Your Pet Loss Diaries

'Chris & Stylus', USA

About Stylus

Stylus was 17 yrs old and was Silverbelle's older brother and was the absolute light of me and my husbands life. Stylus was gray with a gentle disposition but did not put up with any crap.

When did you lose Stylus?

Stylus had been diagnosed with Carcinoma on 25 Jan 10. He had a mass that was pressed against his trachia which made breathing hard for him. On 5 Feb 10, he was given less than 2 weeks to live. On 8 Feb 10, he started to gasp for breath and had started to not want to eat nor drink he also lost weight. We made the sad decision to put him to sleep because he was starting to suffer from his cancer.

At which stage of pet loss grief do you feel you are currently at?

Right now I am grief stricken because this is the second cat that has died in less than a 5 month period.

Chris and Stylus's Story so far

On Dec 1992, me and my husband were starting our life together so we did not have a lot of money to spend on Valentines Day gifts for each other so we decided to get a cat. This is where Stylus entered our lives. Stylus and his sister were born in a DC alley. My husband chose Stylus because he was such a beautiful color and had a sweet disposition as a kitty.

Over the years, Stylus pretty much ruled my husband's life. He slept with us and he woke my husband up at 0600 hours in the morning 7 days a week for his breakfast. Stylus loved his daddy and I never knew a man who loved a cat like my husband. There were times when Stylus was sick and my husband would be determined to make sure he got the best medical care and we had a few hickups with his health over the years.

When he turned 17 in Jan, my husband noticed a big lump on his neck and we had so many tests ran. The mass got big and was starting to press against his trachia. Stylus could no longer purr nor was he active because he got out of breath so easily. When we found out it was cancer we knew there were no treatment options. He started to get worse and the mass just got bigger. He started to cough and gasp for breath and my husband knew there was no way he could continue to suffer even though this would be the hardest decision he would ever make and that was to end the life of someone who meant the world to him and to me.

As we brought him into the vet clinic we were explained how the procedure went. We were crying and telling him how much we loved him that his sister would see him in heaven and that we were sorry for this. He was not scared because he did not know what was going to happen. He passed away peacefully and he did not suffer... Now forever will we grieve for someone who made us happy and will never be forgotten