Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2012 22:20:09 GMT -5
Today, my cat Tiger, who I have had for nearly 12 years, has died. He has been starving himself for over a week, as well as dehydrating himself, but we did all we could to care for him. We even took him to the vet last week Tuesday for a check-up, and two days later they told us that he had kidney failure and that he was not expected to live much longer. So we did all we could to make his last days enjoyable, and like before we continued to offer him food (to which he refused to eat).
So this afternoon, we had a veterinary specialist come to the house and euthanized him right inside of my bedroom. We knew that had to be done, since we could not allow him to die a slow and painful death from self-inflicted starvation. It was very hard on me and all of my family to be present for Tiger's death, but at least we were there for him til the very end.
We put his body into a box, which my dad made as a casket for him, and we buried him out in the backyard. We plan on buying some Easter lillies and tigerlillies to place on his grave, which is fitting since my mom would refer to him as "Tigerlily" as a nickname. My mom and I loved that cat dearly, as did the whole family, and we are just devasted that we have lost him.
Of course, as cliche as this may sound, I will try to remember all the times I have had with Tiger, both the good and the bad. I have had him since he was a newborn kitten (My family used to have his mother, but she ran away and we were unable to find her) and I am grateful that he got to be a very important part of my life, right up into his old age.
He has lived in total of four households during his life, one of which was in California (for two years), one in Hawaii (for seven years), and almost three here in Oregon (25 months in the first house, and seven months in our current one). Of course, it was not important where we lived, but the fact that we lived together and were there for each other. He was truly a one-of-a-kind type of cat, and as I always told him again and again "I love you, Tiger! And no cat can ever replace you!" In fact, he has treated me far better than most humans have ever treated me.
I even wrote a eulogy for him, which I presented right after he died, and it went like this:
With that, I would like to conclude this thread with several pictures of him that I have taken over the course of his life:
So this afternoon, we had a veterinary specialist come to the house and euthanized him right inside of my bedroom. We knew that had to be done, since we could not allow him to die a slow and painful death from self-inflicted starvation. It was very hard on me and all of my family to be present for Tiger's death, but at least we were there for him til the very end.
We put his body into a box, which my dad made as a casket for him, and we buried him out in the backyard. We plan on buying some Easter lillies and tigerlillies to place on his grave, which is fitting since my mom would refer to him as "Tigerlily" as a nickname. My mom and I loved that cat dearly, as did the whole family, and we are just devasted that we have lost him.
Of course, as cliche as this may sound, I will try to remember all the times I have had with Tiger, both the good and the bad. I have had him since he was a newborn kitten (My family used to have his mother, but she ran away and we were unable to find her) and I am grateful that he got to be a very important part of my life, right up into his old age.
He has lived in total of four households during his life, one of which was in California (for two years), one in Hawaii (for seven years), and almost three here in Oregon (25 months in the first house, and seven months in our current one). Of course, it was not important where we lived, but the fact that we lived together and were there for each other. He was truly a one-of-a-kind type of cat, and as I always told him again and again "I love you, Tiger! And no cat can ever replace you!" In fact, he has treated me far better than most humans have ever treated me.
I even wrote a eulogy for him, which I presented right after he died, and it went like this:
Tiger was among the best of feline companions that any family could ever ask for, and for that we are eternally grateful to have had him in our lives. The 11 years and 11 months that he lived was filled with great love, joy, companionship, and beauty. He lived a wonderful long life, and has forever left an impact on those of us around him. Farewell, Tiger, for you shall always be remembered for the wonderful things you have done. You were always there to comfort and love us the way that a good cat does, and that is why you will always mean a lot to us.
With that, I would like to conclude this thread with several pictures of him that I have taken over the course of his life:
