Carmella came to our door in 2005. She said that if we took her in, she would always be grateful. She has been true to her word ever since. She is the sweetest cat I have ever known and I love her more than any cat I have ever known.

Now it's been a long time and Carmella's a middle-aged cat. She's perfectly healthy but is slower then when she was young, and can't jump as high as when she was young. But she gets around just fine and purrs and snuggles just like always.

And now I get sad because cats don't live as long as people. I keep worrying that something's going to be wrong with her (It's going to happen someday) that can't be fixed. How am I going to take Carmella to the vet to end her life (I've done this before and it hurts forever)? Why do I keep thinking these things? I have this perfectly good cat and I can't be happy with her because I'm thinking of some future sorrow.

Does anyone else have this kind of trouble? It's not a cat problem, it's a me problem.