[AnimalCrazy20]

So I've had my Destiny since October 2003. So she's almost 7 years old now. The last couple days just out of nowhere I got thinking about having to put her to sleep and how hard it will be on me. She's a very healthy girl, Vac's ar up to date, she's spayed and she lives indoors now, she was an outdoor kitty for a couple years. I've never had to/or have gone threw anything like that. I'm dreading the day that it happens be it next month or even 10 years from now.

I know it's a weird thing to randomly start thinking about but I'm 21 years old. I've never had a pet PTS.

How long will a healthy indoor cat live to be?

 

[marie73]

Well, from the perspective of someone who's going through something right now (Cinderella is sick), let me just say this. If you spend time thinking about "what if" and being sad thinking about how you'll feel and what you'll do when the time comes, then when the time really comes, you'll look back and think of how much time you wasted worrying when she wasn't sick, when you could have been in the moment and loving your cat.

It is normal, though. I've done it, too, mostly when I read the Over the Rainbow Bridge threads, which break my heart. It always makes me spend extra time with my girls, thankful that they're healthy.

Cinderella was my first cat, my first love and will be my first loss.

As much as you can, take lots of pictures, get her regular check-ups, try not to dwell on "what if" and love your lovely Destiny for being with you right now.

 

[gunterkat]

It is very common for a well-cared-for kitty to live to be eighteen or more.
Fluffy, a dear feline friend who owned a couple of dear human friends, lived to be about 21 years old. He was a coal black DLH, and had an indoor-outdoor lifestyle.
He used to play like a kitten, and loved to show off how he could run up a tree, even at 20 years old. I hope I'm that spry when I'm a hundred+ "human years" old.

Don't worry, you have many years ahead with your furry friend. :wink:

 

[Leazie]

I think that it is normal to worry about having to make "The Big Decision" when you love an animal so much. I think the fact that we live so much longer than our furry friends is such a shame. As Marie said, make as many memories as you can, love and celebrate each day you have with her.

 

[doodlebug]

Depending on who's statistics you believe, the average life span of an indoor cat is anywhere from 14-18 years. I tend to believe 15-16 is probably about right.

But that's just an average and things can happen at any time...Marie's situation is a good example, a week ago she would have told you that Cinderella was a healthy kitty who just needed her teeth cleaned. But as she said, you can't dwell on what's going to happen because you'll miss out on what IS happening.

 

[Jeanie]

We can't predict, and thank goodness for that. You will never be ready to lose her. We love them so much when they're young; it's hard to believe, but we love them even more when they are long standing family members. As Marie said, just enjoy her. Treasure her every day; take good care of her, and deal with each day as it comes. What a gift they are! How much they enrich our lives! How lovely is the sound of a purr? That's what I would think about now.

 

[doodlebug]

Read "You Have Chosen Tears" in the Rainbow Bridge forum....

 

[Mitts & Tess]

When the time comes that you have to make that decission you will be surrounded by friends who can help you see your way thru it. Everyday that you give her a 100% of your attention and love counts for a lot. Hopefully you have many many years to enjoy your sweet companion.

 

[AnimalCrazy20]

Thanks everyone! I have 2 other cats one that's a 2 year old male and another 7 year old female ( she's with my in-laws as she didn't adjust well to our home and preferred theirs). But Destiny is the only that I've thought this way about. I'm not sure why it's just her. But lord, when the time comes it's going to be hard. I know when she goes, I will always remember he sleeping on my hip or back at night and waking up to her purring beside me. Here are some pics of my beautiful girl!

It's more comfy down here.

"Hi Mum"

Peek-a-boo.

 

[Mitts & Tess]

Wow what a gorgeous Torti!

 

[Jeanie]

She's lovely!

 

[AnimalCrazy20]

Thank you! Her pictures don't do her justice though. She way more gorgeous in person! I love Torti's!

 

[OctoberinMaine]

I understand. I'm a worrier about these kinds of things myself, and did have to go through it with my beloved, beautiful Rookie, who we had to have put to sleep in 2008 because of epilepsy. She was only 3, so needless to say, I didn't see it coming.

When you think about these things in the abstract, I do think it's harder than the reality (even though obviously, the reality is very hard too). In the abstract, you're thinking of your healthy kitty. If something happens where you had to have her PTS, she would have a serious illness with symptoms, and while it's very hard, you'll understand why you're doing it. It at least makes sense. That's the part you're not seeing now.

Another thing you may not see now is the tremendous amount of support and sympathy you're likely to get if it happens. When my father died in 2003, I got one card in the mail and only a couple friends who showed up to the funeral. When Rookie died in 2008, I got page after page of sympathetic responses here on the Forum, and an outpouring of sympathy from friends. Go figure. I guess enough people have lost pets, and there has been enough on TV and other places about "losing a pet is like losing a family member," that people really do get it. I've tried very hard to do the same for people who have lost pets since then.

And ultimately, you do eventually adapt to the loss. I found the 1-year point was kind of like taking a magic pill. I reached a point where I could remember Rookie, talk about her, and look at her pictures without choking up. That was a big milestone. And now we have the wonderful goofball Murphy, who brightens our house every day.

 

[WhiteKitties]

I've thought about this subject often, since my Fergie is not a very smart kitty and likes to eat things that could kill her. We've been through one surgery and several more heart-stopping moments and I've often thought that it will be a miracle if this little girl makes it to double-digit age numbers! But like Marie said, you really do have to treasure every day. As much as I try to keep anything dangerous put away, in the back of my mind I know that I could come home at any time and find my worst-case scenario laid out on the floor in front of me. She's an adorable little airhead, I love her deeply and fiercely, I treasure all my cuddles and play sessions, and I put all the 'what-if's' out of my mind because there are simply too many!

I also remind myself that when I think back to my life five years ago I never would have imagined my current life being what it is, which just goes to show that no matter what you plan or envision for your future it's likely to be very different. You've got to live each day to the fullest and shut out any worries about things that might never happen, or at least not for a very long time!

 

[Dave_ph]

I try never to read Rainbow Bridge stories.
They make me think about things I don't want to think about.