So, my cat Zoe (my kids named her ) likes to eat hair elastics. She would throw them up every once in a while and as far as we could tell was doing no harm. We did our best to not let her eat them but with kids in the house it isn't possible to always make sure they got put away.

Last Tuesday night Zoe threw up a pretty large bunch of hair elastics and since then hasn't been able to keep down any food or water. We got her in to see the vet today and got x-rays done and she has pieces of hair elastic all through her body. The vet explained to me that to get each piece out would require a separate incision in the intestine and with how many he could see from the 1 x-ray they did we were looking at 6-12 incisions assuming we got them all. The chance that she will recover from that is already low and the likelihood that she will continue to eat hair elastics is pretty high so it might turn out that we'll have to do this all over again.

So I made the decision today to have my cat put down. We brought her home for 1 more day so the kids can say goodbye and then we'll take her back tomorrow afternoon and they'll put her down. Needless to say today has been a pretty crappy day. My girls have both said "Today is the worst day of my life" and for them it easily is. This is probably the worst thing to ever happen to them.

So yeah, that's what is going on for me right now. It sucks but I feel like it would be even tougher to watch the cat suffer through at least one but possibly multiple surgeries which could even kill her. That's all really. Just needing to get this out somewhere.

I'm really sorry to hear this man. For many people pets are considered family, and it sounds like that's how your kids feel about Zoe.
I'm pretty sure something similar is happening with one of my dogs right now, so I feel your pain.

I wish you and your family the best.

geeogree : I know how it feels to have a cat put down my family and I have had to have a couple of cats put down throughout the 45 years that we have owned cats mainly due to old age although 1 of them was hit by a car it,s never an easy thing to do we currently own 2 cats one likes to go outside every night in the summer and the other stays in,about 5 years ago one of them almost died after he came home with his side ripped open but luckily we were able to get him to the vets on time he had to have an emergency surgery which required several stitches but at least he survived and made a full recovery. I hope that everything turns out o.k. for you and your family XD

God, that sucks. I don't know exactly how this situation affects everyone since I've never been in a situation like this, but I can understand how deep the impact could have on you and your family. I'm very sorry to hear this. Do you plan on getting another cat or something like that? Let us know of any updates if anything happens to come up.

Mynamescox44 : yup, she was one of the family. I've always felt that way about pets.

no 8120 : yeah, the tough part is that this came out of nowhere for my girls. It wasn't really something we could have prepared them for. I knew it was possible but I didn't really want to tell my kids that the cat could die soon.

LunarDarkness2 : we plan on getting another one eventually. We'll just take a break from having a cat for a while. Time to mourn sort of thing.

I'm sorry to hear that happened... I know how it feels to lose a cat that has been a part of the family. I used to have 2 of them when I was younger, and it was heartbreaking when they passed away (both got ran over by cars). I wish you and your family the best.

geeogree : I'm truly sorryz to hear that this has happened too you and that your girls are suffering because of it ... I wish that there was a chance to make your cat better but with what the vet said it doesn't look like that is plausible ... I hope that your girls can stay strong and make it through this ok

As redundant as it's going to seem by now with all of the posts already here, I'm sorry to hear this, man. It's really hard losing a pet, especially one you're so attached to. I've been through a lot of hard things in my life, but strange as it may sound, one of the hardest on me was losing a pet I got as a child, so I can certainly identify with you here.

I'm especially sorry to hear how hard your children are taking it. I'll be praying for them -- all of you really -- tonight, and especially tomorrow.

My god... I'm sorry to hear that, Geeo. How old was Zoe? 

Good luck with going on further. Again, sorry to hear this happened. R.I.P Zoe. May she be happy up there.

That's really sad news. Although it is probably better this way for her. I'm sure this is a rough time for all of you. Losing a pet is never an easy thing. Especially one you've had as long as you did. I'm really sorry you guys have to go through this.

Really sad to hear this. Believe me, I know how you feel. I had 2 cats passed from my granddad's cat's litter, and we loved them very much. The 1st one had to put down because of a next door neighbor's dog biting her (maybe that's why I don't take kindly to big dogs), and the 2nd one was put down more recently, due to a "mouth tumor" of some sorts. Wasn't happy times on those days... .

Since then I still haven't got another cat. I don't even know why, maybe the respect of death? The good thing, we'll always have the 2nd cat's ashes from when we cremated him. 

I really miss him...

chas2002 : we're going to do the same thing. I want something to remember her by and a container to put her ashes in comes with the cremation.

A user of this : that's what I felt too. To put her through surgery that has little chance of long term success isn't fair to her or my girls. No point getting their hopes up only to have the cat die 6 months from now or something.

MrBeingcool1 : she's only 2 years old. That's the worst part. If she were 8 or 10 this wouldn't even really be an issue. At that age it's not even a big decision to make but at 2 I keep feeling like we should try to do something. However, when the Vet is insistent that surgery is not a good idea (in spite of it being at least 10 times more expensive than just putting the cat down) then I feel like it is the right decision.

Eirinn : yeah, it's only going to be worse in the next few hours when we start packing her up to go back. Thankfully my wife is taking her this time so I don't have to and the girls won't be allowed to be there. We'll say our goodbyes at the house and then they'll go. We've also got some stuff planned with a friend this evening to hopefully get their mind off of it.

Jygin : yeah, I've had enough pets that having to put one down isn't the worst thing ever but watching my kids go through the realization and pain of it is really hard. Not fair for them to do it now when it should have been at least 5-10 years from now =/.

tornadocam : yeah, we've had Zoe since she was a kitten (4 months old or so) so it's been tough to make this decision. I appreciate your prayers on our behalf.

gamerforlifeforever2 : thanks.

my old dog digger a black labrador died on October 2012 due to heart failure. that destroyed me and now we have a border collie name Zeus

Yeah, my wife had to take her in today. I couldn't do it. I sat at home with my kids instead. We're getting the paw print done to have something to remember her by. That's about it.

We also had 2 different people come by to visit and give their condolences. One person just brought a card and chocolate and someone else brought 3 little black cat stuffies for my daughters to have. Really appreciate the thoughtfulness of some people. It's nice that people thought to do this. Helps take the edge off.

geeogree : That's terrible. You and your family have my sincerest condolences. I hope things will get better soon.

I'm sorry for your loss. Growing up we never had pets for too long so I can't relate, but I know of many others who've lost a pet and I can see how it is like losing a family member. 

I like the paw print idea. I have another friend who kept her dog's collar after she passed on.