Two days ago, Scraggly, a longhair Balinese cat we've had for 8-9 years, suddenly stopped eating on his own. Last night, we noticed that he was breathing fast, as well.

This morning, my Mom and I took him to the vet. As it turned out, he had a heart murmur and fluid around his heart and lungs. My Mom decided that she didn't want him subjected to treatment that would only delay the inevitable (since he was a nervous cat), and so she authorized euthanasia for him.

This was so unexpected! It's apparently not that unusual, however...

The last time we've lost a pet (two if you count an outdoor cat that my Mom took care of) was two years ago.

We've got 3 cats now, and I hope nothing like this happens to them!

R.I.P. Scraggly.