Animals are interesting. Just two weeks ago I had to put one of the outdoor kitties to sleep. Buffie got in a fight and got an abscess. Naturally it was over the weekend. So when I finally got my hands on him, I was able to do the hot packs and get the thing to drain. Got him to the vet on the Monday. But the news was real bad..on top of all the wounds, he had serious heart troubles which would require lots of meds etc. The vet said that would only prolong a sad life for this kitty. He was really really sick. So we let him go. YumYum, was not his friend but they were " associates". Buffie would be on the door step every morning and Yummie would give him a little polk as he went by just to let Buffie know who is boss. Yummie is still looking for Buffie. the kitties do mourn losses as do the doggies. Sometimes they do not recover from the loss. I had one pair of twin kitties and when one was stolen, the twin died 11 months later. He never got over the loss of his brother.
Sorry to hear about your Buffie....dang it all, I sure wish our kitty friends wouldn't fight! My Tux is the contrariest thing....the little s**t, at the ranch actually chased a fox!
Abcesses are no fun to deal with....nor are wounds that get fly struck! Yuck! I had to have the tail of the aunt of these cats docked because Tux tried to take it off--she was an outdoor cat at the time, so I wasn't able to catch what happened to her until she came back in 2 - 3 days to be fed!!
When our little friends, whether feline or canine, have so many problems working against them, I think it is the best thing to let them go....good and faithful friends deserve a dignified death. Last year, I had to have my 17 year old cats' Mother euthanized--her kidneys were going fast--and the options would have ensured a little bit longer, though obviously more miserable life for her--it wasn't right for Miss Kitty....and her kids did know someone was missing.
Yummie sounds like a little character, too.... how old is he? My Tux, who will be 17 on the 25th of this month, loves to terrorize his sister at least once daily!!