Sad, sad news.

[Arlen]

Well, yesterday our cat Evinrude had to be put to sleep.
Long story short, he had been acting sickly on Tuesday but we though he was constipated or had a hairball, as he sometimes did, so we gave him the appropriate treatment for that.
On Wednesday he got steadily worse and started to get very cold and lethargic.
When we got him to the vet they told us his urethra was blocked and that his bladder was so full the toxins had spread and his kidneys had already started to fail.
Even if the had the $1400 or so for his treatment he likely wouldn;t survive or would have a dreadful quality of life.
We made the horrible decision to have him put to sleep and were with him when it happened.

The lesson to learn from this;
If your cat suffers from urinary tract infections feed them the appropriate special food for the rest of their life with NO EXCEPTIONS. It's expensive, but it's worth it.
We thought we couldn't stretch our tight budget and fed him regular cat food. Now I wish we had sold something to buy a year's supply. It would have saved his life.

Here are a few pictures of Evinrude. He was a wonderful cat and he was dearly loved and will be dearly missed.

[slohairt]

My condolences, Arlen. The death of a pet is the same as the death of any loved one. It's a shame they don't live as long as us.

[celtic cowboy]

Are thoughts are with you. We know that even though furry, they are still members of our family.

[GDub]

From one cat lover to another, my heartfelt condolences.

My cat Alice (the sole survivor of a one time herd of 5 super cool cats) had a mild stroke a couple of weeks back and lost some of her visual acuity. She's not blind, but her orientation to things gets off now and again. Amazingly, though, she's still pretty spry considering she's pushing 25!! That's 25 human years! I've known her since she was 2 weeks old so we are VERY old friends. It will be a great loss when she passes.

[Moosedog]

I'm so sorry, Arlen. I know much my furred ones mean to me.

I'm sure you will meet Evinrude again some day.

Moosedog

[heartofglass]

My condolences to you.

Evinrude will be waiting for you at the rainbow bridge.

[The Kilted Reverend]

My sincerest condolences to you, I can't imagine life with out my dog.

Slainte,

TKR

[pdcorlis]

My condolences to you both Arlen - its always tough to lose a fury little family member.

Be well - Evenrude will live in your hearts forever.

[Sheep In Wolf's Clothing]

My condolences. It is such a hard decision to make for a beloved pet.
Sara

[Alan H]

I've had to do this twice and it's horrible. I'm really sorry. Please hug Diane, hard and long for me.