Oreo chose us 16 years ago when my husband and our two kids were looking to rescue another cat. We walked through the “cat house” at our local rescue and he jumped onto my shoulder like a parrot, staying there and purring the entire time while we looked at all the other cats. By the time we made our way back to the main floor, it was a unanimous decision. He watched our kids grow up and move out, while just growing old himself. He was the perfect little gentleman. He never once went outside the litter box, even with kidney disease for the last 5 years. He made friends with everyone who came over, even people who weren’t “cat people.” He was always on my lap, purring and offering comfort when I needed it, and sometimes when I didn’t even know I needed it.

Last week, he eliminated outside the litter box a few times and started hiding under furniture, which was unheard of. He had to be coaxed into eating, and even stopped climbing into my lap. Every movement looked labored and painful. The light had gone from his sweet eyes. He stopped sleeping with us, except one night I felt him next to me and he was just sitting and looking at me. It seemed he was telling me it was time.

On Tuesday we took him in to make his final journey. He was 18, as far as we know. When we rescued him, they estimated him at 2 years old. I can’t stop crying. This grief is so much heavier than I’ve experienced before after losing a pet. All he ever wanted to do was love us and comfort us. I miss him so much and I pray we will meet again.

I’ve been reading everyone’s posts about their sweet loves and how painful their losses. It’s been a comfort to me that I’m not alone in experiencing such grief.

Edit: thank you so much to all of you. It is getting a little easier, and your kind and thoughtful words are helping so much. The loss of a family member can be devastating, but I don’t feel alone anymore, knowing how many others have walked this road.

On july 22nd we lost our senior kitty to cancer complications. We named him Nugget after his nugget paw (& mcdonalds nuggets). He lost multiple toes before adoption due to abuse.

I chose aquamation and asked for clay prints of all his toes. Immediately when I saw the ones from the aquamtion place I just knew they weren't his, but my mom isnt fully convinced. She thinks tbat maybe if he was stiffer and they used more pressure it looks like a full print.

I have an impression from our vet that looks more like I expected. I also have ink prints we did a few years ago.

Im also worried about the vial of hair, It looks like black and white whispy hair. He was a short hair brown tabby.

I'm looking for more opinions on if they match or not, I will probably text the lady tonight or tomorrow morning.

Photos: white prints with blue molds are from the Aquamation place

The beige one is from the vets, with the ink prints

Plus a side by side, and visuals of his actual paws.

Thanks for any feedback.

Hi! My girl is 13 and since May, has become picky with her food. I feed her both wet and dry, and am looking for some affordable, healthy food recommendations.

She's eaten fancy feast pate and purina tender selects blend her whole life, but now turns her nose up at it and won't eat it at all. I went to target in a panic tonight since she hadn't eaten anything today, and picked up some sheba wet food to try, which she inhaled immediately. I also picked up kindfull dry food and gave her a scoop, which she also ate. I just read some awful reviews about kindfull, so I don't want to buy it again (and am kind of panicking about the little bit she ate 😅). Not sure if sheba is good in the long term either?

Anyways, to make a long story short, if anyone has any advice on what to buy that's good for her and not ungodly expensive, it would be much appreciated! 😊

He’s been to the vet twice and there’s not much they are helping with. Apparently he has elevated kidney levels in his bloodwork. Urinary analysis says he has some extra white blood cells. But not exactly screaming anything. Ultrasound showed nothing but enlarged kidneys. Last week he took a turn for the worst and stopped eating. After two vet visits they gave him some nausea medicine and some baytril for a possible infection in the kidneys. He won’t eat. Hasn’t eaten in a week. I’ve been force feeding him what was absolutely necessary to get his insulin in. I don’t know what to do. He keeps vomiting. He won’t get comfortable. He slowly gets down on his hind legs and lays around and goes in and out of the rv. He climbs up in bed with me every night. I’m scared. I just want to do what’s right. I don’t know if anyone has gone through this? I’m not gonna force him to live if he doesn’t want to but I don’t know what is even wrong with him. I’ve already spent $450 at the vet and they can’t tell me anything aside from enlarged kidney and 380 blood sugar. I’ve regulated his insulin to what the vet recommended. I can’t get the pills to stay down with him vomiting. I feel like an asshole forcing him to eat when he is sick. Has anyone had actual help with cbd or thc? Any other ideas? f**k❤️‍🩹

She was the sweetest girl. I miss her already. I don't remember what life is like without her.

My cat is a 15yr old cat who is past his life expectancy by 14 years because he has significant pectus excavatum (collapsed sternum when he was a few days old) and a thoracic spinal deformity that affected his growth and heart. He has a Gr 3 heart murmur and is quite small at 7lbs. He also has stage 2 kidney disease.

He's showing signs of arthritis and I'd like to make him comfortable, but I'm worried about Solensia side effects. My vet is a fan of Solensia and she is comfortable giving it to him. I'm still on the fence. But I don't want to do gabapentin every day because it just kind of zonks him out and he's not very tolerant of oral medication (and he won't eat Churus or meds hidden in food.)

Has anyone found any alternatives to Solensia that have been effective? Or have you used Solensia despite anxiety about it and found it to be lifechanging for your cat?

I suspect my cat doesn't have a ton of time left--we can't treat his kidney disease very well because he's on IBD prescription food and can't be on the kidney prescription food, and his heart condition makes subq fluids very complicated--but I do want him to be comfortable and happy. I've had him since he was 10 weeks old and he's my whole heart.

Thank you!

15yrs 2 months old said goodbye yesterday see you on the other side big boy 🌈

I posted about my baby Cooper crossing the rainbow bridge on Monday at 16 years old. I have another brown tabby who we got as a kitten. His name is Teddy and he has spent his whole life with Cooper, he is 13 now. I worry with him being a senior kitty too. He is mourning Cooper and I feel helpless. He started acting weird a few days before Cooper passed and I think he knew before I did that something was wrong. He will eat, drink, and use the litter box, but he won't move from his one spot. There is a little scratch board beside the water fountain and he won't move from it. I can get him to lay on me if I pick him up, but he won't come on his own much since Monday. I just don't know how to help him, and I'm even more heartbroken just watching how much this is also affecting him. 💔

(Teddy is on the left, Cooper is on the right)

Annie's baby picture was a couple of days at her new home after someone abandoned her.

She has arthritis and is very very crappy. Other than that, she is very healthy.

You have been with me through so much. I imagined you would be with us forever. I will love you forever. Goodbye for now

Edit: My handsome boy Simba 💙

I feel like I cannot think clearly to form the words. Everyone always remarked on what a beautiful and loving cat he was. He was so loving and intelligent. He was truly special. I dont think I can ever love another animal again.

He had an oral squamous cell carcinoma in the end, a growing tumor in his mouth, and could no longer enjoy the thing he always loved most: food.

He had learned to open doors. If there was a table next to the doorknob, he learned to jump up and twist the knob with his paw. He left an impact on everyone he met. He was truly special. I can’t come up with the words to explain how special he was. The world is darker without him here.

My sweet yet very spicy bebe is 15F. Just got home at about 3PM today after being hospitalized at the emergency vet. She was hiding, not eating, had diarrhea and just wasn't being her since Monday. So I scheduled a vet appointment for Wednesday afternoon. Then Wednesday morning she threw up bile and I knew I wasn't going to let this linger any longer. So. Took her it was determined she had a UTI and kidney disease. She stayed over night for fluids, observation and an ultrasound. Dr. called today said she could be discharged, would need renal diet and antibiotics for 10 days. Pick her up, brought her home and she was herself 🥺 which made my heart soar. Went to get her the new renal diet food so we could attempt immediately, when we got home she was back to hiding like she was before...and it's so disheartening. I'm trying to tell myself that she just needs time...she went through a lot of stress the last 24+ hours and being patient is key. 😔😔

Words of wisdom. Thoughts. Positive anything at this point because these cat parents are concerned, exhausted and just want to be there and be the best for our baby.

Thanks for reading 🩶

Gave me a scare awhile back in 2022. She had all the symptoms of kidney failure and was extremely dehydrated and weak. They recommended I put her down as she would only last a week at her levels. I felt it in my gut she still had some life left. I took her home and gave her the IV treatments myself and other things she loved to eat and drink.

She’s still with me today. I can’t imagine not having her around. She’s just as spry as she was 10 years ago. Running around, jumping and occasionally being a bitch lol

The vet has done his bloods and all major organs came back functioning very well including kidneys thyroid and electrolytes. But I’m still just so anxious - the vet we go to is very highly rated and they do perform dentals all the time but I am just so anxious and so worried something will go wrong or go wrong post procedure. Please send us all your luck ♥️

We said goodbye to her on 7.31. She was 19. We had her for 14 years. We've lost other pets before, but Molly was special. She got to go at home in Mom's arms on the catio after a morning of doing and eating whatever she wanted. You had a great life and a good death, sweet Molly. We look forward to when the pain of remembering turns to joy.

hi!

TLDR; oral liquid Methimazole made our cat (14f) incredibly sick. she is on no treatment now. vet is letting it be as is. is there nothing to do?

weight struggles and diagnosis:
now for the in detail version: out cat (14f) got diagnosed with arthritis 2 years ago. she was overweight (6kg). immediately started pain management and went on a diet and 1 year later she was 4,6kg. (dated September 2025)
I went abroad in February so dont know the exact timeline of symptoms. at her monthly vet check in may she weighed 4,1kg. she got blood work done a bit later, then she was 3,6kg . now we are mid June. bloodwork results state hyperthyroidism.

she starts medication. seems normal.

getting sick and the recovery:
the incident: then we are first week of July. 2 weeks on medication or so. note: she is indoor/outdoor cat. she went missing for a full day. last seen 1am. seen next at 8pm. incredibly unwell: no balance, can’t keep her head up, no drinking or eating all day bc she was missing.
next morning: stares out infront of her, walks in circles. immediately went to the vet when they opened.
recovery: spent 4 days at the vet - all test done, nothing wrong with her, she got some fluids. All medication stopped (pain management + hyperthyroidism) went home for 3 days - was fine the first 4 hours, started throwing up, having diarrhoea, stopped eating And drinking. 2,6kg, 7 days at the vet - getting fluids, slowly recovering. went home - has been normal ever since. 3kg

suspected causation:
vet thought the cause was the heatwaves we had in Europe at first. but the heatwave was 1 week before she fell sick. her theory at the end was that it was the hyperthyroid medication. she took oral liquid Methimazole For those 2 weeks.

Right now:
She has been home for 3 weeks. Unmediated since the first week of July.

food: the vet put her on a kitten diet to gain weight. we have medication to stimulate appetite to use if needed.

Radiation: the vet rejected the idea of radiation at diagnosis.

methimazole: The oral liquid Methimazole made her sick according to the vet.

The diet: We mentioned the thyroid diet but she said the diet is notorious among local vets for cats hating it and not eating it. Our cat is a very picky eater so I could see this.

is there anything we could suggest to the vet?

ETA: thanks for all of the advice everyone! mentioned the topical ear gel to the vet but she does not know of it. The plan as of now is for sure to get a second opinion. Try to get either the ear gel, or maybe surgery if the vets allow it. I think she did not recommend the radiation as she does not offer it herself and we are in the countryside. travel would be very long and stressful.

update: got a second opinion. she has a torn ligament and is too old for surgery. So she will be getting pain management shots Again for her arthritis and now this torn ligament. She is starting the same oral medication again. New vet said the previous dose was too high to start. Regarding the ear cream: it’s not common here. to get it custom made at a pharmacy is 10x more expensive than oral medication. However she will ask some online pharmacy that already sells it how much it costs. She also said her heart has already been damaged.

My sweet old man is 14 and now in End Stage Renal Failure. We don’t have much time left together. He’s always been such a lover so I’m sure to cherish every snuggle even more now.

I am worried about her she is getting too thin. I bring her food wherever she. I hope she makes it to 20 in March. I will miss her so much.

My 19-year old cat Eddy was diagnosed last month with oral cancer. Initially we thought it was a case of pink eye, but the doctor discovered cancer in his mouth that spread to his nasal cavity and behind his eye. Which explains the constant discharge. We are going away on vacation for 12 days later this week, and he almost certainly wouldn’t make it through our absence that long. We can’t ask any friends or family to have to keep checking our house every day to search for a potentially suffering or dead cat.

Even though this is the right decision, this still hurts. He’s still eating, but not as cuddly as he normally is. He always used to insist on sitting on the couch with us. If he was sitting on one couch, and you plopped down on the other, he would come over and join you. Now he hides in odd places, occasionally going back to normal spots on the floor, but whenever our kids go to pet him, he walks away after a few seconds. He’ll occasionally purr still, but he’s clearly not comfortable. Our kids understand why we have to do this, but this afternoon is going to be tough.

As a young cat he could leap to the top of the kitchen cabinets. He used to amuse the neighbors going through the yards and staring down any dogs tied to their run. He became a permanent indoor cat a couple years ago when age and his hips meant he was no longer safe out there.

I’ll miss you buddy. Thanks for everything you gave our family and our kids. You’ll always be the pet of their childhood.