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By Liz O'Connell
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TikTok users found themselves in tears over a heartbreaking video of a shelter kitten's final moments before euthanasia.
The decision to put an animal to sleep is never easy, but sometimes animal shelters are left with no choice. Gatsby the kitten had both neurological and physical problems. He was sick for months. The animal shelter where he lived looked after Gatsby day in and day out, but his quality of life was not improving.
That's when the shelter knew it was time to make the gut-wrenching decision to euthanize the 18-week-old kitten. TikTok user @tuk.and.co knew the kitty's time was ending, and because he never found a forever home, he wanted to make his last moments special.
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This employee held Gatsby close to his chest, cradling him for the final time. He hugged him and said one "last goodbye." His thankful eyes looked up at him .
The caption on the August 24 video, which can be seen here, reads: "Work today sucked to say the least...I debated posting this but he was so little and deserved so much more..."
The TikToker wrote in the comments section that this was his first time being there for a pet's final moments but added it likely won't be the last. He wanted to let his "little man" know how much he was loved.
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"It was the most heartbreaking honor to be the one with him at the end," the comment read.
Newsweek reached out to @tuk.and.co via TikTok for additional information.
Gatsby never had a home to call his own, a reality that far too many shelter animals face daily. About 690,000 animals were euthanized in 2023, according to the website Shelter Animals Count. Of that total, about 330,000 were cats.
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Euthanasia is not usually the first option, but shelters will make that decision if the animal has an incurable condition or disease, there is a lack of resources or to prevent the animal from any further suffering.
The TikTok video has amassed over 3 million views and 782,600 likes. Users flooded the comments section with hopeful messages to reassure the shelter employee that she did all she could.
"The way he looks at you. You were his home," said one viewer. A second added: "Home is where love is, you gave that."
Another wrote: "Home isn't a measure of time or space, as you held him he knew home - he knew love. He felt it all. He's an angel and so are u."
Update 09/12/24, 6:39 p.m. ET: This article was corrected to reflect the OP's correct pronouns.
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