My condolences to both of you. I play the tough guy around the house with the animals (get the cat off of my side of the bed, stupid dog waking me up, etc.). But, I love them both dearly. With the 14-year old dog it had cancer in his leg and we decided even though he was old he acted like a puppy, so we had them amputate his leg in the hope of getting another six month from him. (And like the vet said - that’s two years in dog years! That actually is what clinched the decision for me. LOL!) That was a year ago now! And he’s back to chasing squirrels!
The long-time cat, she knew it was time (feline lukemia). She couldn’t sleep, she would not face you, she would find places to hide and face into the wall - really strange behaviour. In the end she was having these “fits” of shaking, and couldn’t walk straight.
My wife wanted to wait as long as possible. I finally called the vet to make an appointment ASAP. It just wasn’t fair to the poor cat. It never meowed or cried in pain or whatever, but it had to be suffering. Or at least confused as to what was going on. Poor thing.
And, as tough as I pretend to be, I cried when we had to put her down as I held her. And I’ll no doubt do the same with our dog when its his time. Even if I do have to clean up a mess on the downstairs carpet that same day. (Stupid dog!) ;)
Thats exactly how my cat is acting. He just lays and stares at the wall. He still eats some but it seems hard for him. Its like he knows he should eat but he doesn't really want it. Today we had made the decision to do it but then my husband decided to give him his medicine for a few more days and see if it helped. His tumors have doubled in size in just a couple of weeks. Poor baby. I think once its done, I can start healing but right now the grief is constant. Its tough watching your best friend die and not having the strength to help him pass. And I am so sick of crying!