 11 1/2 yrs old and she had horrible arthritis, you couldn't pick her up without her howling in pain. It was time, even the vet said it was time. That was 6 yrs ago.
Last year my dog Angel also chiahuahua/terrier mix (Tippy's daughter) died of a brain tumor, she had a heart attack in my arms. So sad!!!
We love these little animals, they are our little companions and friends.
I do believe in life after death but, anyway I am soo sorry about your ' Marmalade'!

[Neil]

The odd thing about 'Marmalade' is she never had any fear of our kids, quite the opposite infact. She approached the kids and sat with them... I guess that's why my lad (Harvey) built up a bond with her...

http://www.homepageofthedead.com/marmalade2.jpg
http://www.homepageofthedead.com/marmalade1.jpg

[FoodFight]

I'm sorry to hear that. My little girl lost one of her cats 2 years ago. We went to visit the cat while she was in the vet's care, but his startled response was "Oh, she passed away 15 minutes ago". The SOB could have spoken to either myself or the girl's mother privately, but his blunt manner really upset all of us. At least you were able to make some peace with her passing.

[Neil]

I'm sorry to hear that. My little girl lost one of her cats 2 years ago. We went to visit the cat while she was in the vet's care, but his startled response was "Oh, she passed away 15 minutes ago". The SOB could have spoken to either myself or the girl's mother privately, but his blunt manner really upset all of us. At least you were able to make some peace with her passing.

I got my other half up before I took the cat to the vet (at 2am)... Obviously I had to tell her I was off out and why, but I suspect the cat wouldn't be coming back so thought it might be wise for to see the cat before I left...

[Debbieangel]

ooh ya Neil, I cant believe I didnt mention this in my post...we just on Mar 18 had our beloved ferret Poncho/Ponchie put down if ya wanna see him look in my profile! He was the most docile ferret, he didn't bite, he was so attached to us. We bought a kit(baby)ferret (btw from a good pet store) and the baby carried the corona(sp) virus to our poor Poncho. We w thought he was jealous but was going downhill very very fast within a week, by the time we got him to the vet he was dying so we had to have him put down. So, ya I REALLY feel for you and your family right now. :(
Your little boy is so cute! He has the curliest hair, reminds me of when my son was his age!awww

[Mutineer]

Sad news Neil

I feel for you.

I recently had to put down both of my cats after 12 years. Not a good time.

[Neil]

ooh ya Neil, I cant believe I didnt mention this in my post...we just on Mar 18 had our beloved ferret Poncho/Ponchie put down if ya wanna see him look in my profile! He was the most docile ferret, he didn't bite, he was so attached to us. We bought a kit(baby)ferret (btw from a good pet store) and the baby carried the corona(sp) virus to our poor Poncho. We w thought he was jealous but was going downhill very very fast within a week, by the time we got him to the vet he was dying so we had to have him put down. So, ya I REALLY feel for you and your family right now. :(
Your little boy is so cute! He has the curliest hair, reminds me of when my son was his age!awww

Don't really know much about ferrets, but when I was a kid I owned rats. They were all very sociable and friendly (& house trained - going back into their cage to do their business). They would seek you out to either just sit on you, play with you or sleep on you (especially down jumpers/tops). I could get three of them on my lap, on the backs and then by stroking their tummies they'd all fall asleep.

One was particularly attached to my dad and would always end up on his lap at breakfast time...

And one very special one would even obey the voice command to 'go home'... No matter where in the house he was, if you told him to go home, he'd trundle all the way back to his cage and jump back in...

None of them ever bit me, and even if they were say falling off my arm they wouldn't even use their (sharp) claws to grip. Very gentle creatures!

Gave me quite a different appreciation for rodents. I can only imagine ferrets are bigger version of these??

[Marie]

...Isn't the human psyche an odd thing when it comes to dealing with death... :(

Why stroke a lifeless animal...? But there's no way I could not of!

You stroked her because you loved her Neil, that story brought tears and I don't even know your cat. I'm sure I'll react the same when Meatloaf goes.

M_

[Debbieangel]

Gave me quite a different appreciation for rodents. I can only imagine ferrets are bigger version of these??
No they aren't but they have been used for rodent control. Ferrets are sometimes kept on small farms and feed mills for rodent control. They travel through rat tunnels leave trace odors that trigger fear in rats and mice, causing them to flee.
Ferrets are members of the Mustlidae family.
Other members are the weasel, mink,otter,sable,badger, and skunk.
OOh ya they can stink, we have this spray we add to his water and he has no smell at all. When people walk in the house they can't tell we have a ferret at all.
Our newest one's name is Rascal and his type is "Butterscotch." he IS a rascal and he loves to play, he is in training right now and it is going to take some time.
BTW: your rats were amazing I never heard of anything like that before!
Did it take long to train them?

[Neil]

No they aren't but they have been used for rodent control. Ferrets are sometimes kept on small farms and feed mills for rodent control. They travel through rat tunnels leave trace odors that trigger fear in rats and mice, causing them to flee.
Ferrets are members of the Mustlidae family.
Other members are the weasel, mink,otter,sable,badger, and skunk.
OOh ya they can stink, we have this spray we add to his water and he has no smell at all. When people walk in the house they can't tell we have a ferret at all.
Our newest one's name is Rascal and his type is "Butterscotch." he IS a rascal and he loves to play, he is in training right now and it is going to take some time.
BTW: your rats were amazing I never heard of anything like that before!
Did it take long to train them?

Sorry, I'm really stupid! I was only half thinking about my earlier reply, and for some reason my brain told me a ferret was a rodent! :annoyed::stunned:


As for the rats... The sad thing about the rats is they generally only live for about 2yrs!! As long as they get a LOT of attention they are very friendly - ie: Put your hand out and they will run up, and will happily come to sleep down your jumper or top when they're tired...

Only real issue with them is they nibble. Furniture and wires can suffer badly!!!

The males seem to be the most friendly...


It was worth owning them just for the look on visitors faces. If they came around when the rats were out, they'd half spot a rat run across the floor and just not know what to say :) Then you'd call them, or even better shake their treat jar, and they'd all scurry up to your feet :)

[Debbieangel]

Actually ferrets are quite intelligent our baby is training me really really fast! :)
He is doing something the other ferret never did, he screams and cries to get out of cage!
Ponchie was quiet soo, this is very new to us! I have all but trained him not to bite. We have had him for hmmm alittle over 3 weeks and him being a 'kit' has been a real challenge! I decided after the biting completely stops I am going to teach him to "sit up"!
Ferrets are an interesting animal and what I have read from the book I have are widely misunderstood!
I can understand that statement too 'cause I always thought they were a mean animal and not to be trusted. But, they are the cutiest, cuddly little things. This 'kit' wants held a lot and he is very sociable. He knows my husband and I very well already and he looks forward to us picking him up each day.
Sorry, I didn't mean to highjack your thread Neil, do you think you might get another cat/kitten for your son? or maybe a dog or some other type of animal?
I for one think it's important for kids to be around animals to see that they have feelings too. I think I will always have an animal in the house. I am a sucker for a stray too. We have 3 stray cats outside that have made our porch their home!
People here that know me here at hp know I have a full animal house! lol Ya, I am crazy!lol
I WAS trying to get rid of some but my hubby is responsible for a big black dog(that he brought home) and the strays outside .lol
Eh who am I kidding, I love them too! lol

[strayrider]

Ya, get another cat. We have five. Want one?

:D

-stray-