I just want to thank everyone for their outpouring of support. It means a lot to me, because this was such a hard decision. Whistle was the first pet I adopted on my own (during my sophomore year of college) and the first pet I brought up myself. We had a bond that I have never had with another animal. She is also the first pet I have ever had to euthanize. I grew up in a rural area and my family had lots of pets, but usually when they became severely ill they would disappear into the woods, as many animals are inclined to do. Having to make this decision for Whistle was extremely difficult, but I keep telling myself that I did the right thing. She was getting so bad so fast, and she was so frail that I don't think she would have made it through treatment again. The past month with her was great to have, but it was hard because on so many days she wasn't herself. I knew that what she was going through didn't feel good. She was sleeping under the couch a lot, not eating with gusto, not wanting to spend time with our other cat. The odd thing was that on her last night she had this very sudden improvement, ate three pouches of food, slept with my other kitty, and then went to sleep peacefully in her normal chair. By morning that was all gone, but I'm glad she had one good night with us.
Many friends and family, as well as Whistle's vets, have sent their sympathy, but having everyone here at the board has meant a lot to me because everyone understands the kind of bond we forms with our pets with chronic illness. You get to know your pet more than you ever thought you would, you become even closer to them in your attempts to help them, and it's great to have others around who understand that. I also keep thinking that Whistle did a great thing by giving me the impetus to research proper cat diet and diabetes care. Since her diagnosis, I have talked so many of my friends and family into switching their cats off of dry food and onto low-carb wet, and of course I switched my civvie, which hopefully will help because he is still very young. I even have a friend who is going to vet school who has watched this whole process, so she will also know so much more about diet and the treatment of diabetes. Whistle may have saved many other cats from going through what she went through.
