We said goodbye to our Reggie today

[captiva]

I'm so sorry. You have my deepest condolences. At the time it seems as if life will never be the same, but somehow time really does heal the pain and the good memories replace the emptiness.

I've always found it's good to try to force yourself to stay as active as possible during this time.

 

[snickerdoodle]

Beautiful, beautiful Reggie. I am so sorry to hear of your loss. I found after I lost Boo, I did some research on pet grieving. It gave me a good amount of peace and taught me to let the grief run its course. Cry, talk about him, etc. I am so sorry you lost him, but you loved him so and he surely knew it. Hugs and comforting thoughts.

 

[rosiemac]

What a handsome boy Reggie is, and i'm so sorry

REGGIE

____________________________________

 

[Ms. Freya]

What a gorgeous boy.

I'm so very sorry.

R.I.P

Reggie

 

[aarong]

Thank you all for the kind, heartfelt words. As I type this I have tears in my eyes. I know Reggie would have wanted us to continue living our lives because we have so many reasons to live. He was just such a huge part of our everyday lives and that void is so big right now that it feels like it will never fill in. But hearing your words helps me stay strong and know that we will eventually find peace in his passing. As other said, right now thinking of the memories makes us grieve, but in time we will be able to think of those same memories and smile and remember how lucky we were to have him in our lives.

My wife said this morning that despite this immense pain we are going through right now, we wouldn't have traded it for the 9 wonderful years we spent with Reggie. Our lives are better because of him and we mustn't ever forget that. It doesn't matter how much time you have with your pets, it is never enough.

There is not an easy path to heal from such a loss, so we have to wake up each day and find inspiration in whatever we can. We have friends and family and our other beautiful cat, Kylah, to help us through this difficult time. Thank you again for the kind words, they help greatly.

 

[carolina]

Aaron, I am so so sorry for your loss...

We would love to have you around our community of cat lovers, and get to meet your kitty Kylah too! How about you introducing her to us?
Please send a heartfelt hug to your wife too, from me and the kitties

 

[threecatowner]

I'm so, so sorry. Reggie was absolutely beautiful.

 

[aarong]

Thank you for the kind words, Reggie was a beautiful boy, both inside and out. I would like to share some pics of our gorgeous girl Kylah, I will do that later when I get home. She's our spoiled little princess.

I am at work today and it's difficult being here. I really want to cry but can't (just not the right environment), so I just think of the happy times we shared together and that helps me get through. I am sure I will cry at home, which is part of the healing process. My wife works from home on the 1st biz day of the month (works at a bank) and she actually stayed home today with our Kylah, which I was surprised she did. I want to call her and see how she is doing, but I know it will make me cry.

Today presented another of the "firsts" we will continue to encounter. Today was the first day I went to work and wasn't able to say goodbye to my buddy and tell him to have a good day. It will be the first day to come home and not have him there waiting for me to say hello. I wish the pain would go away and it has a teeny bit, although Friday was absolute rock bottom so the only way to move is up. But I know it's going to take time to cope and adjust to his passing. He was such a special friend who was such a huge part of our lives. He was there when we woke, there when we came home, there when we went to sleep. You can't just erase how significant a part of our lives he was, not that I want to. But there are so many triggers that remind us of him. Someday we will be able to smile at all those instead of cry.

This morning I went with my wife to the gym, which I don't do as I am not a morning gym person. But I did not want her to come home by herself without Reggie or me there. So I am going to adjust my work schedule so we can be together in the morning since that is such a difficult time right now. I am lucky I have a job that allows me to adjust my work schedule like that.

Thank you again for the support, I hate being an emotional sponge right now and would like to give back and help others.

 

[mer636]

aww he was beautiful! Im sorry for your loss <3 He looked like he was well loved

 

[xocats]

Originally Posted by AaronG

Thank you again for the support, I hate being an emotional sponge right now and would like to give back and help others.

Because we love so deeply, loss is something we all must face.
Be easy on yourself.

 

[aarong]

Originally Posted by xocats

Because we love so deeply, loss is something we all must face.
Be easy on yourself.

Thank you

I am trying to be easy on myself and the feelings of sadness come and go throughout the day. I am sitting here at work thinking about how I am going to walk through the door after work and he is not going to be there and I am not sure how I am going to react. That alone causes this feeling of uneasiness. We have walked through the door since his passing and we are slowly getting "used to" the idea that he is not going to be there, but it's so incredibly difficult. I just want to see him sitting there waiting for me to pick up, throw him over my shoulder and love on.

I know we gave him the absolute best medical care to fight his liver disease, and we can rest a little easier that he was given the best chance to heal. But we miss him so much. You all know the feeling, I don't have to tell you.

 

[aarong]

It's hard not thinking about that last day when Reggie left us. You'd think after 9 amazing and joyous years we spent with him that I could not think about the one day that was so dark. I woke up today telling myself that I was going to focus on all the happy times we shared together, but it's still very difficult to do. I know it won't always be like this, but right now my heart is still in pain.

 

[aarong]

We are slowly healing from the loss of our Reggie, although we will never "get over" it. As odd as it seems, I feel more at ease when I am at home with my wife and our other cat Kylah. I can feel Reggie's spirit permeate throughout the house and it brings me comfort. I wish I could pick him up and love him one more time, but I know he has moved on. So I am trying to use his life as an inspiration for me to live the best life I can and be there for others as much as possible. I know Reggie would have wanted us to keep living our lives to the fullest, just as he did every day.

I wanted to share some more pictures of Reggie and some new pictures of our sweet Kylah - I am glad I can look at pictures of my sweet Reggie and smile, although seeing them does make my heart heavy. But I am just so proud of the full life he lived and feel so blessed to have known him that it brings me more joy than pain to share these with everyone else. He was the happiest cat I'd ever known in my life and made everyone he met smile. I will continue to remember and honor Reggie in that way and will always miss him.

Here is the link to some pictures I uploaded this morning: http://www.flickr.com/photos/47365351@N03/...28752/lightbox/

The last picture was when we discovered that he LOVED to chew on ribbon. So we had to take all the bows and ribbon off the presents. We never got to put bows or ribbon on gifts, but that was just a reminder of our sweet Reggie and how unique he was.

 

[captiva]

Very cute. I love that table kicking picture!

How is Kylah doing? It seems to me that it takes them a few days to figure out they are not coming back

 

[aarong]

Originally Posted by captiva

Very cute. I love that table kicking picture!

How is Kylah doing? It seems to me that it takes them a few days to figure out they are not coming back

Yes, that table pic is one of my favorites too.

Kylah is doing well, as well as we can hope for. Thank you for asking about her

She is eating, being social and doing all the "normal" stuff. She is definitely being more "needy" but we expected that. Reggie was away at the hospital for 9 days before coming back home, so that might have allowed her to adjust to him not being there prior to him passing. I am glad that she got to see him one last time before we passed away. She still meows and we can tell she is looking for him since she always instigated the nightly chasings, which is sad to hear. But we know we will pull through as a family.

 

[angel]

sorry for your loss

 

[bastetservant]

Grief is so painful. It feels like it will never end and it feels hopeless. And it feels like getting over the pain will be some kind of betrayal. As if it meant one didn't love enough.

Of course it's not true. One can't go on with that level of misery forever. Gradually the pain eases.

He was lucky to have you and you were lucky to have him. You loved him and did the best you could for him. Illness is so unfair. Take comfort in the good years you had together.

I'm so sorry for your loss. I've been there and I understand the hurt. Give it time. Maybe find some way to do a tribute for him. My way is to give to my local shelter to help other animals in need. It helps me to heal.

Robin

 

[aarong]

I wanted to say thank you again for the kind words. Even though I don't have the relationships on here that some others do, I wanted to provide an update, if at least to give others some hope that things get better.

It's been almost three weeks since we lost Reggie and we are naturally still devastated by his loss. We have "come to terms" that he is gone and won't be waiting for us when we come home from work or the gym, but we still crave his physical presence and the happiness he brought into our home. The feelings of guilt have subsided, more or less. It's just been a one day at a time approach for us. Some days are better than others. We still feel like we are just going through the motions, but we are slowly healing.

Our other cat Kylah is doing well and we are giving her all the attention she wants. We are lucky to have her during this difficult time. She still meows for her brother, which is sad for us, but she is pulling through.

I hope others who have lost a pet and are still hurting will read this and know that things get better, albeit slowly. Take care.