Originally Posted by scarlson

Kitty died a few days after his 17th birthday. We knew he had inoperable, metastatic cancer, so we tried to give him the best last days we could.
We knew he had a weird affinity for strawberries. Not to eat, but just to rub himself on. Must be some plant smell he likes about them. So, we picked him an entire flat of strawberries, which he lied down on. Peak strawberry experience.
Within a week, he appeared to be in such pain that he wasn't even sleeping, in spite of the benzodiazepines (kitty valium), NK1 agonists (antinausea, anti-inflammatory, antidepressant maybe), and buprenorphine (opioid painkiller) we were giving him. We called in our vet friend Dr. Katie Parent, who euthanized him in the middle of the balcony garden on a calm evening. She was a gentle angel of death. We buried him deep beneath a cairn we built at the family home in northern Vermont, and planted over it with catmint. I miss him so much.