I am 51 years old & have smoked all my life. I began smoking when I was 16 years old. Of course I've tried to quit smoking before, but the attempts never "took." I had a cat named Elfa. She was the sweetest, most loyal cat I think I've ever had. I got her as a kitten about 15 or 16 years ago. She was a feral kitten that had been found at a gas station/convenience store, & I took her because she looked so pitiful.
I'd noticed that Elfa was having some difficulty breathing, so I took her to the vet. That was around the last part of this past March, 2015. I actually suspected she might have had the beginning stages of congestive heart failure, but I really wasn't prepared for the diagnosis the vet gave me the end of the day when I picked her up from the vet. The vet told me she had lung cancer!!! My next question was how long did he think she had to live, and the vet replied, "not long." I was DEVASTATED!
I thought about all the years I had smoked in my houses I lived in. I was actually thankful that I'd made the decision not to smoke in the house I currently live in, but at the moment that was little consolation for Elfa's diagnosis of lung cancer. My vet told me that w/lung cancer, the last thing I'd want is to have Elfa gasping for breath, as that would be cruel. I took Elfa home that day & gave her excellent care until April 7, 2015...the day I saw her having increased difficulty w/breathing. I didn't want her to suffer, so I had her euthanized & took her home to bury in my backyard.
I enjoyed smoking, but knew it was terrible for my health. The day I discovered Elfa's diagnosis of lung cancer....I could NOT ignore the fact that there was a REAL POSSIBILITY Elfa could have contracted lung cancer from my second-hand smoke. Like I said, I was devastated when I heard her diagnosis. I was wracked w/guilt, & I didn't know how to overcome that horrible feeling. I knew there was no cure for Elfa's lung cancer, & the only solution I could come up w/was to quit smoking to honor her memory.
I quit smoking on April 8th, 2015, the day after I had Elfa euthanized. I still miss Elfa so very much, but I certainly don't miss the smoking. I smoked anywhere from 1.5 to 2 packs of cigarettes a day, so I had quite a habit, but I had what I thought to be an extremely motivating reason to quit. I quit by using the nicotine patch step-down system. It worked for me quite well. There are times still now that all of a sudden, I'll think that I "need" a cigarette, but I just think of my baby Elfa, & that keeps me on track.
