We had to put Oscar Down. Here is a column I wrote about it

Bruce Column March 15, 2009

Oscar our pet cat has been a part of our family for the past eleven years. On Tuesday of last week we had to have him put down.
He came to us as a Christmas present from out daughter. Kendra has always loved animals and thought Karen and I needed to have a cat. Just before Christmas about eleven years ago she brought Oscar to our house to live. Kendra had done a lot of work trying to find just the right cat for us. She said she “interviewed” several before she settled on Oscar - a kitty that was rescued by the Humane Society in Salt Lake. He was only six or seven month’s old when he was found wandering across the parking lot of a grocery store. The humane society rescued him, neutered him, gave him all of his shots and put him up for adoption. In Kendra’s quest for an appropriate pet for Karen and me she decided on Oscar because he seemed pretty calm and cuddly and she knew we would give him a good home. Karen and I were not so sure we needed a pet. It took a while for us to get used to having a pet in the house. But it didn’t take long for us to become emotionally attached and after a short time we found that we both adored Oscar.
We decided early on that he was going to be an indoor cat. When he was younger he wanted to go outside, but we wouldn’t let him. It didn’t take long for him to get used to being an indoor cat so for almost all of his eleven years he didn’t get out much. On the rare occasion that he did escape the house he would patrol the back yard and after a short time was ready to come back into the house.
Oscar was a pampered cat and pretty much had his way anywhere in the house. He must have had a big daddy or a big mommy because he was a very large cat. He ate well, it fact to well. Because we fed him so well he became obese and at one time weighed about 23 pounds. After a few years of being over weight he started showing signs of being diabetic. The vet attempted to get us started with insulin shots but that simply didn’t work. Oscar was simply to big and wanted nothing to do with having a needle stuck in him twice a day.
We decided that if Oscar lost some weight his body might make the necessary adjustments to control his diabetes, so we put him on a diet. He lost a lot of weight and eventually went from 23 pounds to 13 pounds. Despite losing a bunch of weight his diabetes eventually caused other problems. He developed a very sensitive stomach and constantly vomited. He went from throwing up once or twice a month to weekly, then to daily. His body wasn’t getting the nourishment it needed, he was always hungry so we were constantly feeding him and he was constantly throwing it up. Oscar probably had other physical problems that we didn’t know about, but constantly being sick and having to clean-up after him became a real problem. He wasn’t doing well at all. After a recent middle of the night episode the decision was made. Karen called the vet the next morning and made an appointment. With tears in our eyes we took him to the animal hospital to have him euthanized.
Oscar has never liked to ride in the car when we would take him to the vet. He always made quite a fuss. This time when we loaded him into the car was no different. He was very alert and had a terrified look in his eyes as if he knew what was going to happen. Unfortunately I can’t get that image of those big yellow scared eyes out of my mind as he watched Karen and me drive him to the vet’s office. When we finally arrived Karen took him into the examination room and came out a few minutes later, Oscar was gone. It was extremely painful for Karen and me, but fortunately painless for Oscar. Once the injection was put into his front leg it was a matter of seconds before he was gone.
Oscar was a wonderful pet and provided a lot of peaceful comfort to both of us. Putting him down was one of the hardest things we have had to do. He was so loyal, trusting and unconditional in his love for us. We also think that we provided a pretty good life for him. He had the run of the house. He slept where ever he wanted. He had the best food money could buy and always had a clean litter box. Karen often made the comment that after death if humans are reincarnated as animals she wanted to come back as Oscar the cat.
It’s been almost a week and I still miss him. He’s not there in the morning sitting on his haunches watching me get dressed. He is not with me on the bathroom counter helping me get ready for work. He’s not on the Kitchen counter as I eat breakfast and read the newspaper each morning. He’s not there to greet me when I come home from work each afternoon. He’s not sleeping at the foot of the bed anymore. He’s not on his window perch watching the birds at the outside feeder anymore. He’s not lounging around the house looking for a warm sunny place to sleep anymore. He’s not there to run to the front door when the doorbell rings to see who is coming to visit us anymore.
He’s gone and we miss him.