I found Merlin's final hiding space.....

Last night, I was looking for Merlin. A couple of days ago, he was growling at the other cats and wanted to be left alone. He let to hide himself somewhere. I didn't see him until last night, when I looked through the various hiding spots in the house. I found him in the corner of one of the closets, curled up, resting, and barely breathing.

I need to take him to the vet tomorrow for euthanasia.

Merlin's gone.

I came home today and checked on Merlin. His body was cold.

Thanks to all who've offered hugs and well-wishes. This isn't the first time I lost a pet -- Garion in 1993, Bubastis and Lady in 2002, Oreo in 2004. (To be accurate, Lady and Oreo were R's cats.) It's a sad, familiar place.

I'm asking myself if there was something I could have done differently -- taken better care of the litterbox, played with him more. And I wonder if he was in pain the past few days.