Heartbroken

Tomorrow we will put our beautiful little mister to sleep. We adore Jacques. He's the third person in our marriage and he even got a surprise mention in our wedding day service in the rector's talk! We have been caring for Jacques for over five months since he was hurt in a road traffic accident and suffered a sacral fracture. For most of that time he has truly been a content cat, ready to chase a fish-on-a-stick in a second, sitting on my lap purring in encouragement during his daily doses of strokes, and playing happily outside. We've been less happy but patient and hopeful for his recovery, manually emptying his bladder several times a day, making games out of administering medication, quizzing one another about how many wees/poos/puddles we've found, and finding cat litter everywhere! We've both learned a lot about ourselves and each other through caring for him. Things have become more challenging over the last few weeks. Jacques seems more withdrawn and has had a few more serious internal issues that, alongside other factors, have brought us to this decision. We were anxious about leaving him when we're away and I think, in some ways, there will be a relief for us when he is at peace. Darn the car that hit this little fellow. Oh how I will miss his beautiful face and his deep, reassuring purr. Tomorrow's going to be a horrid day. Bah! Sleep easy, tiger.