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This is one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make. When I was young and very poor, just starting out in life. Someone gave me a kitten which ended up having health problems. I could not afford treatment and chose euthanasia. I was with the kitten when he got the shot. It turned out to be a very traumatic experience and I was racked with shame and guilt for months.

Fast forward to 18 years later I had a wonderful and loving cat that had been with me, for pretty much, my entire adult life. He had many health problems, and I ended up spending over 10,000$, on surgeries, treatments and prescriptions.
Towards the end, we had a standing vet appointment, every Tuesday at 10:30. He became incontinent, and had every imaginable cat health problem that existed. But, no matter what, he always had an appetite, and would always purr whenever I came anywhere near him.
I kept hoping he would pass in his sleep. There was no way I would make a bad euthanasia decision, with this loyal companion. Finally on one of our weekly vet visits, the vet said, he had a tumor in his throat which was cutting off his air supply. At night I could hear his labored breathing, and I new how serious this was.
I knew it was time, and immediately broke down, knowing I would not be able to handle this. I spent about an hour in tears at the vets, saying good bye to my sweet little companion, and discussing every detail of the procedure with the vet.
To my surprise, I ended up handling this very well. I had no guilt. I actually felt relieved that he wasn't suffering anymore. It's possible I could of relieved his suffering a little sooner and felt OK about it. But when you love your animal, you instinctively know when it's time. And it's a decision you can make with no guilt, and feel good about making the right choice. Best wishes to all.

Learn more about this author, Emma Nelson.
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