When Your Elderly Parent Refuses to Do the Right Thing
My mother insists on prolonging her cat’s suffering
Jessica, my mother's old black cat, is ready for death.
She has a skin condition that causes her incredible pain when she's lightly touched. She only gets painkillers when someone healthy and capable visits my mother as my mother is too frail to administer any medicine to anyone except herself.
My mother loves Jessica because she's a survivor. And it’s amazing what this feisty cat has lived through — she's been run over several times by my mother's walker, she's been tossed from the bed when she's clawed my mother, and she's lived through periods of extreme heat because my mother doesn’t believe in A/C or fans.
I’ve witnessed some rotten cats, such as my old roommate's cat who attacked everyone, sprayed on every surface, and had no redeeming qualities except for the fact he was beautiful.
I wish Jessica would die — I can't stand seeing her suffer or hearing about it from my mother. It hurts my heart…
