# RIP, Frankenstein



## robert4301

Had my 18 1/2 year old female cat, Frankenstein euthanized today. She was the perfect cat for me. Very quiet, a total lap cat and a wonderful companion. She was a small tuxedo, never more than six pounds. But in the last year, she developed kidney failure and lost weight. In the last few months, she became blind (detached retinas) and near totally deaf. In the last two days she had lost interest in food and could no longer rest comfortably. When I got home from work today, she was facing into a corner of the room and was not really responsive. I had known for a while that her time was coming.

I decided to call the vet clinic at 3:45 this afternoon and asked if they could see Frankenstein today for a possible euthanasia and, although booked for the day, the vet said to bring her on in. Ten minutes later I walked in the door. They led me into an exam room right away. The vet came in ten minutes later and examined Frankenstein. He agreed that it was time. The cat was calm and even purring a little and didn't flinch as the vet clipped a small patch of fur off her inner right rear leg. He then put a little iv in and slowly at first, injected a single shot of some barbiturate that quickly relaxed her then the rest of it which stopped the heart. The whole thing was maybe 30-40 seconds and totally peaceful. I held her head throughout and am so glad I decided to be with her to the end. 

The exam room had plenty of tissues which was good since I forgot to bring any. It also had a door directly to the outside. That was good because I didn't have to take an empty carrier through the waiting room where two little girls with their mother had looked at Frankenstein while I was checking in. They were still there.


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## Meezer_lover

I'm so very sorry that you lost your Frankenstein. It's so incredibly hard, and not many understand.

Please know that I'm thinking of you and your baby.


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## marie73

I'm so sorry for your loss. Making that decision is the hardest, but also the most loving, thing to do. I'm glad I was with my baby, too.

There must be an interesting story behind her name.....


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## cooncatbob

Few things in life are more painful then losing life long special friend.
I'm glad you were able to be there for her as she passed from this world to the next.


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## robert4301

marie73 said:


> I'm so sorry for your loss. Making that decision is the hardest, but also the most loving, thing to do. I'm glad I was with my baby, too.
> 
> There must be an interesting story behind her name.....


 Thanks for the kind words. I got her name from a sci-fi book I was reading when I found this kitten. A character in the book was trying to get booted off a space ship he was working on. He found out that bringing an unregistered animal aboard was a serious enough offense. He found a really ugly, foul tempered cat, named it Frankenstein, and put it in his cabin where it was sure to be "found". But it escaped. The story moves on while Frankenstein is in the cargo hold ............having kittens! 

I just find it impossible to keep a straight face when naming a cat.


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## Valentine's Heart

I'm so sorry for your loss today. One year ago today, I lost my Valentine. It is so hard to say goodbye to those special ones....


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## cooncatbob

Valentine's Heart said:


> I'm so sorry for your loss today. One year ago today, I lost my Valentine. It is so hard to say goodbye to those special ones....


My very first kitten when I was about 5 was named Valentine, I don't even remember if it was a he or she it died while still quite small, I got another Kitten Blackie from the next litter.
I had not thought about these childhood pets for ages until this past May when I lost Samantha shortly after her 16th birthday.
Then it seemed the memories of all the pet I owned and my families pets came flooding back, dogs and cats, rabbits, rats. parakeets and canaries. 
So many pets, I feel fortunate to grow up in a family where we had lots of pets, I have a friend with major allergies and he didn't grow up around animals and he's never had a pet, kinda sad.


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## tarah44

I'm sorry for your loss.


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## tghsmith

very sorry for your loss,its never easy but its what has to be done. take a look online for the series "red Dwarf" one of the best scifi comedy series ever.. I wanted to call one of our cats "smeghead" wife wasn't going to let that.. happen clip of with happened to fankies kittens after many years of evolution ..


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## robert4301

tghsmith said:


> very sorry for your loss,its never easy but its what has to be done. take a look online for the series "red Dwarf" one of the best scifi comedy series ever.. I wanted to call one of our cats "smeghead" wife wasn't going to let that.. happen clip of with happened to fankies kittens after many years of evolution ..Red Dwarf - Two Minor Drawbacks - YouTube



I'm busted! I never saw the series and never actually finished the book. I hope my basic recollection of the story is correct about "Frankenstein". I adopted a cat today from Austin Pets Alive. It is a black female, 8 1/2 months old. They called her Xemena but you have given me an idea to mine the book or the show for a name! Some may consider it odd to get another cat the day after losing a cat but a cat-less home is not for me.


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## marie73

I don't think it's odd at all, lots of us have done it. Black cats RULE!


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## cooncatbob

It's not odd at all, we're cat lovers, it's who we are.
We carry on the legacy of love when we open our hearts and our homes to another cat who need someone like us.


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## tghsmith

congrats on the save...



 holly might work for a name...


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## OctoberinMaine

I'm so sorry for your loss of Frankenstein. I was glad to read your description of how it went, because I've always wondered if they have another way out of the place for crying, sobbing owners after a euth. I sure wouldn't want to go back through the lobby after something like that. Anyway, I'm so sorry for your loss. It sounds like Frankenstein lived a good long life.

Congrats on the new kitty! When I lost my first cat ever in 2008, my first reaction was that I'd never have another cat because losing her was so painful. Four days later I was looking at the web sites again, and 2 weeks later we had our Murphy. You're just not prepared for how empty a house seems without a cat in it.


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## Syrena

I am so sorry for your Frankenstein. Take the decision is the hardest think to do. And you are right, not everybody understands...
on the other side, Frankenstein had a beautiful age for a cat and surely lived a wonderfull life!


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## robert4301

October said:


> I'm so sorry for your loss of Frankenstein. I was glad to read your description of how it went, because I've always wondered if they have another way out of the place for crying, sobbing owners after a euth. I sure wouldn't want to go back through the lobby after something like that. Anyway, I'm so sorry for your loss. It sounds like Frankenstein lived a good long life.
> 
> Congrats on the new kitty! When I lost my first cat ever in 2008, my first reaction was that I'd never have another cat because losing her was so painful. Four days later I was looking at the web sites again, and 2 weeks later we had our Murphy. You're just not prepared for how empty a house seems without a cat in it.



I pretty much knew that I would adopt right away.I had been looking at rescue shelters for the last month to enjoy the cats and get used to these places. I was a bit surprised at how fast Frankensteins final decline was. The general consensus is that you'll know when it's time. Definitely true for me. The hardest thing to deal with was coming home and cleaning up Frankenstein's food and water area, litter boxes and sleeping places. She was my only pet. For me, having no cat at all would have made the whole experience much harder to deal with.


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