Saying Goodbye to an old friend and family member

Yesterday I got very sad news. Our dear old cat, Lucy, nearly twenty, has inoperable cancer. The tumor is wrapped around her urethra, explaining why she keeps visiting the Kitty box to little effect. The vet says the kindest thing is to put her to sleep. She still wants to snuggle, still wants to eat a bit, still yowls insistently for anything she wants, but she's only five pounds, and so incredibly fragile. Having the power of life and death over a creature I've loved for so long is very, very difficult.  I need to do the right thing, but I don't know if I have the courage. We have an appointment for tomorrow afternoon. God give me strength to do what is needed: to say farewell, and ease the passage of a very dear old friend.