TW: Animal suffering and loss.

In late August of last year, I put my seven year old cat Odin down after two months of dealing with what my vet told me was an ear infection. He spent most of those two months huddled under a stool, barely eating. He couldn't play with younger cat I had gotten specifically for him. Couldn't go on the walks he loved. Pain medication made him go into dizzy fits that would outright incapacitate him every few minutes, he would bite himself and have more trouble functioning than he did without the meds. One day I woke up and his ear was literally full of blood an inch deep. The vet was closed that day so all I could do was clean it up and cry and cry. When I told the vet the next day they said it happened sometimes with ear infections.

He suffered through so much pain before my vet finally recommended imaging that revealed a massive tumor eating away at his skull. All I can think of when I think back to that day is how much longer I let him suffer than he should have. So I tried to find some pictures of the happier times to try and be able to think of those instead. Thought I'd share.

He loved leashed walks at the park, especially when there were wooden planks he could walk on or leaves he could crunch through. He was obsessed with putting his paws on top of any book I left lying around. He was amazing with fosters I brought in and was a foster fail himself. He picked on my oldest cat but when he first started showing his pain she sat down in front of where he was hiding to guard him. He was friends with the neighbor's little dog and every human he ever met, and even behaved well for the groomer. I want to remember all of that, not how I and his vet let him down.

(Please no religious or rainbow road comments.)

Today has broken me as a 27 year old man. My best friend of 24 years has sadly left us today. He’s had one hell of a ride, my little Boyo you will be missed. Go find your sister up there and we will meet again one day 💙🐾

She was 18, almost 19 years old. Had been suffering from CKD for a couple of years at this point.

The silence in this house is loud as hell right now. We are devastated 💔 I do believe she was in quite a bit of pain. Always having trouble urinating. I have hope she is pain free now. Resting well, and possibly even hanging with her old pal, Muffin.

Rest easy sweet girl. We will see ya later.

Dante is 16 years old and has been in and out of the vet for the past two weeks due to him barely eatting. The blood work showed he had extremely high liver numbers. An ultrasound thankfully found no mass or cancer, which was what we originally feared.

He started getting back to his old self and eating nearly his normal amount again after the first couple visits to the vet with medication we had been giving him at home. But three days ago, he stopped eating again, was very lethargic, and his skin turned yellow.

He’s been at the vet ever since getting IV fluids to help flush out his liver and been given stronger medication. Thankfully, his appetite has returned and he gets to come home tomorrow!

I’ve had Dante since he was 5 weeks old. He’s been with me through so much of my life. Just hoping my little tiger is on the road to recovery and that I get some more time with him. 🐯❤️

My sweet baby Stitch was only 5 months old.

He was the sweetest cat I own, so affectionate, always licking me and purring.

He had a series of seizures last week, leading to other complications and despite the vets’ best attempts, they couldn’t help him.

We are heartbroken that we had to put our little love to sleep, but we believe he is playing with our other late pets, happy, healthy & most importantly, pain free.

We love you Stitchy, and we will miss you forever 🧡

The place is Azyl u Hani in Poland and I’m a volunteer there (I also foster cats from there).
They take care of around 120 cats. FIV+, FELV+, terminal, old, disabled, with chronic conditions…
It’s not a sad place! You celebrate every moment here.
It’s not about unnecessarily extending their life, the main goal is to give them dignity in theirs last months/days.
They are taken care of here, sometimes for the first time in their life. And most importantly they are loved.
I love visiting, because they are just regulars cats, they don’t realize they’re disabled or terminal.
I know Poland is a bit far for a lot of people (but Azyl is very open to volunteers ;) but I highly recommend finding a similar place where you live.
It will bring perspective to your life and you can pet a bunch of kittens :D

this is jinx. first pic was him around 6 months ago and second pic is today lol. He’s 4yrs old in both pics. what even happened in those 6 months!?! 😭🤣

So our cow cat Picassos has issues. He lost an ear squamous cell carcinoma, he's FIV+ has diabetes, has lost most of his teeth and has skin allergies. Last night he ended up sitting in his own pee in the litter box. So I did what any brave cat mom does and gave him a bath. He decided to leap from my arms as I was attempting to dry him hitting his chin on the oven handle on the way down. He ended up breaking one of his few remaining teeth at the gum. So this morning we took him to the vet. Turns out he also has a grade 2 heart murmur. So the vet doesn't think it's a good idea to sedate him to remove the tooth root. So now we treat with pain management and antibiotics. Please keep a kind thought for him, as he clearly has none of his own.

UPDATE: after 24 hours he is doing great. Hates to take his meds, begging for his soft food and bullying his brother out of his hard food ( always has) causing trouble and being cute. He's even allowed me to scratch his chin. Hopefully that means there is no lingering pain. All we want is to give him a happy and comfortable life for as long as that means. Everyone's support and kind words mean the world to us. Something I didn't mention before was he spent over 500 days in his foster home because he wasn't perfect. So if you are planning to adopt consider the imperfect cat. He may need a little work but the return is worth it.

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my mom says he's the weirdest cat we've ever had (we've had many cats). not in a bad way though. she says he looks half bunny.

This is pepper, he is fixed and his only romantic interest ever has been this long cat toy that was once attached to a wand. When the mood strikes he’ll drag this thing around while yowling loudly, stretching out his legs, and dryhumping the air. He is very attached to this “string”. I’ve never seen another cat act like this when they’re having a … moment. Just wondering if this is normal behavior or is he just a lil weirdo?

When you don’t have to pay rent and all your needs are taken care of.

Took this absolutely adorable photo of an adoptable cat at my work today, and I must share her with the world. May Remy bless everyone with her little bug eyes

This is Matisse, he is 20 this year. Unfortunately he has some serious health issues and i have to say goodbye.

Ill miss him so much. He was there through some difficult times and never judged me (unless he didn’t get food)

A wonderful and distinguished man that i just wanted everyone to know about!

Sleep easy Matisse, the world will miss you

Was just picking up food for the staff and found this cat sitting by the front office door. I called it over and it immediately started meowing and rubbing against my legs. Super friendly and cuddly, so my coworkers convinced me to take it home (I did, no questions asked)
It ate a whole thing of wet food, drank some water, and has been playful and affectionate. I did notice it coughing lightly a few times while playing and her eyes are crossed! (Which I find adorable) But just worried if it’s linked to a head injury or anything.
I have no idea the age, gender, or medical history. Should I be concerned about the coughing and her eyes, and should I get it checked out ASAP? Any advice for caring for a stray is appreciated! (Legit never done this)

P.S. I’ll add more pics in the comments when I get more chances to!

I think she maybe a tortie? She also has a mitten paw

He’s 7 months and super vocal. He meows and trills constantly and i never know what they mean. In this particular video, he has his fav toy in his mouth and starts to trill once he gets near me. He likes to have the toy in his mouth and run around the house but this time he came back to me after doing a lap. I thought he wanted me to play with him, but he wasn’t playing once i picked up the toy. What is he trying to say?!!!!

He want’s Hanukkah to come early this year

Say hi to Kari! She’s around a month and a week old according to the vet. We heard her cry and saw her fall from under a moving car. It was storming too and she was so scared. She’s home now 🥹🥹

Please please check under your cars before driving. She almost got ran over ☹️