Second Guessing Options

[margo]

All I ever do anymore is second guess my decision to have my cat Ashley put to sleep. The vet told me his liver and spleen were eaten up with tumors, which sounded so scary to me. He said with chemo he might conceivably have another 6 months or more. I thought it would't be worth the unpleasantness of the chemo. But now I think, damn, I could have had another 6 months with him! Maybe I didn't give him enough credit, maybe he could have come through it all right.

I would choose life for him next time. I can't shake the feeling that my decision was too hasty and panicky.

[Snickster]

Dear Margo,

My take on the chemo thing is this... We want our babies to stay with us as long as possible. We want them HERE and will begin chemo treatments if it means they are with us for even a few weeks or months longer. But: What does it feel like to the poor animal? We see how humans suffer from chemo and they have the ability to voice that pain, sickness and discomfort... out babies don't have that luxury.

Inky could have had the same thing, but I felt that if I did this I was doing it for myself, not him. He suffered enough and I didn't want to make him feel worse than he already did. There would have been no quality of life, just existance.

You did the right thing for your baby. Second guessing yourself is as normal as the sunrise, but rest assured that you most certainly did want was best for Ashley and, absolutely, the most unselfish gift you could have ever provided to him.

Stop beating yourself up!!!

Hugs,

Pat