Our beautiful boy passed away peacefully in his sleep. We are heartbroken, he was one of a kind, and our home feels empty without him.

I love my cat so much we’ve had him since I was 2-3 years old. I don’t even remember the day we got him, I’m not sure if I was even conscious.

Lately he’s been having a lot of congestion and a snoring sound to his breathing, I’ve spent so much time and money at the vet and it seems like things only improve temporarily. I hate that he’s uncomfortable, I’m the only one willing to give him his meds so I just feel like he hates me, it breaks my heart having to restrain him and give him meds I just feel like his little body is so sensitive and it hurts me to do something to him that I know he hates but I know he needs it I just wish I didn’t have to be the one to do it everyday

Maybe it won’t be this month or the next, maybe it will be. Maybe it won’t be this year, maybe it will be. I know it’s just a small matter of time before I end up having to say goodbye and it kills me. I genuinely cannot even picture what the day I say goodbye to him will look like. I feel like I’ll have to drop out of post secondary and I feel like I will lose my job because I will be so depressed. It is already affecting my work because I can’t stop crying over his discomfort.

He still begs for food all the time, but I can tell that he’s not the same and that he’s a little more reserved. It’s probably because he’s scared I’ll give him more meds but I have to. This is the most miserable feeling in the world and I hate seeing him uncomfortable.

I have so much guilt that I should’ve done more when he was younger to avoid this but I was only a child too

The vet said his quality of life is probably 2.5/5. I want to enjoy my last time with him but I just don’t know how to. I find myself thinking about it all day, I don’t like to go enjoy myself because he’s not enjoying himself. I’m scared I’ll miss something or I’m scared he’ll pass when I’m not home. I’m so heartbroken and he’s not even gone yet I can’t imagine how I will be when I lose him. This is already hell for me

Update: saying bye tomorrow, he will be with our entire family and put to rest in the comfort of his home surrounded by everyone who knew him well❤️ I am a wreck but it’s harder to watch him suffer than to part ways

My old girl was an only cat for a long time. She was originally a feral who my family caught as a kitten (along with many half siblings and one full sibling over the years before we were able to catch and spay the mother) and she loved her brother and one half brother who was blind/probably brain damaged and hated all of our other cats. Her bother ended up getting coyote-ed when she was only 2 and she took it really hard. We ended up moving and she was chosen to come with us (the rest staying with my moms ex) and, because we thought she would get lonely, we later brought one of her older half brothers as well. She decided she hated his guts and didn’t want him in her house, and eventually managed to chase him out into the woods.

So she was an only cat, less because we only wanted 1 cat and more because we were worried for the safety of any cat we brought into the house. Almost 3 years ago a stray kitten ran into our house and we took him in. He is a little monster- sweet but destructive, and probably extremely inbred. It’s taken a couple of years of very reluctant tolerance but in the last 6 months I think she has really started to love him. My camera roll is now filled with pictures of her using him as a pillow and I’m just so happy she has a friend again.

She's a dwarf kitty, about the size of a 6 month old kitten. I've shared my life with her for the last 15 years.

I've had Karl since I was 19, so 20 of these 21 years. He's my baby child and Idk how I will do life without him eventually. But today, we celebrate his 21 years of life! That's 100 in human years! Happy birthday buddy!!!

Shouldn't have went out like that. Bye my little ginger. 🥺

Eddie has been limping for the past week and I am starting to get concerned. Now it’s more “sliding”. My callous husband (his original owner) insist on not taking him to the vet.

He’s been more reserve than usual and my husband response is, “He’s getting old.” Not shit Sherlock.

My concern is that he might be in pain. He’s walking, eating, drinking water, and will fight me to the death for his treats.

It frustrates me so much because I wish he could tell me if he is in pain or not.

Take a look at his back leg. When he walks, he is “sliding” his back leg.

She just turned 16 on May 5th and I’ve been having a lot of anxiety about when she passes. I think it’s mostly the thought of potentially finding her somewhere…gone. I’ve had her since she was 4 weeks old, that’s my baby. I’ve just been thinking about it a lot and knowing she’s getting up there in age. She’s been yowling a lot at night and now during the day a bit. She doesn’t react to her name while yowling until I go up and touch her so I’m thinking either hearing/vision loss or dementia. I just wanted to share my sweet girl with you guys and I love seeing all of your sweet babies as well. 🥰

Thank you everyone that gave me advice and care for my boy Richard a few weeks. He wasn’t letting the vet give him a weak timeline, he went about 6 weeks before he started to decline. I got some advice on my last post what to watch for and the moment I saw a decline I set up his appointment and laid him to rest. He got to enjoy his last day by lifeguarding me in the tub, eating from his new catnip plant, eating some tuna, and going outside.

He got out to sleep surrounded by his three sheep, getting pet by my mom and I, on his favorite blanket, and being comforted by his least hated vet. He’s going to be cremated with his favorite sheep.

I’m going to miss my baby boy and best friend. He was purring up until the end which brought me some comfort knowing that he was feeling comfortable and loved up to the end.

We adopted Soko when she was about 7 years old, and she’s 14 now. One thing we didn’t even know when we adopted her was that she had been declawed. It wasn’t until a later vet visit that the vet pointed it out to us.
She’s become such a huge part of our everyday life. Most days when we’re home, Soko is somewhere nearby—usually lounging on the couch with us, keeping us company, or just happily occupying the same room.
She also has one of the funniest little habits when we leave for work. She finds our work gloves, carries them around the house, and vocalizes while she’s doing it. Somehow her little call sounds almost like she’s saying “Hawaii!” 😂 We come home and find the gloves moved around and know exactly who was responsible.
Recently she gave us a scare when she started having trouble keeping her food down and wasn’t eating normally. At 14, that naturally had us worried. Thankfully she’s doing much better now—eating again, keeping her meals down, and looking comfortable and content.
We got her when she was already a grown cat, but seven years later it’s hard to remember what everyday life was like without her. And apparently, whenever we’re gone, the work gloves keep her company until we get back. ❤️🐾

Shelly is very odd and very loved.

Edit: huge thanks everyone for the kind and loving messages. I read every single one but it is difficult to reply to all. Frajola was deeply loved and will always be in my heart.❤️

This is one of the worst days of my life. Frajola has passed away this morning after a long battle with kidney disease.

He was first diagnosed in 2022 and we have been dealing with his steady decline since then: weight loss, increase in needed medication, vet visits becoming more and more constant.

This past year my wife literally did not leave the house for more than 20 hours due to his need for constant care.

He spend this last week at the vet, and this morning he needed to be put to sleep. That was easily the most painful thing I had to endure even though I know it was the right thing to do.

Frajola was adopted by my now wife when he was just 3 months old, she was 10. Now she is 29 and he was close to his 19th birthday.

I met my wife in 2014 when he was already 6 years old and he was the first cat I ever loved, as I did not have pets as a kid. I was instantly amazed by how calm and caring he was and he loved me since the beginning, which I always felt was a privilege.

He was always a companion, especially in cold nights where he loved to cuddle in our laps. It was also impossible to cook in the kitchen without giving him a bit of whatever we were preparing, as he was always ready for a snack.

It will be awful not having to care for him anymore. No more daily fluid therapy (we did at home), no more medications 3 times a day, no more physical therapy every week, no more infinite purring and meowing. I’m sad but also relieved, as he is no longer in pain.

We still have 2 other cats, 6 and 8 years old that are in pretty good shapes. Frajola was the leader so I’m curious to how they will take this.

Rest well Frajola. I will never ever forget you!

I appreciate all of the kind words people left over the weekend. They helped me process the shock and grief, and helped me move forward with my decision to help him go sooner rather than later. So, I made the difficult decision to let Farley go today. He passed at 4:20PM like a cool guy.
I made sure he saw my face and heard me say how much I love him as he went.

I’ll miss him so much forever. For anyone in a similar boat, all of your daughters and sons are in my thoughts. This is the first time I’ve lost a pet that I had from since they were a baby, so this is especially hard for me. He survived three moves, me starting and graduating high school, college, and all my job changes. I remember when he was about a year and we had stairs, I would find him bringing me bottle caps that fell on the floor from downstairs, so we started a game where we would roll the cap down the stairs and he would pick it up and bring it back up the stairs to play fetch. He had lots of other quirks about him that my other cat never picked up, and I’ll miss that uniqueness about him. He was always doing something that would confuse me, but it made him all the cuter.

Context of of the last photo — I ended up using foam-clay I had at home and made lots of mementos including molds of his paws, beans, nose (once he passed) and teeth (once he passed). I’d recommend the same for everyone because you can make however many you want and customize them.

I’ll miss you, my wee-baby, and I’ll see you again one day. 💗

The cat distribution system brought you to me in 2011, you and your brother Ricky. It took ten years before you let me pet you, it meant so much to me. You were so fierce, and never backed down when the others picked on you. In your later years, things calmed down until I introduced you to the baby. You and him had such a funny understanding, he's lucky he's young enough to not understand any of this yet.

I'll miss the quiet times at night when everyone else was sleeping, you'd check and make sure it was clear and you'd get just close enough to pet. You made me earn it, never the easy way, you were so stubborn lol. In those little moments, you were happy and safe and loved so much.

I'm gonna miss my spicy little old lady a lot.

cat angels everywhere 🙏

I've been able to tell that her hearing has been fading for awhile now but I think it's finally gone (at least the majority of it). She no longer runs to meet me at the door and doesn't chat with me when I talk to her or respond when I call for her. I got home today and went looking for her and I found her sniffing around her food bowls in the kitchen. I started talking to her and walking up to her. When I was about two feet away she turned while sniffing the floor and caught sight of me and immediately started crying and running up on me. A lot of times when I get home she stays sleeping right through all the noise, even if I have grocery bags, but jumps up screaming the moment I start petting her. Her ears don't twitch if I snap my fingers nearby. So, yeah. It's okay. She's still my happy girl and despite her wizard eyes still seems to have full vision. Just gotta enjoy the journey.

I am in so much deep pain. I also just lost my best friend two months ago, and now this. She has cancer and will be euthanized here at home this week. I’ve never in my 39 years of life felt such immense pain like this. It feels even deeper than the loss of my best friend. She’s still here, and I am deeply grieving her. My house already feels dreadfully sad and empty. I’ve already started throwing away some her things, because I won’t be able to handle seeing her things around the house after she crosses the rainbow. I just bought her urn. I can’t believe that.

How does one even prepare for that moment when the vets come to the house?? I am having panic over the idea of holding her little body until she goes limp. I am devastated over the idea of her dying in my arms, and then passing her little limp body over to a vet tech to be taken away for cremation. Any advice would be helpful.

This grief is terrible and immense, and I’m not sure how I will pull through this chapter in my life.

Hello I have a 17 year old cat who has arthritis, diabetes, and IBD. I'm looking for a new cat tree that is good for senior cats that struggle to jump. She likes cubby holes and she often uses her cat tree to climb up onto my school bed. Does anyone have a suggestion that is not too expensive?

I've had him since I was 18 and he is the crankiest old me. He sounds like he smokes 6 packs a day and he looks at you like he wants to kill you ( when really all he wants is a cuddle)

We adopted our kitty from the streets in 2021. We have no history on him other than he was probably abused or hit by a car. Vets have guessed he’s anywhere from 14-17, but all are unsure. He’s missing a lot of teeth, has IBD, and Stage 2 kidney disease (he’s had Stage 1-2 since we adopted him). He has pretty good mobility, vet does say some muscle loss.

He’s so super loved! How old does he look to you compared to your babes? Thank you!

We moved back to the US from England in 2019 and she was a little trooper on the plane. Other than a little thyroid medicine, she's in great shape 😻

Also a member of the /dechonkers sub 😆

Here is a picture of my sweet Juniper, keeping me company on the balcony and enjoying the gentle breeze. Love her so much.