I truely empathize with you and you have my prayers and a HUGE cyber-hug for your hurting heart.

While it is a very very difficult decision to make it sounds like you already know it's 'time'.

I just went through this in July with my 17 yr old cat Dusty. She had congenitive heart failure and severe osteoarthritis.

I already knew her time was short and had the appt. already set up on a Thursday, a week from the last recheck appointment. I spent that weekend with her letting her enjoy eveything she was capable of enjoying and spent alot of time petting her, talking to her, taking lots of pictures of her, and making her last days as enjoyable as I could and basically saying my goodbyes while she was still with me. (My eyes are tearing up as I'm typing here). Anyways that Sunday night I guess the stress and excitement of her weekend just got to her and she had a bad night with difficulty breathing, so that Monday July 2, 2007 at 4:45 p.m. I said goodbye to my beautiful, wonderful, furry companion for the last time.

It was a very difficult decision to make, my heart is still hurting over her but I know she is no longer in pain, she's not suffering, or enduring the medications and the side effects. I know she knows I love her and did everything I could to help her. There just comes a point when we know we're keeping our pet alive more for us than for them. When I finally realized it had come to that the decision was clear what was best for her, not me. It still hurts and I miss her terribly but I know I did the right thing for her.

I have to quit typing now before my tears short out my keyboard. You are in my thoughts and prayers.