Hi all.

I don't know if this is the right place to post this, but I feel like I need to talk about it so I can breathe.

I am a 25 year old guy, and my childhood cat is 21 years old. I have had him for almost as long I have existed, which is wild to think about. I grew up with him, and he grew up with me. Obviously he is an elder cat and he has issues that have come with age. He cannot hear anything anymore, he is beginning to lose his eye sight, and he has arthritis in his hind legs. My family has decided that tomorrow he will be put to sleep, and in my opinion it doesn't feel right to have him put down. It seems to me that his quality of life is just fine. He walks up and down the stairs, and even still jumps up on my bed to sleep with me at night. However, though I do feel that way and obviously I love my cat to death, he cannot make it into the litter box anymore to go to the bathroom. Something about the litter and how small the box is makes it hard for him to use it, so he has been going where he pleases which is a huge issue. Also sometimes he randomly howls at night, and I'm assuming from being deaf and slightly blind and as well as having arthritis.

The reason as to why I feel guilty is because when I bring him to the vet, the vet says that there are treatment options for him. But when my mom brings him to the vet, she insists that they believe it is best to have him put down.

To summarize, I am worried that my cat will be put to sleep tomorrow even though he is living a happy life and it is not yet his time to go. Maybe I am living in denial and I am having a hard time letting go of something that is literally tied to my childhood, but I am not sure. I just wanted to put this out there so I can have someone to talk to about it.