Houston, we have a problem.

I'm not even sure how to start this post.

People close to me and my wife know how close we are to our family cat, Houston. People who know how close we are will know how upset we were when he was diagnosed with cancer recently. We've been blogging our experiences as a way of coping and possibly to help anyone else out there whose beloved family pet is also diagnosed with a terminal illness. You can read how it has gone so far here.

We recently took him back to the vet to be checked up and got the news that we both knew was possible, but didn't think we would get. The treatment wasn't working, and now instead of having weeks or months of life left, he has only a matter of days before the pain and illness becomes intolerable. It was a terrible shock to us because he had been doing very well. So well in fact that the vet recommended his dosage be cut down. I now wonder if that was a mistake. Nevertheless, I'm convinced the treatment he received extended his life and that we would already be dead without it.

Anyone who has or had a family pet that they love, for thirteen years in our case, could understand just how painful this is for us. He is the closest we have to a child, and soon he will need us to do the right thing, which is end his life before it becomes too much to bear.

I don't know how to end this post.