Today I took Alex to the Vet for the big sleep. They had laid out a quilt on the table and I was able to be with him for a few minutes before and after. I held him when they gave him the needle and he just went to sleep in my arms.
Alex came into my life a bit over 20 years ago. I was not impressed as I was not consulted on whether I wanted a cat. He was a sprightly kitten, just weaned, and knew somehow it was me he had to impress. Everyone else was jealous as he would only lie on my lap.
Over the years he kept in good health and I was often told by the vet that he had the health of a much younger cat. But as he advanced in his senior years he would spend more and more time sleeping. We thought we would lose him about 3 yrs ago when high blood pressure caused a bleed on the brain. It was a case of keeping him confined and seeing if he would recover enough to have any quality of life. He did recover although a second episode took his sight. He adapted well to blindness, as sleeping most of the day did not require his sight! Over the next couple of years his also lost his hearing.
He handled the move to Swanpool very well despite my concerns. He settled into his new surroundings very well which included being able to sleep out on the verandah during the day. Outside activities had been denied him at the old house after he had gone blind.
His movements have been getting slower and stiffer until a few weeks ago I found a lump on his neck. A visit to the vet confirmed a tumour which was most likely malignant. Another was found on his foreleg. Since then he has been getting around only with difficulty as he was losing strength in that front leg and also his back legs. I felt that he no longer had quality of life and it was time.
I will miss him.
