We had to have ours put to sleep back in the spring. She had a pretty big growth on her jaw that was causing a lot of pain as well as difficulty in eating. We had her for 20 years although she could well have been a year or so older as she came to us as a rescued cat.

She had me pretty well trained so I could recognise the "I want out NOW!" yell, the I want fed NOW!" yell and even the "There's no food in my bowl! I'm not hungry right now but I might be later so put some in NOW!" yell. She was pretty patient with me and would persevere until I got it right.

On the big day, she sat on my lap for about two hours and seemed puzzled as to why I was blubbing like a baby and seemed to quite enjoy the taste of tears.

We have resisted getting another because she was such a one-off.

My heart goes out to you mate.

Eddie