LA Weekly Interview with Morrissey

So, do you have a cat?

I’ve had many, many, many.

 But you’re on the road. Yes, it’s — I’ve had many, and many have passed away.

 That’s the worst part. Horrendous, horrendous. It’s worse than a human passing away.

 Is it? Yes, it really is.

 Why? Because you feel the cat doesn’t fully understand. They’re looking to you, they’re relying on you to get them through this, and you can’t … I’ve been in certain situations where I’ve had to terminate the life for the benefit of the cat and the pain is too much to bear. It’s insufferable. Because even as they get the final needle, they’re purring and they’re loving you and …

 I know, it happened to me, my dog, too. It was awful, because they gave him the shot of ketamine, so he became paralyzed, but he was still conscious and he couldn’t … then I thought, oh God, now where’s his spirit, because he doesn’t understand what happened? And he is just assuming that if he is sitting next to you, he’s going to be okay.