My uncle’s cat is dying. In an email exchange that he and I had last week, there was a bit in the email I wanted to share with you guys because it’s so beautiful and affecting. I asked him if it was okay to share with my Animal Shak readers and he said it was cool, so here it is:

His decline has taken place over months, so it is slow.  He continues on the same trajectory, slowly.  He is still losing weight.  Not quite to the skin and bone stage, but pretty close.  My friend, (omitted), called it.  She said at the time that I had the vet visit that he isn’t likely to fail all at once, not now anyway, like the vet seemed to say.

I watch him like a hawk for signs of major discomfort because when he gets "there" I will do the right thing and have the wicked injection administered.  Until then, I think he is still having decent quality of life.  Still meets me at the door most nights, still purrs, still gets that delirious cat delirium when  getting just the right petting.  Seems pretty okay.

In the mean time, I am spending the kind of time with him that I always meant to before but always found some more important priority at any given moment, and loving on him and grieving.

My uncle is a very good pet owner- I know he spent a good amount of time with his cat prior to finding out his cat was dying. But the one bright spot in all of this is being able to spend as much quality time as possible with his cat before he has to put him down.

Sometimes we do get caught up in the hustle and bustle of our lives and our pets get less quality time. It happens to the best of us. But perhaps we all should remember my uncle’s story and give our pets some extra ear skritches and snuggles. I know my cats and dog have been getting some extra love lately.

And to my uncle: my thoughts are with you and Wiley every day.