All animal lovers know that the day may come when they'll have to say a forever goodbye to their pet. That moment came Monday night on “The Closer” when Brenda Johnson, played by actress Kyra Sedgwick, had to put her beloved cat Kitty to sleep.
“Closer” creator James Duff says he wanted to include this storyline partly because Miss Kitty, the cat who played the part of Kitty on the series, had fallen ill, too. "She was dying. That's one of the reasons we did this. We knew she was headed out and we didn't want to replace her,” Duff tells PEOPLE Pets. “I figured before she goes, let's deal with this on the show."
Duff was passionate about portraying this difficult aspect of tough cop Brenda's life to help "humanize" her to viewers. "It's part of everyday life for a lot of people," the producer explains, adding that Sedgwick herself had to put her own family cat down just weeks before filming the episode. "She actually broke down weeping one day and had to pull herself together to go back and film the final scene. You just don't know how to deal with these emotions sometimes."
And watching Sedgwick film that scene stirred up plenty of emotion on the set. "There were lots of people weeping when she went through the last scene with the cat," says Duff. "Her last moments with Kitty are so heart-wrenching. Everybody felt that way. In fact, I got more comments on the day we shot that scene than on any other scene we had in the show. We were all upset."
Miss Kitty — a rescue — first appeared on the show in the third episode of the first season. And her character had many lives on the police drama: She was rescued by Brenda as a stray, was thought to be a male but ended up giving birth to kittens, ran away and was ultimately diagnosed with kidney issues. "The character developed an unlikely relationship with the cat, because no matter how tough you think you are, you're vulnerable to pets," Duff says.
The storyline about the cat's illness arced over two episodes: first the diagnosis, and then Sedgwick's character debating whether to put her cat down. "When we first see our pets struggle, we hope it's temporary. Accepting the terminal aspect of the pet is not done in a day — it takes a while," says Duff. The episode portrays the cat being euthanized privately in Johnson's home, still in her arms, as she says tenderly to her, "It's only because I love you so much."
Though heartbreaking, Duff is glad he included the storyline in the show, and hints that Johnson's character may someday welcome another pet — or even a child — into her home. As for Miss Kitty, she'll always hold a special place in the cast and crew's heart. She died shortly after last night’s episode was filmed.
“The Closer” airs Monday nights at 9 p.m. on TNT.