I had to put my cat of 13 years down (raised from 8 weeks) this June. He had stomach cancer I didn't recognize with all of my family stuff going on and was on his last legs. To add insult to injury, the anxiety from the visit to the vet caused him to have a blood clot in his back legs, which caused a code red to put him down asap (since it could shift and be excruciating for him). I didn't have much time to say goodbye, but manned up to put him down after 3 days at home hoping he would pass peacefully on his own in bed. They said he could go at any hour, so I tried to avoid the alternative. It was so hard to do and see, but I had no choice. No tattoos for me as a cat paw doesn't have the same clout as a wolf, but I have a patch of his hair they shaved off for me by my bed and a whisker for good luck.