My Beloved Cleo Is Gone Options

[Cleo's Mom]

This is my first day visiting this site and I an awed by the empathy and sharing...

I lost my beloved 15 year old Siamese cat, Cleo, on Thanksgiving Day. While she had slowed down over the last several months, I had no idea how ill she was, so her death is a shock.

I had just taken her to the vet for her annual check up the Saturday before Thanksgiving and she appeared well to the vet. She had been diagnosed with borderline renal disease about a year ago, and was doing well on a special diet. On Sunday evening, the started having difficulty breathing, so I rushed her to an emergency center where they assumed she had a possible cardiac condition. In the morning, I took her to my vet who referred me to a regional animal center where they actually had cardiologists and other specialists. They diagnosed her with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, but thought that they could treat her heart failure with diuretics and send her home in a couple of days. I was so relieved after having basically stayed up all night in the emergency center and then at home worrying about her. Unfortunatley, the diuretics led to acute kidney failure and she worsened suddenly over the next two days. They told me on Thanksgiving morning that I had no choice but to have her euthanized. I was able to stay with her and hold her, and, althought she was very drowsy due to the renal failure, I know that she knew I was with her.

What I wasn't prepared for is the devastaing grief that follows. I have lost family members, including my parents, and this is really just about as bad. The first few days were almost unbearable.......my other cat (also Siamese and her sister for the full 15 years) cries and looks for her...that is heartbreaking to watch.

While I do belive that I will see her again one day, that doesn't seem to help me much at all right now........