old cat

You have gotten some really good advice. I think a simple explaination, that the kitty is sick and is in pain. That the best thing for her is to let her go, because then she will be in a better place. Depending on the age of the child, you can either use "kitty heaven" or the Rainbow Bridge ( http://www.petloss.com/poems/maingrp/rainbowb.htm ) with your child. If your child really loves the cat, I would take a picture of the cat, or even better, you child & the cat together with a print out of the poem/story and let your child decide if he/she want to hang it in their room. Another pet will help fill the void, be sure to explain that this pet is young & will live a long time & won't be going to the bridge for a long time.

yes, don't lie to your kids, and try to explain that the act is sick and it will be happy to go to cat heaven, and that you are going to get a new cat. you are going to get a new cat right?

Well i guess it would depend on the age of the child, but when my cat had to be put down my mom told me the truth, and i'm glad she did, even though i wasn't old enough to understand at the time, i remember it happening, and i remember what my mom told me, and i Do understand now. So i think in the end its never good to lie to your kids, except maybe with santa. Distraction instead of deception works wonders for most things!

I believe there needs to be a certain amount of honesty in explaining the situation to your child. This will depend on the age of your child and how intellectually advanced they are. If you have a faith, involve it in the discussion. Highlight the points about doing the right thing for the animals sake due to quality of life / pain etc and how we are allowed to let animals escape the pain of lingering deaths because we love them so much and they have given us so much in return. It is never an easy decision to make, but your child will thank you in years to come that they had a chance to say goodbye properly and the chance to understand the responsibilites, joys and heartaches of pet ownership. If you tell your child that the cat 'has gone to a farm' or something similar, it will only be a matter of time before some spiteful kid (who knows the underlying meaning of this)tells your child in no uncertain terms. This will in turn damage the relationship of trust between you and your child for all future developments. Perhaps you could let the child pick out a favourite blanket or toy and have a ceremony in your back yard to help with the grieving process (which is COMPLETELY natural). You may even be surprised by your childs response. I believe they often have a deeper understanding of things than we give them credit for. Just remember that timing is everything. Good luck and I hope everything works out for the best.

Sorry to hear about your cat. When my first pet (who was like my "sister"), it was my first experience of depression. I was in 5th grade when she passed away from kidney failure. But what was meaningful was for family to collect photos and memoies. We also bought a Weeping Cherry Tree we planted in her honor. But pleae do make sure that it is right to put her to sleep. As humans, it is not right at all (and illegal) to put anybody to sleep. With treatments for animals impoving and broadening, it's a hard decision to know if it's time.

That is really going to be a hard subject to talk to your child about because if she/he is really young and they are really attached to the kitty cat...that is going to break his/her heart that "their" cat is going to be put down...the only real way I know that you might could handle this without totally tearing the child up is by giving her the speech about everything is put on this earth for a reason and a time and that whenever the time is up that whatever it was that was put on this world has to go up to heaven!