Good-bye Boo (our cat of 15 years)

We made a tough decision yesterday. Our 15 yr old cat went to heaven. Actually, she was closer to 16 yrs old.

16 years ago, my 'boyfriend' and I rescued two tiny black kittens. We named them Boo and Scam. We loved them so much. We decided they needed a brother, so we rescued a puppy, Bourbon. When my 'boyfriend' turned into my husband, then my children's father, those three animals were still apart of our family.
Scam and Bourbon passed away the past couple of years ago. Boo was the last one.

Boo, the cat that didn't care if Peck the pigeon was on her head. Boo reminded me a lot of Garfield, the cartoon cat. She just wanted attention (her terms only) and food. I bet she would've loved lasagna. People would comment on her beautiful black shiny fur and how 'big' she was. My kids loved how calm she was.

Lately, she refused to eat. She didn't want to move. It was depressing to see. When I called the vet, I didn't know how to explain it to them. "I need to see if my cat needs to go to heaven?" They had an appointment at 8:40 a.m. It was 8:00 a.m. I wasn't ready to rush to see if my cat was going to heaven. I picked the 10:40 a.m appointment.

I checked in at the reception desk. The women behind the counter, "You're here for a quality of life appointment?" I had to stop and think. Wow, that what it was, "quality of life". Although, I knew the answer, I nodded my head to receptionist. I bit my lip to stop the tears.
My 8 yr old daughter was sitting in the seat, holding the cat in a Spiderman blanket. I had to take my 10 yr, 8 yr and 4 yr old with me for a 'quality of life' appointment. My 4 yr old asked, "Is this heaven?"
"No, baby, this is not heaven. But this is where we will say good-bye, " I said.
My children were usually quiet. Unfortunately, they experienced Scam and Bourbon's passing.

I sat in the seat, tried to smile for the kids. I called my husband and asked him to come. Like always, he was better at handling those situations than I was. After all, he cleaned Boo's cat litter for 15 years, he was also close to her. Honestly, Boo loved him the most.

I waited and thought, "Don't call me in yet, my husband isn't here..." Just ONCE I wanted an appointment to be late, but it didn't happen. We were called in.

Boo was 5 lbs. She use to weigh 16 lbs.

My husband came in the room as the vet was explaining about our 'options'. That's when I cried. Should I have been stronger for the kids? I don't know. I just knew I needed to cry.
My husband made us go home. We all said our good-byes.

My husband said she went peacefully. My 8 yr old daughter said, "God is taking care of her now."

Good-bye Boo.