Today at 1:42 pm my fiance and I had to put our beloved Savannah cat "Zorro" to sleep. This was by far one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I sit here tonight and I found this website and it is a Godsend because I am torn apart inside. We had Zorro for a very short time. He was only 10 months old and we brought him home from a breeder in October. I have never bought a pure bred cat before either. My other 4 cats are all adopted and we brought Zorro home with a Bengal kitten named Xena. Zorro was originally from another cattery so we feel Xena will be fine and so far she is a healthy, happy 5 month-old. We took Zorro to three different vets, the last one being an internal medicine specialist who felt very strongly he had the dry form of Feline Infectious Peritonitis. This disease is fatal for cats. We were going to go through with exploratory surgery for a definitive diagnosis, however Zorro became too weak these last two days, was unable to stand and would no longer eat or drink. He lost 6 pounds over a period of less than two months, and had not responded to any of the treatments we tried over that time period. We took him to the emergency room Wednesday night and they ran more blood work on Thursday, however today when we went to pick him up, we just knew it was time. I know that my baby is in a better place now and no longer has to suffer but I am left with an emptiness that is too much to endure right now. Zorro was a unique and beautiful cat and we will never be able to replace him. As soon as I am able to I will post a picture or two of our sweet kitty. He had slept in between us for the last month and tonight I don't even feel like going to bed because his spot is empty. I know it will take time but the pain is so fresh right now. I am so glad to have found this site to speak to others who truly understand the agony of losing a pet to illness and death. God bless all of you. Thank you.

Hi Marina:

I am TERRIBLY SORRY ABOUT HAVING TO HAVE YOUR PRECIOUS ZORRO PUT TO SLEEP TODAY.

I will say, if you had to come to any pet grief site, that I am very grateful that you came here, to us, at Lightning-Strike..............
We all know the pain of LOSS!!!!!!
And, it stinks!!!!!

Ten months old is WAY TOO SHORT...............I KNOW THAT YOU KNOW THAT.....

And, I do know that "peritonitis" in humans has decreased severely in the past several years, but it was at one point extremely deadly............

I can only imagine that it's much more so deadly in a small furkitten!!!!

Yes, your sweet baby is up at Rainbow's Bridge...........and up there, there is no more pain................No more worry..............
Full "crunchy" bowls, "water bowls" and "Fancy Feast" (or the doggy kind), of food bowls...

Our sweet lil' ones will never want for anything................
They run among the meadows and flowers, and I like to think that they all catch butterflies on their noses every once in awhile!!!!!

You, my new friend, have come to the best place that you could've.....
I am sure that by this time tomorrow night, you will have SEVERAL RESPONSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Right now...........in my EST (Boston) time zone, it's 11:23pm................
But, I know that you will receive many responses from all of the wonderful people here
at LS..................

Last year, I don't know what I would've done if I hadn't found this site........
After my husband went to sleep late at night, it was me and the computer, and I will always be grateful that I found LS.............

Right now, Ben and I have two kitties..........
Lucy is the "dominant" female, and she has diabetes and asthma........... (8 yrs. old).
Mr. Yoster is a very "nervous" boy, who is around 9 years old..........
We adopted them after we had to put our Ms. Ernestine to sleep...............

But....................I stay here at LS..............
Because I was helped, loved, and accepted...............
And, I have many friends here.........

And, I don't know the "health" of our fur-kids, especially Ms. Lucy's............and, of course, that makes me very, very nervous........

I consider everyone here to be a great friend...............Very loving and caring.........

Please Marina, if you need to, please PM/e-mail me if you need someone to talk with.
I should be up until about 1:30am EST..............

God Bless You..........

Love, Denise xoxo

I am very sorry for the loss of your kitty cat.

It is a hard thing to lose a beloved pet, whether you have had them 10 months,
10 years or 20 years. Your cat was blessed that it had loving parents who tried
very hard to help save him.

Take care.

You could never replace him. Everyone here has been through the horrible pain of losing a beloved animal. It is a hard thing to get used to, and one thing that helps .....sharing your feelings here at LS. I dont know where I would be at this point if I had not found this site. It has been very close to 3 months since I lost Moose, everyone here just helps each other through the real rough times. So I am looking forward to seeing your pic's. Pamela

Marina, I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your little kitten Zorro. I look forward to seeing pictures of the little guy. You did everything you could do to save his life and he knew how much you loved him. I can read it in every word. I know what it is to have that empty spot in bed and I still keep my little Snookie's spot open for her. We lost 2 fur dogs in 6 weeks and the pain is still so great as we just lost Snookie the day after Christmas. We all understand the pain and heartbreak here at LS. please come and post often.
Ann

Dear Marina,

My deepest sympathy to you on the loss of your precious Zorro. As everyone has said, LS is the best place to be. Everyone here is so caring and truly knows how you feel. I, too don't know what shape I'd be in today if I had not happened upon this wonderful site after losing my beloved Rusty.

You are in my thoughts.

Sincerely,

Lynn

So sorry to hear about your poor Zorro. My thoughts are with you during this difficult time. I hope each passing day lessens some of the pain.
Caroline

Marina,
I am so sorry for the loss of you little kitty Zorro.
It is amazing how quickly our fur babies become such an important part of our lives.
The people at LS are some of the kindest I've ever met. It's been almost 3 weeks since I lost my little boy Indy.
I've received such support and love from these "new friends" as will you.
Come here often, share your stories of Zorro, and know we are all here for one another.
Fran