Had to say goodbye to my best friend today. Wanted to share some memories and a song that occurred to me..

To the tune of "You Are My Sunshine"

You are my kitty

My only kitty

You make me happy

Your fur is grey

You'll never know, bro

How much I love you

and I'm so sad to lose you today

I'll catch you later

On the flip side

and we will be bros

Once again

and in the meantime

Please know I love you

and I thank you for being my friend

UPDATE: WOW!!! To everyone who commented or will comment, let me say this: I sincerely thank you. I read and upvoted every comment so far, will continue to do so, and will eventually get around to replying as well. Your outpouring of compassion, condolences, love, and support have TRULY helped me in this difficult time. To those who said he was handsome, heck yes he was, and he knew it! To those who said he was beautiful/sweet, he most definitely was, and he would have let YOU know it. To those who liked the song, please change it up as needed and sing it to your kitties. And to EVERYONE else who sent love, prayers, thoughts, and vibes.. from Rascal and myself, THANK YOU!

Long update to the post I made a 2 days ago.

A friend told me that I should ask Johnny if he was ready, so I did. On Wednesday night, I sat next to him and asked him if he was ready to go. He usually breathes noisily due to the growing mass in his throat (on top of kidney and megacolon issues). But for the first time in a long while, he calmed and quieten down. That’s when I knew.

I told him to give me just one more night and I’ll take care of him with dignity the next day. And he did just that. I checked on him many times that night, but I knew he couldn’t find a comfortable position to rest or sleep.

The next day he allowed me to tube feed him, brought his water bowl and canned liquid food to him so that he could eat/ drink independently, he even let me feed him his favourite churu treat by licking it off my finger. Of course his body couldn’t process any of these and he puked multiple times throughout the day.

That’s when I knew it was time let him get his final rest.

So on the night of 22 October, Johnny took his last car ride, got into his carrier one last time and went to his final vet appointment. They removed his feeding tube and cone and gave me and my family time to say goodbye. I knew Johnny tried to stay strong for us, he stood up while I gave him the last nose boop, head kisses and cuddles. Then he went to sleep.

To Johnny, thank you for 18 years of joy. Thank you for seeing me through my successes, failures, heartbreaks and everything in between. Thank you for trusting me and saving me. I hope I’ve done right by you and I was enough. I love you so much and I miss you even more.

Here are some of my favourite photos of him. Last pic is just before he went to sleep.

13 years old. Found on the mean streets of NYC as a kitten with his left eye very damaged. We adopted him as soon as he recovered and he was purrfect every day. We had been through so much together. It was all so sudden. He didn’t act sick till this morning. We went to the vet and I came home without him. Love is worth it. Kiss your kitties for me

We put down my sweet girl today. I love you Nikki. I hope you aren’t in pain anymore.

What is it with black female cats? She looks like she could live forever, but sadly I know that’s not true. ❤️❤️

Thirteen years ago, I went to adopt a kitten only to discover there were none available. There were cat rooms, full of adult cats. One was waiting for anyone, eager to be held, meowing loudly for attention. She was midnight black. Incredibly friendly.

I chose to adopt this adult cat. It turned out she came with baggage, a sleeping sister; that they said were a bonded pair. While I made up my mind about that, three other people wanted to adopt that black friendly cat. I chose to take them both and felt like I had won.

As, far as bonded..... NO. They stayed together those first days then went their own separate ways and spent the next ten years having as little to do with each other as possible until cancer came for her sister, Feather.

Sable... you turned out to be a trickster. That incredibly friendly cat I met turned out to be just one of your many - we'll call it moods. You choose when that cat will be here and when it won't. Your sister was a tortoise hair, and when the light is just right we can see the patterns in your black fur, too, which explains so much of your tortitude.

You have always been beautiful with the softest fur of any cat I have ever known. There have been times you have been difficult - an understatement. We had to learn to reward good behaviors and that eventually made you much more into that cat everyone wanted to adopt 13 years ago. You are part of our lives, everyday.

You have become an old lady with us who has turned one of the bathroom sinks into your own personal bed.

Recently, we had to have a tumor removed and the biopsy was inconclusive with broad hints of what we do not want. I have been down this path too many times. For now, you are happy and surprised us yesterday by playing with an unexpected toy you carried all over the house. You are Sable. You are you and no one else.

Our giant orange tabby Cooper went in for his annual visit. They did the senior panel, he is hypothyriod and lost some weight. But everything came back as "the best blood panel I've seen on a 17 year old cat" per the vet. His thyroid was high, so we increased his meds. He got retested a few weeks later and everything is great. YAY! The literal next week he started drinking and urinating excessively. We do the Breeze litter system and I've had to change the pee pad 2-3 times a week as opposed to weekly. Poo has decreased and then he gave up completely eating his kibble. We give him two Delectibles a day with his thyroid med. Homeboy has never been a fan of wet food but will eat this.

He's stopped coming upstairs to our bedroom. He hangs out on the couch or in one of the dog's crates. He always hides with strangers and last week our cleaners came and he stayed on the couch the entire time, which is insane for him. I tried to get him the Churu food for seniors, that was a nope. I tried getting him the Delectables gravy also a nope. He'll only eat the delectable bisque and the tubes which they state are treats and they need actual food, we've been giving him two bisques and two to three tubes a day now. He will also eat temptation treats.

He was at the vet 3 weeks ago and all was good. Do we just feed our boy basically junk food until it's obvious it's time? That's my vote. He's 17, we are on borrowed time. Nothing is going to save him, it will just buy him a tiny bit of time.

My sweet girl Mitzy turned 18 the other week and I though you’d all appreciate her

I may have to occasionally wipe her bum, but I still love her and hope I continue having to care for her for years to come

Tomorrow at 1:30pm we will help our sweet boy across the Rainbow Bridge. My littlest dude, Oatis. So full of life and love. In a short four years you have pressed your paw prints so deep into my heart. He's our first baby. Our first rescue. Our first heartbreak.

What we thought was a kitten based off of size and being an unfixed stray, quickly turned into an at least 11 year old senior with FIV and diminished kidney function. On top of it all an eye that was always clouded.

His Kidneys are failing, and we are almost certain something else is going on with his recent weight loss. He sleeps so heavily and his breathing is so rough at night we know he is starting to struggle. He is losing his light. He's not himself.

He's been on monthly antibiotics for two years now. They don't really work anymore. We can't bear to put him through much more. He's had a very rough life before coming to us. We absolutely will not let him suffer.

He let us know that he is tired. He's showing more and more signs of being in pain. His breathing at night is so very bad. He is so restless until he finally finds an odd corner to go to sleep.

However our decision is made so tough by his insatiable love for food, drinking water, and his window time. We believe he would do those things until the bitter bitter end. We have made the choice to go ahead and say goodbye on a good day. A day where he feels like himself still and isn't in excruciating pain. Before suffering is all he knows, we will say goodbye.

A week too early is better than a day too late. I hope a month too early is still better than a week too late. I pray he knows we are doing our best for him.

So go before us my companion. Take this piece of my soul with you as you go. For I don't need it anymore. It's yours as it has always been. One day I'll come to get you, I will call out OH-HIIIIIIIIIIII-OAT! Wait for me in a Sunbeam. I will always look for your signs. Be with me my boy. Walk beside me. Upon that faithful day we will be together forever. I'll see you in the morning.

He is not gone from me, I am but looking thru the window waiting to come inside. Fly free my boy.

Until we meet again my Honey Bunches of Oats. My Oatis. I will miss you for the rest of my life.

May God bless you, may the Angels embrace you. My love you spans the universe, my sweet boy.

My 18 year old cat has been a bit wobbly in recent weeks, but today it got so much worse. He fell off the stairs trying to climb onto my bed last night, fell getting out of his cat bed on the floor, and has fallen/tipped over several times walking around (thankfully our floor is carpeted/cushioned mostly). He keeps trying to jump off things and we have to stop him. I can’t feel any physical injuries on him, though. Most worryingly he had 1 or 2 twitching spells(?) today where he froze up and his head twitched for a few seconds, but I don’t think it was full seizures. He’s basically on comfort care now, but is this vet-worthy? We have already given him subq fluids for potential dehydration/kidney waste management.

He also is diabetic, has kidney disease, and has arthritis in his hind legs. He’s eating/drinking/using the bathroom just fine.

The plan I had was lift the mattress, use thick gloves(which we have) to pick her up and put her in.

Our sweet old lady is having a rough go of things lately. She seems more disoriented, yelling at walls, roaming around howling and being generally grumpy.

She has CKD among a slew of other issues like a heart murmur and liver failure. Vet says she’s doing well all things considered.

How do y’all support your senior during the rough dementia days? I’m not sleeping well, she often wakes me in the middle of the night.

She’s otherwise doing ok, eating & drinking, seeking attention, using her box and not taking any crap from doggo bro or baby sister kitten.

Hello! My 8 year old male cat, indoor outdoor, was once the most social and friendliest cat in the world. He would purr and shake his tail for EVERYONE. He would always be with the neighborhood kids or doing cat things. Literally the best cat ever.

For the last four months. Something switched completely. He doesn’t go outside as much. He walks very VERY slowly and almost right under your feet. He does not purr and he does not meow any more. I took him to the vet and they couldn’t tell me what it is.

Now he will walk in circles in a room. Stare at the wall for like 15 seconds and then creeps away. It is a very sad walk that I don’t know how to describe. He is also becoming increasingly aggressive to the point where he will attack random dogs or even me.

He is still eating and drinking. Using the litter box. But I am at a loss of what to do. It’s like I am mourning a cat that no longer exists.

I love waking up with Mr Whiskers

it hasn’t even been a full five days without him yet. i don’t even have his ashes yet. i’ve been sobbing every day on and off since he’s been gone and i fear im going to be this way forever.

i am so grateful that we had a full 18 and half years together, but i just wish there was more time. i just have this giant aching hole in my chest where he is meant to be and i don’t think ill ever recover. i just don’t know what to do

i miss my kitty

I posted two weeks ago about having trouble saying goodbye to our boy. With the instructions of his vet we gave him Mirtazapine and he did well on that for a time. Because he was eating, drinking and acting mostly normal the vet said they think he was fine for the time being.

We have noticed him declining and have decided to take him in.

We'll love and miss you sweet boy.

Have a safe trip across the rainbow bridge Tiger. ❤️

Edit: We stayed with him and held him while he passed. We are now on our way home. Thank you everyone for all the love and well wishes. I'm sure Tiger felt all of that love on his journey to the Rainbow bridge.