Sick Cat Holds His Parents' Hands On Their Final Car Ride Together

He was loved until the end.

Life is but a journey, one made all the more joyful when shared with a cherished pet. And though their time alongside us on that road is all too brief, there's bittersweet beauty in being able to join them at their journey's end - so that the last thing they know of earthly life is love.

Few tributes capture that truth better than this one, showing an old cat named Andrew with his family on their final car ride together.

Reddit/abernha3

A Reddit user recently shared the touching image online, describing how the ailing pet seemed to sense their sadness and offer them comfort even on that sad drive to end his pain.

"He held our hands on his last trip to the vet. Little Andrew was much stronger than his mom and I," abernha3 wrote. "He was 15 and a half and loved everyone, but just got old and sick over the last year. He purred every day of his life and when he lost that, I knew it was time. Always sad to lose a friend."

We never had the chance to meet Andrew while he was alive, but there's something to be learned by seeing him in his final moments - that grief of losing a pet can never outweigh the privilege of having known them.