My advice is to not put him down, unless you are certain he is in pain and wants to be relieved of it.
I've had only two long time beloved family felines. One died at home. We were given 5 days notice.... actually, the doc said 24hrs she'd be gone, but she lived 5. She showed us love, and head butts, athough now weaker, and purred when picked up and hugged....And was laying next to me with head on my lap, when she died....she let out what I would call a death scream, and was gone a few seconds later. My husband was at work, it hit me harder than him, because he didn't witness her death and hear that scream!
But we had two days before we found a plot on the property for her, and found a casket, write a eulogy for her, dig the hole and buried her. She was family to us, for 16 years....And maybe silly to others, to us, it just felt appropriate.
But this little kitty girl was only 13, it was out of the blue, we felt she was young....
She appeared to be in pain in our heads, because she could not eat anymore with mouth cancer.... We had her put down, she probably had another 2 or 3 days left... And deep down, I wish we had NOT done it! I wish we had those 2 more days to hug and kiss her and tell her what a sweet little kitty girl she had been....
The whole experience has been very very hard on Matt and me.
What irks me, is that there should be some kind of affordable, veterinary medical inbetween.... Like with humans, you can send them home to die with their family
with medications given to them to ease their pain, or hospice care....
instead our choices seem to be watching her die in perceived pain, or have the Vet kill them.
between the two pains, for me...who is a complete softy, I think watching her in pain would have given me and the hubby time to come to terms with her death, would have been easier than the
pain we feel and continue to feel, for having her put down.... killed...by us....instead of the result of cancer in just two more days...
I know others may feel differently, and tha t s justly so, in their cases....
But for me, and for Matt, we are not cut out for it.