I adopted two cats 20 years ago. One of them had some major health issues that had a 15% chance of recovery if I could have spent thousands of dollars. She was suffering. The cat that spent 15 years of her life never letting anyone pick her up and hold her.. allowed me to hold her for a whole hour before we put her to sleep.

Her companion is now 20 years old. She stopped eating earlier this year. A vet visit prompted us to start her on prednisolone to encourage her to eat. It worked. Once we got low on the pills, I tried to see if she would eat without them. And she did. For months. Now she's stopped eating again. When I touched her body where her rear legs meet her torso, she flinched. This is the cat that has allowed me to touch her pretty much as needed most of her life. I fear the kidney issues and thyroid issues are catching up to her. I sense she is in pain... and it kills me.

The second difficult decision regarding my cats seems nigh.

I'm not ready, but I'm also not sure if pushing my Fuzzy Nose, my Fuzzabutt, my fuzzy familiar.. to live longer is the right choice at this point, either.