How would you deal with loss of a pet ?

dejolane

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 20, 2012
Messages
3,891
Purraise
34
Location
Hebron,Ohio
I have had Bella for 3 years now and if some reason she ever passes away I don't I feel I couldn't go on .Bella is a member of our family and will always be there in my heart. I don't know how people can survive without their pets.I have never had a pet die in my grown up life since I been married 34 yrs. Bella is a indoor cat so she won't go out and get hit by a car or even nobody will take her. That would just break my heart. I was wondering if any of you have lost a pet and how you dealt with it. ?

dejolane
 

larussa

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 28, 2007
Messages
4,899
Purraise
71
Location
Central New Jersey
I lost my beloved Misty 4 years ago and will never get over it.  I miss her even tho I have Autumn as my roommate now.  Misty was my first kitty and was with me for almost 16 years, she was 7 weeks old when I adopted her.  Everyone deals with it differently but you never get over losing them. 
 
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

dejolane

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 20, 2012
Messages
3,891
Purraise
34
Location
Hebron,Ohio
Although we also have Thunder , Bella was here first and will always be apart of my heart if she would ever pass away. But until then Bella is a very happy 3 old cat. We got Bella when she was 6 weeks old from someone who was giving them away. 

( Happy Birthday Bella) 

dejolane
 

catspaw66

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
May 5, 2012
Messages
5,508
Purraise
1,616
Location
Waldron, Arkansas
Any cat that passes will always be in your heart and thoughts.  I think about Bear, Psy, Patches and Bright Eyes every day.  I had Bear and Psy for 17 years each.  Psy was the love of my life.  When she died, I thought about joining her.  If I hadn't had the others (Silly, Julie, Patches and Bright Eyes) I probably would have.  I live for my cats and would seriously anybody that harmed them.
 

subvet642

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Sep 14, 2010
Messages
243
Purraise
22
Location
Massachusetts
I lost my Deli about two years ago. What I did was cry like a baby for about a year and a half and get headaches.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6

dejolane

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 20, 2012
Messages
3,891
Purraise
34
Location
Hebron,Ohio
sorry to hear about Deli. It is always sad when a animal that has been in the family for a long time dies. I have not experience that in my adult life since I have been married. Bella has been with me for 3 years now and I'll just die if she dies.She is so special. At night she climbs on my hip and lays there til I wake up.

dejolane
 

melalpha

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Dec 6, 2012
Messages
45
Purraise
10
Location
edmonton
I've lost three pets in my life. A childhood bird, a childhood dog, and recently, a very special cat. Everytime, I pretty much just curl up and bawl. I still cry everyday for my fluffy, and sometimes I still cry for my dog who died 6 years ago.

I keep what I can. Feathers, collars, toys, pictures. I write poems for them, memories, and I draw them. After fluffy, I went out and got a tattoo done of his ink pawprint, and will add baby's to mine as well. Over my heart. To remind myself that I love them very much, and gave them a good home, and that is a comfort, when you think about less than stellar homes some pets end up in.
 

catlover73

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 3, 2006
Messages
2,627
Purraise
1,541
Location
Chicago area
I too have lost beloved pets.  I have honored my rainbow bridge kitties by adopting another baby to pay if forward.  I know the new kitties never replace the departed family members but it always helps me to fill the hole in my heart by giving another kitty a chance at a loving home.

You never forget the babies you have lost but in time you are able to remember the happy times you shared together.  I lost my Claude kitty over 3 years ago at the age of 15.  He had been in my life since he was born and was a water kitty.  It took a while for me not to end up in tears every time I took a shower.  One of my friends was doing private rescue out of her own pocket.  I would sometimes help her socialize kittens.  I had really bonded with one of her kittens but it was not the right time to add a family member.  The kitten found a home and then was returned to her shortly after Claude passed away.  She knew how much my hubby and I had loved Sonny when he was her foster.  She called and asked us if we wanted to adopt Sonny shortly after Claude passed away.  Sonny was adopted by us less than a week later.  He is definitely not Claude but he is a very affectionate cat and he really helped us heal from our loss.
 

subvet642

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Sep 14, 2010
Messages
243
Purraise
22
Location
Massachusetts
I've lost three pets in my life. A childhood bird, a childhood dog, and recently, a very special cat. Everytime, I pretty much just curl up and bawl. I still cry everyday for my fluffy, and sometimes I still cry for my dog who died 6 years ago.
I keep what I can. Feathers, collars, toys, pictures. I write poems for them, memories, and I draw them. After fluffy, I went out and got a tattoo done of his ink pawprint, and will add baby's to mine as well. Over my heart. To remind myself that I love them very much, and gave them a good home, and that is a comfort, when you think about less than stellar homes some pets end up in.
  I'm thinking about getting paw prints for all three; Deli, Ninotchka and Nicolai. The one for Deli will be where she scratched my stomach launching herself off of me (there is still a scar there). The one for Ninotchka will be on my shoulder where she first put her paw the first time she jumped on my chest and snuggled in. The one for Nicolai will be on my thigh where he likes to lean on me like he's leaning on a bar.
 
Last edited:

subvet642

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Sep 14, 2010
Messages
243
Purraise
22
Location
Massachusetts
sorry to hear about Deli. It is always sad when a animal that has been in the family for a long time dies. I have not experience that in my adult life since I have been married. Bella has been with me for 3 years now and I'll just die if she dies.She is so special. At night she climbs on my hip and lays there til I wake up.

dejolane
  Thank you, it's getting better.
 

lauriea

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Dec 19, 2012
Messages
25
Purraise
12
Location
...
I am making a book, online photo store, with pictures and details chronicling Charlie's illness to help me come to terms with it.   (he had oral squamous cell carcinoma) I also am making a scrap book of all his great memories, favorite things, places, positions.  I am in counseling and reading two very good books on pet loss.  And, I had his name tattooed on my right ankle.  Instead of the dot on the "i" in his name, there is a nose with whiskers coming out, so he will be with me always.  First tattoo ever by the way!
 
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #12

dejolane

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 20, 2012
Messages
3,891
Purraise
34
Location
Hebron,Ohio
A tattoo ? I may not go that far but who knows ?

dejolane
 

melalpha

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Dec 6, 2012
Messages
45
Purraise
10
Location
edmonton
that tattoo I got for fluffy is/was my first, too. That cat really wormed his way into my heart.
 

lauriea

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Dec 19, 2012
Messages
25
Purraise
12
Location
...
It was surprising to me, I went into this tattoo shop in my small town and the artist and his girlfriend both had a portrait of their recently passed dog on them.  They also told me that the next appointment was for a guy who had just lost his dog, having a portrait too.
 
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #15

dejolane

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 20, 2012
Messages
3,891
Purraise
34
Location
Hebron,Ohio
I don't know if I would go that far to get a cat  tattoo but I do love Bella and Thunder alot and I would give my last piece of meat up for my cats.

dejolane
 

kittymom26

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Dec 6, 2012
Messages
8
Purraise
1
I lost my beloved kitty in June 2011 and it was a horrible experience...she was a great cat and my whole family adored her. She just "showed up" one day - she was the outdoor cat of some people who lived down the street from us - they moved and left her so she wandered around the neighborhood and one day was stuck on my neighbor's roof. There was a guy here that day who was installing some equipment and he happened to have a ladder so between him, myself and a can of tuna, we were able to coax her down where we could grab her. She was ours ever since. 

Never happy staying just indoors, we would let her out sometimes. She was outside one morning and was attacked and killed by a raccoon that had been hanging around the neighborhood. She was BFF with my neighbor across the street's cat and they would work as neighborhood watch, keeping other kitties out of "their" territory. When she died, the neighbor's cat became visibly depressed. He will still come over here sometimes and meow looking for her...often he will lay on her grave. Heartbreaking :(

I still have a really hard time with the whole situation and I don't think I've ever really gotten over it. At first I was adamant that I did NOT want another cat. But a couple of days after she died I had gone to the pet store to buy a marker for her grave that was nicer than the makeshift one we made. I walked by the cat adoption center, just looking but with NO intentions of bringing anyone new home. My son was with me at the time and he immediately spotted a little orange kitten who was there with his mom cat (my torti) - his litter mates had been adopted and it was just the two of them. I agreed to let him pet the kitten etc so as we did that, the lady who ran the adoption center brought out the momma cat too and she was just a beautiful girl - I had to pet her. As I started to approach, she came up to me and put her paw on my shoulder and started purring. There was a "take home" box sitting in the corner and she went and jumped in it...we all had a good laugh at that - it seems she had made up her mind that she was coming with us! I immediately decided the best way to honor our beloved kitty was to give these two a chance at a good home together. Everyone went home happy, and the rest is history :) Now they are a family of 3 as we just added a kitten too (still getting used to him but we are getting there) 
 

runekeeper

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Nov 26, 2010
Messages
299
Purraise
24
Location
USA
I've only ever lost one cat in adulthood (for some reason, the deaths of other kitties that occurred i my childhood did not impact me nearly as much), and he simply got old and passed away at the vet's. I regret not being able to be there with him - my mother took him there and, for some reason, did not take me along. Not sure why. I feel awful saying it, but I admit I tend to get over deaths of loved ones - human and feline - relatively fast. By that, I mean I can actually get up and go without sobbing for longer than 2-minute stretches. When my tabby cat died - just a couple weeks after turning 15 - I cried and didn't eat for about four days, and after that, I was still sad, but I was able to get up and function a little. When I think about him lots or I look at pictures of him, I will usually get teary eyed. I remember the good times I had with him and his little quirks that made me smile, but looking at him and thinking about him for too long makes me upset. He was a stray that ran in the house on my 3rd birthday, so his birthday was always celebrated on my birthday too. This is one of the reasons I no longer like to celebrate my birthday (or if people insist, I don't celebrate on that day). It just does not feel right celebrating without him. Sadly, I am trying to prepare myself for putting down a sick kitty very soon since she has declined in terms of her health due to cancer. When I thought for sure she was going to have to get put down before, I took pictures of her (even though I already have dozens) and snipped a little fur from her and put it in a bag. She got a bit better, but I don't think she will recover from what ails her now. I'm just spending as much time as I can with her, holding her, letting her know I'm here for her (she wants to be near me a lot more now), giving her extra snuggles and letting her know I love her every single day. Even though she's still here, it's hard for me to even look at photos of her from a few short months ago when she was acting normal. It may be a long time - if it ever happens - when you may be able to look at a photo of a lost pet and not cry. I think I would like to take some of my digital photos of my kitty to get printed and make a scrapbook for her. A good support network is invaluable as well. This site is a wonderful resource for anything pertaining to cats, whether it's getting a new kitty or saying goodbye to one you already have. But having a friend to talk to in person can help too; if you have a friend or relative who has lost a cat who was upset over it, talk to them. Not everyone is overly distraught over losing their pets, so be careful whose shoulder you choose to cry on because some people will tell you, "It was just a cat." Personally, I have three people in my life who have had to go through the painful decision of putting a pet down and I can count on them to listen, offer guidance and most importantly: reassure me that I am making the right choice for my cat and her state of health. Also, doing things like art or writing can help you to cope. Draw a picture dedicated to your cat, or write a poem to/about them. Even if you're not religious, you may find comfort in praying to/for your cat. Maybe start a website dedicated to your cat - show photos, and just talk about your cat's life without regard to what other people might think of it. Don't worry if someone thinks it's silly - it's your writing about your pet, so write what you will. I've found writing in general about my life to be therapeutic. If something upsets or angers me, I will spill my heart and soul out into words. Even if it's just a Notepad file, I might date it and save it and never read it ever again. But just being able to write a giant story and express what is in my heart can be a good way to cope. You can even do it multiple times if once is not enough and, once the pain of your loss has subsided a little, maybe you can share the story with others.
 
Top