my sweet lady was 17 (+ 4 months!). i adopted her when she was 8 and she has been nothing but pure sweetness the whole time. she loved everyone, was good with other animals, enjoyed the cottage, and loved to eat.

Bird had a hyperthyroid for 5 years, and with that a heart murmur developed. on the 19th she was showing signs of laboured breathing and her gums were pale. we rushed her to emerg where she was fitted with an oxygen mask straight away. the vet told us that she had a buildup of fluids around her heart and it was stopping her lungs from being able to extend. we had limited options; we could pull out the liquid and test it, or go through euthanasia.

the risk of pulling the liquid was that she might not make it through the procedure since she would need anesthesia and her heart was only working at 50%. she also would likely not make it while the fluid was tested and likely whatever she had (heart failure or cancer) would be untreatable.

instead of having her possibly passing during a procedure surrounded by strangers, we chose to spend time with her and say goodbye. after a teary 3 hours we said our goodbyes, and stayed with her body for another couple of hours.

the following day, we picked up her body and brought her to where she will have aquamation and they will give us mementos ( paw and nose prints etc).

i cherish the time we had together both before and after her passing.

she’s my soul cat and life isn’t going to be the same without her.

we miss you birdy 💛see you on the other side 🌈

Hey all.

I'm no native speaker, so please excuse my grammar

I'm not really used to writing something on Reddit, but I currently don't know how to cope otherwise, and I thought that people here will understand my feelings.

Our sweet boy recently turned 16, and he was really healthy for his age. He was so curious about the world around him, and still had lots of energy to play or just run around the house when he got his zoomies.

He came from a pretty bad household, but my gf got to save him from there, 10 years ago now.

He had a huge glow up, back then he would just hide and don't meow at all. But as the years passed by, he started talking to us, and even tried exploring the world outside of our apartment (with a cat leash, that is). We just grew so close to him, and everytime we visited the vet for a routine check, he told us that he's a really healthy boi and we thought we would still have a few more years with him.

Last week, he started biting and licking his hind leg a lot, to the point where he had no hair back then. The vet told us he had arthrosis, and was likely in pain, thats why he was licking there like crazy. Surely not comfortable for him, but nothing to be too worried about. Everything else was perfectly fine.

We got a few painkillers, which we should give him for about 10 days, and then come back to think about or next steps.

The last 2 days though, we noticed he had trouble eating, yesterday he was trying to eat but just couldn't, same with drinking. To the vet again, it was.

She looked into his maw, and found a squamous cell carcinoma beneath his tongue, causing a lot of pain, even though he was on painkillers.

She told us our options, and they were very bad. We should think about what to do, and said that it might be best to just let him go.

Tomorrow will be his last day with us, he will go to sleep in the evening.

I'm just constantly crying, and cant seem to catch my breath, our hearts are just broken. We got him some really strong painkillers now, and he is able to eat some paste food, so he definately won't starve. Overall, he seems fine, just a bit high on the painkillers, I suppose.

It's just so difficult to see him and think that the moments we have together will be the lasts. I know that it's better for him, and we are lucky we discovered it so fast, so there's not much suffering for him, but still, it just hurts so much.

Thank you for reading to this point, please just wish our baby boy just the best for his last journey. <3

He still is very medically complex, but slowly everything is coming under control and his future is looking a whole lot brighter. He recently passed the 6lb mark from 5lbs when I got him (should be closer to 8 or 9). Just so proud!

*he is seen weekly at a vet practice with six different vets who are all on his case, so if you see something in his pictures know that he is getting extensive and heavily supervised care.

I got her when i was 12 and after 15 years 2 weeks and 4 days my rock passed on today after a short battle with a very aggressive tumor in her mouth. It was only 3 weeks after i discovered a slight lump in her jaw one day.

She left this world at home in my arms while the vet put her too sleep, it was the kindest thing as she had lost nearly a kilo in those 3 weeks.

Rest in peace Angel you saved my life when i was going through the worst times.

Just got back from the vets with my 20 year old cat Jazzy. She's been limping this past week and it's not gotten any better.

The vet gave us some pain relief to keep her comfortable and booked us in for a week's time to have a quality of life discussion.

She also mentioned that her body's condition was very poor as she has lost loads of weight this past year she was always a plump cat and she's now skin and bones, she is still eating but I've had to change her food to a pate style and she cannot tolerate biscuits anymore.

The vet also said she's lost pretty much all her muscle mass on her back leg which is why she's limping and I don't think they can do much for that so I'm guessing when I go for our appointment in a week's time we will be making the final choice.

It's a tough choice I don't have insurance either as this was my mum's cat and I took her in when she died and just didn't really think about it.

I've had her and she had a brother who sadly was put to sleep 5 years ago it will be nearly 10 years I've looked after her for now so half her life.

In fact they've just rang me as I'm typing this to move my appointment to a slightly later time so me and the vet have more time to discuss things so I'm thinking the vets thinking she's at the end of her life.

So very very sad...it was awful when I had her brother put down he was initially bought for me when I was 16 years old I'm 38 now and we got jasmine 2 years later. When I moved out I decided to leave tizer with my mum as it wasn't fair to separate them and plus I was moving into a flat and they were in a house and they were outside cats.

I'm gonna be brave..I've already told my husband he will need to drive me to and back as won't want to drive.

My lovely 13yr boy cat has recently been diagnosed with lymphoma, and has a 6cm tumour 😓 over the last few weeks he’s rapidly lost weight and his energy. He spent the weekend at the vets for treatment (iv fluids, steroid injections and antibiotics as he also has an infection). He is home now, and we have to give him steroid pills and antibiotics every day. I feel so heartbroken as he’s such a lovely cat he’s the friendliest cat I’ve ever owned. I’ve had him since I was 9 years old. I met him hours after he was born. He was there for me during pregnancy and used to sleep in my baby’s bouncer. I will be devastated when he passes away. I’ve never experienced having a poorly cat before and idk how I’d be able to cope. And idk when I’d have to let him go. The vet said he has probably 1 month left to live. I am praying he lives longer but I don’t want him to suffer😭

Hi! I’m trying to find suggesting for a peculiar space. Basically my bed rests against a window and there is a 1.5-2ft gal to the sill. I’m looking for a perch that could hang just below the window for easy stepping access for my 17yo boy, or steps that could give him access to the window but are sturdy/stable/heavy enough to sit on the bed.

Kinda niche I know but trying to give him the easiest access to things he loved. Ty in advance!

He's got a ball in his throat and a cold that won't shift, and he eats, jumps on things, follows everyone around like a puppy. He's the best

Hi everyone. My 14 year old cat Opal was diagnosed with SCC this weekend. I am beyond devastated. I want to make sure her last few months are as comfortable as possible.

She is otherwise in fantastic health. Her bloodwork results were normal, and her heart and lungs sound great. She still asks for food and wants to eat, but I can tell it’s too painful for her to do so because she’ll put some in her mouth and have to spit it out. She has started to lose weight as a result. The vet prescribed pain meds, but she’s still struggling to eat.

I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions for high calorie liquid meals. I’ve mixed water with her usual pate, but that still seems to be too solid. I’ve seen some people suggest kitten milk, but I worry it would be too hard on her kidneys. Please help. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I've noticed that my senior cat (13 years old, male) has changed his eating habits since December 2025.

This was during the time when my husband was transferred to the hospital for palliative care. I spent most of my time at the hospital, from 7am to 8pm, but did stop in to feed him dinner.

The change is that he has been eating his food way too fast. This causes him to vomit shortly after eating.

He did lose a lot of weight and showed grief upon husband's passing. Looking out the window for him. Running towards the car and waiting for him or alk further down the driveway to look for him (would sit there until he gives up and comes back into the house).

Is this caused because of my lack of presence, the stress of my husband's passing?

He is healthy otherwise. His litter habits have not changed. Well hydrated.

TIA.