After the last time we had to put down our cat, I was resolved to get someone new.
That time, when the cat’s throat was slit the blood spurted deep red in multiple flashes. It went high, so that the blood went everywhere and there was a lot to clean up.
This time we advertised and a young woman answered our call.
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It is difficult to handle a cat in its death throes, and at first I was unconvinced that she was up to the job. However, when I knelt down by the cat’s side and cradled him in my arms and asked her to begin, she went to the task without pause.
The cat was big and he reminded me of Jezebel who was part maine coon, with his brown back, white chest and bushy tail, but he sat still while I asked the woman to cut at the throat. And she took a big fabric scissors and stabbed a deep incision on the left side under his jaw. Then she cut in further and chopped across to the right side of his throat, while I placed a calming palm on the white fur of his chest.
The blood did start to gush, but not like before, and it was difficult to control, but the cat did not appear to suffer. Briefly his skin seemed to sag away like cloth from the bones in his face and it loosened up with each cut but the cat didn’t struggle and soon passed away.
Some blood did gather under my knees and spill over the floorboards so that I had to manoeuver my feet to prevent it hitting the edge of the rug. And I was not totally successful but it only touched the briefest part of the trim, so overall it had all been as clean as it could be.
The cat did not seem to pass away in a great deal of pain, apart from the initial incision, but the process made me profoundly sad.
Disclaimer: Do not try this at home, go to your local vet instead!
Thanks.