Goodbye Coconut

When we got up this morning Coconut (the cat) seemed very quiet, and it quickly became apparent she couldn't move her back legs.  I made arrangements to take her to the vet as soon as it opened (MrsCyclops being away this week).

When we got there they determined she had a heart condition which had led to a blood clot forming and cutting off supply to the back part of her body.  This was not something she was likely to recover from, and even if she did it was likely to recur quickly.

We had to make the very difficult decision to have her put down.

CyclopsJnr was understandably upset but was able to join in the conversation with the (very kind) vets and help with the decision.  He was very brave.  

The vet took Coconut away to put in a catheter for the injection, then brought her back wrapped in a blanket to say goodbye (pictured).  We had lots of lovely cuddles, we told her we loved her, and we both held her while she had the injection.  She slipped away peacefully as we stroked her.

We talked about something the Queen said which has been quoted a lot in the last week - "Grief is the price we pay for love." CyclopsJnr thought a lot about this and decided "I'm very sad but it was worth it to have Coconut with us".

Afterwards CyclopsJnr wanted to go to school to be with his friends.

He was pleased to have a video call with MrsCyclops this evening, and was very sad not being able to say goodnight to Coconut and rub foreheads with her at bedtime, but settled down OK after that.

He has been an incredibly brave and grown-up boy today.  I am very proud of him.

R.I.P. Coconut