He was one of the best pets I've ever had. We had him for about 15 years of my life. He was lovable and sassy, but never mean. He liked to pick fights with big dogs, and he would win. While I was in high school, he was a big part of what made living with my parents bearable. I used to go on the computer for a few minutes before leaving for school in the morning, and every day he would see me sitting there he'd just jump into my lap and purr until I had to leave. It's a simple thing, but those moments with him were really important to me. He was the only pet my family has had who really liked to show affection for me.
For a while after we'd moved to Florida, Spice would get in fights with other cats around the neighborhood. He was mostly an outdoor cat because my mom's allergies wouldn't allow him to be inside all the time. After getting in a lot of cat fights over the years, Spice's wounds tended to get worse. The wounds he'd get on his face eventually had trouble healing. We took him to the vet and everything, but he was having a lot of problems with wounds and sores around his face. We tried to solve the problem, but nothing we did seemed to work.
A few years ago, I'd gone on vacation to Ohio with my dad and my mate for a week or two. While we were out shopping one day in the city near where we were staying, my mom called me from back home, telling me that she had decided to put Spice down, because she couldn't stand to see him in pain with the sores on his face.
I'd had no warning; she didn't talk to me to ask if I was okay with this; and I'd had no reason to believe when I'd left for vacation that my cat wouldn't still be there when I got home.
Although my mom's reasoning may have been valid, as his sores probably did cause him pain and were untreatable, it was not an emergency situation. Spice lived with it, and he never even acted upset or miserable about it. He would have been fine if left the way he was for another few days until I could have come home and said goodbye. But instead, my mom decided that she knew what was best, the way she always does.
Now, anyone who bothers to read my journal may remember the recent post I made about our dog Mrs. Dash's health failing. As I said in that journal, Mrs. Dash has always been my mom's dog. So even though Mrs. Dash looks miserable, can hardly move around anymore, and nothing has been able to treat her ailments, the decision to keep trying or to let her be put to rest has been left up to my mom.
Yesterday, Mrs. Dash went to the vet again, and the news was not very good. She's lost another pound of weight since her last vet visit, even though we feed her more than our other two dogs. She hasn't been able to digest her food properly. We were also given yet another medicine to try to help with her arthritis - another medicine that probably won't do anything. A couple weeks ago, my parents went on vacation to Ohio, and Mrs. Dash (who went with them) was unable to move whatsoever because of the colder weather up there.
(And before I continue, I wish to clarify - I'm not in favor of euthanizing pets just because there's something wrong with them. But when they're in constant pain and you've tried everything you can to relieve them and nothing's working, there's a point where it's just not fair to the animal to force them to put up with it just because you don't want to lose a pet that's special to you.)
When my mom came back from the vet with Mrs. Dash, I asked my mom if she was ever going to be able to call it quits on trying to fix Mrs. Dash. She isn't getting younger, and we can't afford ridiculously expensive treatments. My mom assured me that she'd "know when it's time, but it wasn't at that point yet", that she "knew when it was time for Spice and all our other pets too."
Everything in me just wanted to say, "Yeah, well maybe you should have left Mrs. Dash here while you were on vacation in Ohio so that I could suddenly decide 'it's time' and call you to let you know your dog wouldn't be here when you got home." But I couldn't, because the words got stuck in my throat. I was afraid if I said them out loud, I'd start crying about Spice again. Even though he's been gone for a few years now, I still miss him. My mom's selfish attitude towards Mrs. Dash when she didn't give a damn about me being ready or not to lose my pet infuriates me.
I can't stand my mother.