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I Am Sad My Cat Died [Cats]

So… my cat, Miko, had to be put down. We think he was attacked by another, larger cat in the neighborhood, and the wound got horribly infected. My parents took him into the vet several times, but it just got too bad too quickly. Dad took him to a different vet today and let him make the call. And, as we feared, this wound was just too much.

I’m sad, but not as sad as I was when some of our other pets died. A lot of our pets died too young. Our aunt gave us her dog, but she ran away to find our aunt and got run over. We had a cat who was allergic to his teeth. Another cat ran away (or died in a place we never found him), another instantly died when hit by a car. All of those cases were devastating because I always felt they died too soon.

But Miko was different. He was resilient. He would come home with scrapes, bites, and wounds all the time. He loved hunting. One spring, he would bring baby bunnies in alive every night for a week straight (unharmed, thankfully. We got to pet them, gush over how cute they were, and then release them the next morning). He would fight with the neighborhood cats, go out in the rain. No matter what trouble he got himself into, he would always bounce back.
Because of that, he grew to be over 15 years old. That’s a pretty full life for a cat. He lived a good life, even if he always complained! We fed him lots of treats and knew all the places he loved to be scratched. I don’t have any regrets, besides perhaps wishing my parents would have trained him to be an indoor cat. Still, for an outdoor cat, 15 years is a good life.

I wouldn’t want him to suffer. I find it incredible that some owners don’t put down obviously miserably sick pets. It’s sad, but a cat who has to get stuck with a needle every day for the rest of his life (and doesn’t have the capacity to understand why) or is in constant pain from nerve damage shouldn’t be forced to live out that kind of misery. I’m glad Miko stayed as healthy as he did up until now. And I’m glad I don’t have to watch him just sit in a tiny box in horrible pain until the infection slowly killed him. I’m glad he doesn’t have to suffer.

I knew it would be coming to the end eventually. I’m still sad, but I don’t think I’ll cry for as long as before. He didn’t die too young like our other pets. Most cats live 10 to 15 years. The fact he lived a bit longer than that is a testament to his resilience. And in any case, he died to his battle wounds, which is what I think a little scrapper like him would have wanted.

He grew up with us, and though he had a usual feline demeanor of aloofness and apathy, I knew he loved us. I hope he has all the crunchy treats, delicious rats, birds, and lizards, and fighting partners a good boy like him could ever want up in kitty heaven.

To be honest, writing this all out has really help make me a little less sad. I think I’ll be okay. Besides, I’m getting married in a month. When we get our budget in order, we can always adopt another little cutie in need of a home. So that gives me a little bit of hope.
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I am sorry about your loss. Cats need to be kept inside for their safety. This was totally preventable. Human error.
icewhip · 31-35, F
@LionessRoars Doesn't really make me feel better... thanks... But rest assured, between being a big Jackson Galaxy fan and the fact that our house isn't well suited for a pet door anyway, the next cat I adopt will be an indoor cat (besides, indoor cat= no dead birds).