My husband and I adopted 2 kittens from our next door neighbor about 5 years ago. We named them Dupree and Ming. Ming was supposed to be the 'runt' of the litter, but he grew to be such a big kitty. He used to sleep with his paws over my legs when I would sleep on my side. I had a warm blanket the he loved to lay on. He wouldn't sit with anyone else but me. He started acting funny and I thought that it was because of the heat. He got worse. He wasn't able to use the cat box because he didn't have the energy to move. I took him to our vet in PA and he told me that Ming had a bladder blockage and the surgery was over $1200. We couldn't afford that, so the doctor did what he could with what limited funds we had. Ming started to look and act more like himself, but then he took a turn for the worse. He wasn't moving at all and his breathing was labored. He couldn't even cry out he had so little energy. I quickly got him to the vet and they started working on him right away. After I got home, the vet called me as soon as I got in the door. "We lost Ming. I'm so sorry". I cried my eyes out because we lost one of our most precious and sweet family members. The animal hospital suggested that we get him cremated. We couldn't afford it, but we told them to do it anyway. The hospital didn't charge us. We now have our Ming's ashes on our mantle and speak about him often. I've never lost a pet to sickness and it hurt me so deeply. He was just a baby when he passed. I have another cat that I've had since he was 8 weeks old. He's now 14 and his health is deteriorating. I thought that because I had already went through the pain of losing Ming, that Tig would be a little easier. That's not the case. It's actually harder. He's been my life mate for 14 years and never loved anyone else but me. I'm dreading the day that he passes as it will probably be before the year is over. I understand now how much my pets mean to me. I didn't choose them, they chose me. They picked me to take care of them. They became and have become dependent on me for love, affection and attention. Last year we rescued a puppy from the animal shelter in Keller-we were looking for a small dog. That's when we found Miller. He's a little chihuahua. He's a sweetie and tries to love on Tig, but Tig just tolerates him. I love all of my animal family, but when you know that the end is near for one of them, there isn't a preparation process that you go through. Even if there were such a process, it wouldn't be effective. I love my animals as if they were humans and they know it. I hope that in some way-this will ease someone's pain-knowing that there are others who have lost a member of their pet family.