Tommy (my gray cat)

I wrote this story quite some time ago, but decided not to share it.  I was reminded of it when my puppy got sick recently and, well...here's Tommy's story: 

When I was growing up, my parents had a gray cat, Tommy (he looked a lot like Kristie's cat).  He was a sweet cat and a hero (he saved my mom from a snake).  One Saturday when I was 12 (maybe 13) he came home badly hurt.  The fur over his left eye and on his cheek was torn and bleeding.  Fur was missing from bottom half of his tail and his left hip was very badly injured.  My dad didn’t believe in taking pets to a vet.  If one got injured, he put it out of its misery (his farm upbringing?).  My brothers and I (usually me) had the job of digging a grave in the woods—this had happened before.  I’d argued in the past to take the pets to a vet, but dad said no.  I had no money and no options.

 

I dug the grave and carried Tommy into the woods.  I fed him leftover tuna while I waited for my dad.  Then I would leave—I never watched.  But this time it was going to be different.  Dad loaded his .22 rifle and handed it to me.  He explained that doing what needs to be done is hard sometimes, but it still needs to be done—you can’t wait around hoping someone else will take care of it.  He gave me a choice:  let my pet die a slow, painful death or put him out of his misery. 

Dad showed me where to aim to make it painless and then he left.  Supposedly there are always alternatives, but I didn't see any.  I couldn’t let Tommy suffer.  I talked with him for a minute and rubbed his back (hopefully where it didn’t hurt).  Then I stood up, aimed, and...I shot my cat.  

It was worse than I’d imagined.  He didn’t die quietly.  His body thrashed about like he was being electrocuted.  It was awful. I buried Tommy and gave the gun back to my father.  I told him about the thrashing—I was afraid I’d botched it and caused the cat even more pain.  But dad assured me that was normal.  (Normal!)  Supposedly the cat didn’t feel anything. 

This story should end with a lesson, but I'm not sure what it is.  Always do the best you can (under the circumstances) to keep your pets from suffering???  I'm going with that one.  In fact, I know that's what my dad was doing, in his way. 


PS - Taking a pet to the vet to be put to sleep is difficult.  It's always very sad.  But in there with the sadness, a part of me is thankful I don't have to do it myself, thankful the vet is there, thankful I can afford the vet.