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- Oct 11, 2021
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Never. Not once in a million lifetimes did I think it would be possible to be back here so soon with another story of loss. As some of you may know, I lost my best friend, Mozart, in October of last year. Mozart was 16 years old. I got him when he was a kitten, and as many of us do, a few weeks later I got another cat, Maggie, as a companion for him. On Saturday, after almost 17 years with her, we lost our beloved Maggie as well, less than 4 months after losing Mozart. Mozart and Maggie were inseparable during their time here together, and I always felt that when one of them passed, the other would not be far behind. The one hurts immeasurably however, as we had absolutely no clue there was anything wrong with her. I thought she was having a tooth issue, but it turns out she had a 2" tumor on her lower jaw that was growing incredibly fast. She has been to the vet twice in the last three months, the last time a month ago, and it was not there then. The vet said that the options were very limited at that point. Surgery, which would entail removing most of her lower jaw, a referral to an oncologist, where we might get a couple of months more with her, albeit not very comfortable ones for her, or euthanasia. After almost 17 years with her, we made that hard decision.
Now for my questions. We are down to one cat, Miller, who is 12, almost 13. His entire life has included Maggie and Mozart, although he has always been somewhat of an "outsider" to the two of them. Not with my wife or I, of course, but with those two. He tolerated the passing of Mozart, in large part because Maggie was still there. But yesterday, and this morning, were particularly hard for him. He wandered the house yesterday, looking in all her familiar hiding places. Every morning, as I would sit on the couch to put on my shoes for work, Maggie would lay at my feet, wanting belly scratches. This morning, Miller came out, looked at me, looked at where Maggie should have been laying, and then just went to one of the back rooms. He was looking for her, and it breaks my heart for him.
I don't think Miller would tolerate another cat, as #1, he is almost 13, #2, he would hiss at Maggie or Mozart every time they would come home from the vet for at least 24 hours, and #3, I just don't think my wife and I can take any more of this pain. Miller is alone while we are at work, but I see him in the mornings from about 2:30-4:00am, then my wife is with him until 8:00am. He will now be alone from 8:00am until about 5:00pm when I get home from work. And I am worried about how he will do.
Any advice? On top of dealing with the loss of Mozart and Maggie so close together, I don't want Miller to suffer because we do something wrong to help him with his grieving.
A picture of our beautiful Maggie, and then a couple of Mozart and Maggie together. This pain is so immense, and I wish it on nobody.
Now for my questions. We are down to one cat, Miller, who is 12, almost 13. His entire life has included Maggie and Mozart, although he has always been somewhat of an "outsider" to the two of them. Not with my wife or I, of course, but with those two. He tolerated the passing of Mozart, in large part because Maggie was still there. But yesterday, and this morning, were particularly hard for him. He wandered the house yesterday, looking in all her familiar hiding places. Every morning, as I would sit on the couch to put on my shoes for work, Maggie would lay at my feet, wanting belly scratches. This morning, Miller came out, looked at me, looked at where Maggie should have been laying, and then just went to one of the back rooms. He was looking for her, and it breaks my heart for him.
I don't think Miller would tolerate another cat, as #1, he is almost 13, #2, he would hiss at Maggie or Mozart every time they would come home from the vet for at least 24 hours, and #3, I just don't think my wife and I can take any more of this pain. Miller is alone while we are at work, but I see him in the mornings from about 2:30-4:00am, then my wife is with him until 8:00am. He will now be alone from 8:00am until about 5:00pm when I get home from work. And I am worried about how he will do.
Any advice? On top of dealing with the loss of Mozart and Maggie so close together, I don't want Miller to suffer because we do something wrong to help him with his grieving.
A picture of our beautiful Maggie, and then a couple of Mozart and Maggie together. This pain is so immense, and I wish it on nobody.