Losing our kitten Tibbs

This is Mike...
Though we knew the day could come, it was still very difficult to finally let go. Last week we noticed blood in Tibbs' liquid food and decided to take her to the vet. Because of lock jaw, Tibbs had not opened her mouth in well over a month and her gums and teeth were deteriorating. We opted to do an X-ray to see if there was anything that we could do for her. The X-ray confirmed that Tibbs' upper and lower jaws were fusing together and the lower jaw was actually twisting as well. Our vet said our cat was most likely in severe pain and recommended putting her down. We scheduled Tibbs to be put to sleep several days later so that our kids could absorb the loss of their lovely playful kitty.
   On the morning of Tibbs' final day Zoe was so strong and said she wanted to go to the vet and hold Tibbs' paw while she was being put to sleep. Elise and I asked Zoe if she was sure and she replied, "That's what a mom would do for her child, right?" The tears rolled down everyone's cheeks. We were so proud of Zoe but also realized that if this was handled the wrong way, she could be scarred for life. We watched Zoe wrestle with Tibbs and asked her what she was doing and she replied, "I am not letting Tibbs sleep right now because she's going to have the rest of her life to sleep."
   As the long, sad, heartbreaking moment came for Tibbs to go the vet, the girls asked for more time, just one more day with Tibbs, while sobbing. There we were, in our front room, I was holding Tibbs and my kids were so overcome with emotions that they dropped to the floor and eventually laid face down on the tiles wailing, wishing this would not happen. We asked Zoe if she wanted to go, but this time let her know it would not be easy. She sadly asked between her sniffles and gasps for air, "What should I do? I don't know what to do." Elise and I said, "We think you and Sierra should say good by to Tibbs right here and let daddy take her to the vet." My daughters put Tibbs between them and we group hugged tighter than ever before. Elise could not help but join the girls in their sorrow and tears. I took Tibbs outside, closed the door and proceeded to walk to the vet. As I walked down the street, the crying and wailing could be heard over a hundred feet away. While walking to the vet, I thought of a million reasons to turn around and go back but none of them had Tibbs' best interests in mind. She was in pain, we were all in pain, this had to be done.
   Tibbs, you were always such a goofball, jumping on Zoe's face or nibbling on her toes in the early morning hours. As much as Zoe complained about you waking her up, she loved the attention just the same. Thank you for being with us. Though our time together was short, we loved having you as a part of our family. As, Zoe, your human mommy said, "You have the rest of your life to sleep." May it be with peace.

We hope you get a nice kitty hammock in heaven too.