Losing a pet...

General Forums Off-topic Chat
#1

Have any of you lost a pet recently? My cat, who was with me through all the bad things in my life, who I love very much, died tonight. I find that sharing grief is the easiest way to deal with loss. Has such a situation happened to any of you? I’m very sad, I’m sort of not sure what to do.

But the whole situation made me realize two things about life.

  1. The stoic way my little cat faced his last hours should be an example to everyone. Whatever happens after death must be superior to all the grief in this life.
  2. Grief really can’t be explained. You feel angry, guilty, sad, confused, and then you realize, the guilt, sadness, anger, and confusion you are feeling is experienced by everyone, many times throughout life, for most. I’ve been through a lot of crap, and I know it, but it just makes me want to try harder to experience more of the good that life has to offer. There’s a lot more bad than good, but it’s up to us to decide which one weighs more.

Thank you.
J

#2

We had a double whopper back when I was 12. Our Beagle died when she was only 6 1/2 years old. The worse part was my Grandma died the day before and that just increased the total sadness level:(

#3

Yes, I have lost many animal friends. The last one I had to say goodbye to was a beautiful black lab, her name was Ilsa. It is always sad to part with members of your family. Funny thing though, I have always found new friends, new joys, new partnerships, I guess It’s just a part of living and loving.

I am sorry for your loss, but I don’t think you need to send flowers, you gave them during life…That’s when they are importantant.

#4

My cat of 11 years died on this past October 2nd. That hurt really bad. His kidneys gave out. That was really rough, because, over the past several years, I just didn’t hang around him very much. Not like when I was a kid, anyways. I guess the worst part was thinking that maybe, at the end, he was wondering where that kid he spent all that time with was. Because he was blind, and because I obviously don’t smell the same as when I was young, I convinced myself that he didn’t know who I was, and didn’t know where that kid who loved him and spent so much time with him had gone, and why he wasn’t there at the end.

#5

MartyJ: That’s really sad. Cats and kidneys don’t seem to mix… My cat died tonight of dehydration/kidney problems as well. I know how you feel though, like you didn’t spend as much time with him as you should’ve. I feel that way whenever I lose someone. We all must, I guess. October 2nd is my birthday, by the way. That’s really weird.

Another really strange thing is that a few weeks ago I had this dream and I felt the next day like I should spend more time with my cat, because I thought he was dying. I hate when that happens. It’s like we can sometimes feel the changes before they happen.

CD: We lost our beagle two summers ago, it was really sad. And four of my grandparents have died too. I feel your pain.

Pixelmass: That’s true about how life goes on, and you find new friends. Thanks for that reminder. Maybe Ilsa and Jasper met up there.

#6

How very odd…
I had a cat named Jasper to. Maybe they will team up! Heck, yell “hey Jasper”
and they will all come running!

Peace dude…

#7

We lost a cat when I was 10-11. He got a urinary track blockage, and got sick, so we took him to the vet, and paid them to do what they could, and they said they removed the blockage, and that cats don’t normally re-block after that. Well, we took him home, and within around a week, he was blocked again, and we had to put him down, which was really sad. (We had gotten him and his brother together, so we named them Calvin and Hobbes after the comic strip, which made it kind of worse since the duo was split up.)

Sorry about your cat, man.

p.s. Cats are the best. There’s never a dull moment with a cat.:wink:

#8

I was at college a couple months ago and got an email entitled “skipper.” My heart sunk, I knew what it had to mean. My 16 year old dog died. I grew up with him, hoping he’d make it at least til I went to college. Somehow he survived all 4 years, then 2 years of my master’s degree. There were just a few weeks left before I would come home, but he couldn’t hold on.

One thing I’ve noticed is that I often think he’s still here. I open the back door and begin to hear his prancing footsteps and look to see where he is (so I won’t step on his foot) --but then, he’s not there. I turn on the lawn mower and think I hear him barking, but … he’s definately not.

Also, he died in the care of some people who were house-watching for 5 months, and a little kid told me that they “let the dog die”. I didn’t really believe the kid, but someone else told me that he was all full of ticks and the house-keepers did nothing but ignore him, so I kind of feel like they had a part, though he was 16. Anyways, I can only imagine the feelings someone must have against, for example, a babysitter when a child dies under their care, even if not their fault. Somehow you just imagine that you would not have let it happen. Emotions are interesting things.

#9

:frowning: I feel for you man, a while ago we had to put down our Sheltie named Snoopy. Despite city regulations we buried him in our back yard and put a little memorial stone over him in the corner garden. You’ll always miss your pet, but you’ll find you can love other animals just as much after you finish the grieving process.
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/2365/snoopy21ow2.th.jpg

#10

i had a dog, it was the best dog in the world, but sadly it got ran over by a car, i was very upset for a whole week… then about 2 years ago buy cat died, we dont know how it died, (well, we do because we had it put to sleep) but it got injured somehow, not sure how, but we had to take it to the vet they kept it for a few days, it got a small bit better, but then it got worse, and we had to have it put down because it was in pain… :frowning:

Then i got a hamster from my brother, it was a brilliant hamster, really cuddly, but one night i went to look at it, and it was really wierd, i was distraught all night, and sadly the next morning, it had died… its very sad when an animal dies… especially when you love them so much… :frowning:

#11

I feel for you man. I lost my dog around that age too. He had fleas, and we couldn’t afford to keep him inside, so we put him down, after many treatments and visits to the vet. It sucks to lose a pet that young.

It’s true though, you’ll never be bored when you’ve got a cat to keep you company.

(by the way, that’s my favorite Bible verse too.)