04/15/2026
I’m putting my cat to rest today, is this okay?
This is Jesse. He’s almost 16 years old, and he’s scheduled to be put to rest today at 4:30pm. My girlfriend and I are absolutely devastated. He’s been in her family his entire 16 years, and he’s been my cat for the last 8 years. The last few years have been a bit of a medical struggle for Jesse, and we’ve gone through so much emotionally and financially to get him through it.
A few years ago, he stopped eating dry food altogether. I spent weeks going through different foods until we landed on something he would eat. Even after he began to eat, he started to lose a ton of weight, and we couldn’t figure it out, and neither could the vet.
His condition worsened. He lost a ton of weight and began to obsess over the water bowl, just hovering over it. He stopped grooming himself altogether. We eventually switched vets, and he was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. He began to take medicine for it, stopped obsessing over the water, and put the weight back on. He almost doubled his weight in two weeks.
The entirety of this time, he threw up about once a day, and the vet could not figure out why without extensive testing we cannot afford. Over the next year, he had a sinus infection about every few months, and we treated him with antibiotics for that. Overall, his condition was better but not perfect, and he began to groom himself again.
This lasted about a year until the last few months. He began to obsess over the water again, became ravenous about food, and almost seemed to forget he ate within minutes of eating. He also began to have issues with making it to the litter box periodically.
During the second most recent exam, the vet noticed a growth on his thyroid that had not been there before and had grown quite quickly. She said it was not affecting his breathing but would need to be monitored, and the only avenue for that would be more testing and possibly a very risky surgery.
We got a thyroid panel again, and he was fine. We also got a urine test to rule out a UTI. The vet told us that if we cannot proceed with further testing, our best bet would be to monitor his quality of life, and at any time we feel he’s no longer comfortable, it would be appropriate.
The last few weeks have been bad. He has only made it to the litter box maybe 2 or 3 times. He’s almost only p*ed on the couch where he lays all day, about 3 to 4 times a day. It is covered in p*e pads to accommodate him. He’s begun to fixate over the water again and has stopped grooming himself entirely. He’s not doing much else other than eat when it’s time and p*e or p**p only where he is.
He’s scheduled to be laid to rest later today. Am I wrong for this? Is this okay? I don’t want him to go out undignified and in pain.
The first two photos are him the last two days. The other three are him in his prime.