I had a cat die in my arms today, it was the hardest thing I've ever done.

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I did the hardest thing today, and being a pet owner, I know I'll have to do it again and again. My roommate took his cat to the vet today, and they told us that she was really sick. He didn't think she was, but in the end, it was confirmed as they put her to sleep. I went with him as moral support and to help him make this difficult decision, which was extremely hard for him to make. He wanted to take her home thinking that it wasn't anything serious. His cat was about 18 years old, dehydrated and anemic. This meant that she had some sort of liver problem and that her kidneys were failing her. To do blood work and other tests was going to cost him a lot of money, money that he doesn't have and can't afford to spend even if he did. This wasn't my cat, but I did help to make the ultimate decision, and that made it even harder on me. I know for sure that she wouldn't have survived any surgery, she would have needed her remaining teeth removed, but with her liver issues and her heart condition, some sort of myopathy, she wouldn't have made it through. When they sedated her, she started throwing up and twitching, that's when I knew for sure that she wasn't strong enough to survive. They gave her the needle to end her life and I held her in my arms. It was over almost immediately. While she wasn't my cat, I still felt the pain of having to put an animal to sleep forever, it certainly wasn't easy, it never would be. Knowing that, I know how hard it will be for me when my dog, and then my cat die. It will be even harder since they are my pets. She will be missed, but she certainly knows that she was loved and didn't die without loved ones around. She's gone to a better place and we all know it. RIP Scooby.