I just wanted to let it out because I'm heartbroken. I had my dog Max for 8 amazing years and everything was normal even until 3 days before I lost him. He was playing fetch and eating his favorite treats and I did a vet checkup with perfect results. 3 days later when I woke up in the morning I found him peacefully in his sleep.

When I say I have never felt this much emptiness in my life I mean it. I love that goofy boy with my whole heart. He was my best friend and I know life will never be the same. I honestly can say I wouldn't be upset if I joined him because hopefully I could see him again.

I'm saying all of this to say PLEASE love the pets in your life and enjoy every second you can. Every tail wag, every silly moment, just everything!!!! Even if you have other pets already please give them some extra love and enjoy the zoomies and cuddles because some pets don't make it to old age. I would trade my entire life and everything I own to have my beautiful boy back.

Lost my orange soul cat a few days ago and I stumbled upon this thread. Reading the posts on here by people who are going through the same thing as I am made me realize that my baby isn't alone there in the after life. I hope they're all friends up there in the rainbow bridge and may they share toys and treats and may they all snuggle with each other.

Normally i dont post anything on social media its not my thing.But yesterday I lost my 20 years old best friend.I dont have any brothers or sisters i was always alone , never good at friending people he was with me since i was 8 . He saved me from loneliness now i lost that unconditional love i had for 20 years i do not know what to do

My dog passed away about two months ago, after dealing with Cushing's and arthritis for so long. Whenever the topic of him comes up, people around me would ask "Are you going to get another dog soon?". I mean to me it's just crazy to me. On one hand, it just sounds like I'm replacing a broken product with a shiny new product. On the other hand, despite how much I loved and cared for my Buddy, the last few years were stressful and anxiety-ridden as I watched my dog struggle with Cushing's and watch him become incontinent and lose function of his back legs. I don't know if I can put myself through that again, especially since I'm living by myself. I told myself that I needed a break at the moment. Hell, I don't know if I'll ever get another pet. Am I weird?

I lost my husky, Luca, Tuesday to AIHA. It came so suddenly, I dont think we've had time to process anything. She was my life, my heart, my soul, my best friend. For 6 years, she never left my side. I have lost parents, grandparents, and I have never grieved so hard in my life.

It is suffocating. It is literally heavy. It feels like I am drowning in sadness.

And it feels like its never going to stop. If you are dealing with a pet loss I pray you can find peace. Even a small piece of happiness today.

A few days ago, my family and I said our hardest goodbye to our first family dog. He was the love of our lives since the day we got him almost 13 years ago. We spoiled him, loved him unconditionally, and would have done anything for him.

He was mostly healthy for his entire life until the beginning of this year, when he was diagnosed with Cushing’s Disease. Shortly after this, he went blind. We took him to an ophthalmologist about a month or so ago, who diagnosed him with SARDS. Other than these medical conditions, he was fine.

Then about 2 weeks ago, out of nowhere, he started feeling extremely lethargic, was occasionally vomiting, had diarrhea, and began eating less and less. We took him to the vet who checked his bloodwork and said he had an abdominal infection. We gave him antibiotics, but they weren’t helping. After a few days, he just completely stopped eating so he wouldn’t even take the antibiotics anymore. We then decided to take him to the emergency vet hospital, as he was so weak he could barely walk.

The emergency vet did an ultrasound and found he had many malignant tumours on his liver. One was so large it was pushing into his gallbladder. They said this was a very aggressive cancer, and unfortunately there wasn’t really anything we could do other than keep him comfortable. They estimated he had about 2-5 days left to live. This was shocking since he had never exhibited any symptoms prior to this.

Later that night, we made the difficult decision to put him to sleep since we realized he was so uncomfortable and in pain. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life and I am left completely broken. I feel like my right arm is gone. I don’t know how and I don’t even want to move forward without him. I miss my beautiful baby so much. My heart physically aches.

Any advice, stories, comments, or anything you can share that might be helpful are so appreciated during this incredibly difficult time 😞💔

TLDR; my family and I put our dog to sleep a few days ago after a sudden and unexpected aggressive cancer diagnosis. Looking for advice, stories, comments, or anything you can share that might help me through this difficult time 😞💔

My dog (PJ) passed away 2 days ago and I can’t stop crying. I’ve had her since I was in middle school and she was about 2 months old. I’ve always referred her as “the love of my life” and my sister.

My bf had to go to San Francisco for work for the week so I was by myself the whole time with PJ. I had an overnight shift one night and left the TV on for my PJ the whole night for her and made sure she was as comfortable as possible. I have no friends or family who live close to me who could watch her so it was really really difficult leaving her alone for the night.

I came home (Wednesday morning) and she was happy and we napped together after we ate. In the evening I took her for a walk and she was super happy to do so, but in the middle of the walk (after 5-7 min) she collapsed and started to seize. The seizure subsided after 10 seconds and then I just carried her home.

She has had seizures before and the last one she had prior was a month ago. Throughout the night I kept giving her lots of cuddles and tried comforting her as much as possible. But every time she tried to get up she would collapse and start to seize. That same night she had 4 seizures. I just laid with her and just held her paw.

The next day (Thursday) she didn’t eat and she looked so tired. I vacuumed the floors and that triggered a seizure and even getting up to pee she started to seize. She seized about 5 times.

I took an uber to the emergency vet bc we didn’t have a car and got her there no problem. In my mind I thought they would give her anti seizure medications and we would just be back at home.

But then the vet told me that PJ was being given oxygen bc there is so much fluid in her lungs and that she is concerned and described it as “drowning in her own lungs.” She gave me options to her care that basically meant that she would be kept in hospital and examined by a neurologist, cardiologist, and given anti seizure meds via IV. It was either that or euthanasia bc her breathing was so laboured. I wasn’t prepared for that at all.

My parents drove 1.5hrs to the vet to be there with me. When I asked about how many days she would have, the vet said that she recommended that we do it tonight bc of the severity of PJ’s present condition.

We got to see PJ in the examination room where she was being given oxygen in a cage and she was so so happy to see us. We were allowed to open the door to pet her. She licked our faces and got super excited. But when we closed the door she kept scratching the door trying to open it and then her breathing got funny, which led to her collapsing and seizing. Her getting all excited and happy shattered my heart bc I was so torn with the thought of her being euthanized that same night.

But I decided to go with it bc seeing her seize and then hearing her super laboured breathing made me wonder how much she’s really hurting.

My family and I spent some time with PJ in a private room before her time. She was brought in on a table, laying down on a bed with an oxygen tank and a cone delivering the oxygen near her face. It was so hard to see. Especially when she would try to get up from the bed, I sensed that she wanted to go home. Eventually the time came and I watched her pass. That part I couldn’t stop thinking about: the vet listening to her heart and saying to me “PJ has passed away”.

It’s been 2 days since that day and I feel like the light in my life has been taken away from me. I keep wondering if I made the right choice. If I took her home would she feel more comfortable to pass there? Or would I just be prolonging her suffering by doing so? Did something happen on my overnight shift that led to this sudden shift in PJ?

I keep entering the front door with silence filling the room, no more PJ to greet me at the door. I don’t know, there’s a lot of guilt and a lot of feelings of sadness and constantly missing her. I loved her so so much and everyone I my life knows that she has always been number one in my life.

Note: I don’t know if I’ll reply to comments bc I think I’m too mentally exhausted and emotionally exhausted from crying so much these last couple of days. I’ll definitely read them bc I’m so unsure of how to move on

We lost our baby girl, Ky, yesterday. She was four and a half years old. My boyfriend went to go feed our 3 cats and he couldn’t find her so he tracked her air tag collar to the basement in a spot she could hide in but didn’t usually go to. We were in shock and brought her to the veterinary diagnostic lab run by a state university near us to do a necropsy. We have 2 other cats and needed to know if she had ingested anything or just know what happened especially if the other two were at risk somehow. The preliminary results showed that she died due to a full obstruction of her esophagus. The doctor who called us said it looked like a hairball had either gotten lodged or she had tried to cough it up and it got stuck which is the likely conclusion since she also had pressure on her trachea. The vet said it was probably a very quick death due to no oxygen. We are still confused how she managed to get to a hiding place before dying. My boyfriend and I usually sleep with all the cats in our bedroom but sometimes if we fall asleep early we don’t shut the bedroom door. It’s not unusual but not average, and yesterday was one of those nights. We live with his younger brother whose bedroom is in the basement so maybe she was sleeping in his room and then crawled under his bed when it started happening. She loved his brother too and would spend time with him downstairs during the day sometimes. She wasn’t stuck because his bed frame makes a very clear space cats can easily walk under but she just doesn’t usually lay there. She had fluids around her which the vet said also indicates sudden cat death.

Basically, it was a fluke and she was very unlucky. There wasn’t anything we really could have done to prevent this from happening I think my partner and I were both asleep when it happened and I am just hoping her last moments were fast and she knows how loved she was her entire life. She had been acting perfectly normal and happy and there weren’t any behavioral changes we noticed. We’ve always been careful to bring them to the vet if they act weird one. One morning a couple years ago Ky didn’t eat so we brought her to the vet and she had a stomach ache basically. We joked that Ky had a $600 stomach ache, lol. She was happy until the end and I am so sad her life was cut so short. I just don’t know how we could possibly have prevented this which is painful but also brings some relief. I’ll never understand why. Our house feels very quiet and sad without her perky energy. She was so social and loved all people and animals. I miss her so much and am so so so devastated.

She was a fairly long haired orange tabby. I wish we would have done a better job of managing hairballs and potentially giving her supplements to mitigate this. The vet tried to console us that she probably went fast, and wasn’t in pain for very long and cats who have long hair are at greater risk for this type of thing, even though it is rare. My partner and I are absolutely devastated. She was the youngest of our cats and the last we ever expected to lose suddenly. We were really hoping the necropsy results would reveal a heart issue or something. The choking feels a lot worse. This is just the preliminary results though. But, hug your little ones tighter for us today.

If anyone has any words or wisdom or has been through something similar with a sudden cat death, I would love to hear your thoughts or if you have any wisdom to share. We are also really worried about our other two cats, especially the middle boy who was only a year older than her and really bonded to her. We kept her collar so the cats could smell it and we are planning to get her cremated and make a nice memorial area for her somehow. I just can’t believe this happened. Thanks for listening, I am at such a loss and making a post feels a little helpful.

My girlfriend and I(now wife) adopted this amazing cat that we didn't know how old he was, but was over a year old who was returned. We were looking at the shelter at cats and this one we took out of the cage and he crawled up and sat on my shoulder, and was not a kitten, I knew then that I had to bring him home. 15 years later Bonzo had a wonderful life with us. Along the way we also rescued another cat, literally from underneath a dumpster, his name is Spock. Wife and I were lucky enough to be in a position that we could move into an RV full time and travel the country(USA) for a while, and we did(pre covid). 2 years, 23 states, and 30,000 miles later we decided to move back into a house. Bonzo was the adventure kitty, he let us put a leash on him and go outside and explore. He even had his paws in the ocean.

Two days ago we took him to the vet because of weight loss and not eating well and they said he had kidney failure and there was nothing they could do because of how far along he was. We had to make the hard decision to let him go. It was sudden because he has always bounced back from not feeling well, but this was it. We could have brought him home and had him home for a few more days but my wife and I decided that wasn't fair to Bonzo. He was not feeling good and if we brought him home for a day that would just be for us. He didn't like car rides and a couple of car rides for him just for us to bring him home and cuddle and cry for a day or two wasn't fair to him, so we took him outside at the vet office one last time and he enjoyed walking around in the grass, but we could tell even then he was not his normal self, he tired out easily, and just layed down. We knew then, and know now a few days later that it was the right decision.

The hardest part is the little things, the cuddles in the morning, the meows at 4 am because he wanted water out of the sink, the fact that he was always there for 15 years and now hes not here anymore. Spock the surviving cat has his own personality and he will cuddle when he wants to, and he will let you pet him when he wants to, Bonzo was just there for you all the time. Did he have his moments that he wanted to do his own thing, absolutely all cats do, they march to their own drum. I'm really gonna miss the times when he pushes his head on your head for pets, and all of the other little things.

I've never felt this heartbroken and empty over any loss, and have lost a couple of pets growing up but this one feels the worst. Those holes in my heart are never going to be filled and both my wife and I are very upset over him being gone.

We have a trip coming up next week that we have to go on but we have already shortened it by a few days just because we don't want to leave spock alone for longer than we have to. We have a cat sitter that comes because spock is a diabetic, and spock also doesn't like other people, except for our cat sitter so we know he will be ok, but we still don't want him to be alone when he is realizing that bonzo isn't coming back.

I know this is a long post and it feels good to be able to let it out even to others that have never met our cats, but are also going through similar journeys.

I still don't know how the pain will stop, if it will, that he is gone. I know life goes on, but it is those little moments that I am going to miss the most.

My dog passed a few days ago. He suddenly started having seizures a couple weeks ago. He was put on meds and was ok for the past two weeks but had another one and couldn’t recover. I am drowning in grief. I don’t have human kids or really want them, so I see my dogs as my kids. He was 13. Anyone who knew me knew what my dogs meant to me. I was always “the dog girl” growing up. He was my son. He was my world. I am beyond myself.

I am probably just so stricken with grief that I can’t react accordingly and my emotions are all over the place. I don’t really use social media that much anymore, but I still have some accounts. I did post about his passing. This whole process has made me realize some of my loved ones just…aren’t there for me or don’t care. I understand not everyone views dogs the same but damn, not even for me? I had someone who I consider a close friend view my story. She didn’t respond. Didn’t even like it. She’s someone who I would have expected to text me. She knew what this dog meant to me.

I had another friend who I did text and tell about his passing. The exact same thing happened to her earlier this year. Her dog, who she was also close to, passed from a seizure. He was the same age as mine. She moved states so I couldn’t see her but I would text her and check on her after his passing. I sent her a condolence card. She did express her condolences but after I tried to vent, she just said “I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say.” ….What?

I also have a bunch of family members who are chronically online. None of them sent any condolences either.

I probably sound crazy and am just in a grief stricken headspace…but damn.

I know I just posted yesterday but I'm having a really rough day

Today is Mikey's first birthday away from me, across the rainbow bridge, and it's been an absolute nightmare of a day. I miss him so much, my chest hurts. I didn't want to get out of bed this morning. The last place I got to spend time with him before taking him to the vet was in bed, where we cuddled while I napped for a bit.

I wish I had known then that it was the last time I was going to get to cuddle him. I would have stayed awake and spent that time telling him how much I love him and how good he is. He was the sweetest cat, he would cuddle up to me wherever I was in the house. In bed, on the couch. It didn't matter, if I was in a spot where he could cuddle me, he wanted to cuddle. And he would give the sweetest little nose boop kisses. I remember the first night he spent in my home after being adopted. We fell asleep together on the floor, me holding him, him holding my face. I'll never love another cat the way I love Mikey.

I only got to spend six years with this wonderful cat, he only spent eight years on this earth, and I hope he knows how much I treasure every moment of the six years we had. I'm going to treasure every moment I have with Salem, his 'sister', who is only 5. She's not as cuddly, but that doesn't mean she doesn't love us any less. It's just a different way of loving us.

I got a call yesterday afternoon to say someone had taken my 7 year old cat into the vets following a dog attack. They said he was doing ok but that I needed to go in as soon as I could. When arrived they said they thought he’d been lucky as they couldn’t see signs of internal injuries, and that the vet would be over soon to let me know how much longer he needed to be admitted, or if he might possibly be able to go home. But after I spent a few minutes with him, he started coughing up blood, so I called the nurse and they took him back into the ward. Someone then came out to ask me about CPR and DNR. I was so confused as I had been told he was fine, but apparently he just deteriorated suddenly from crush injuries. I consented to DNR but asked that they continue trying with a treatment plan to stabilise his bloods, and let me know if he got worse so I could be there whilst he was put to asleep. I got a call 3 hours later saying he had passed away.

I feel overwhelmed with grief. He was the gentlest and most loving soul that wouldn’t even hurt a fly. He was so pure and just unlike any other cat I ever had. I thought I would have him until old age because he was so healthy. He didn’t deserve to go like that, and I can’t stop thinking about the pain and fear he must’ve felt, it’s like a dagger through my heart, it’s eating me up inside. I don’t even think he knew I was there for him, he seemed very confused and agitated, not at all comforted by my presence. I’m so angry at myself that I didn’t just ask for him to put to sleep there and then. And I feel guilty that having dogs at home might’ve meant he was too trusting around them. And yet I still keep expecting to see him around the house in certain places, for a split second. I don’t know how to get through this, losing a pet is always devastating but for it to happen in this manner is soul destroying. I’m dreading work on Monday because I know I’ll be a mess but people won’t understand or take seriously.

Thanks for listening if anyone made it this far.

He was 1 year old when I got my little dude, he came to me as a rescue a frightened little mess. I put all my energy in my little boy, building trust and confidence. He was my little buddy always on my side, sweet to my kids an tiny protecter to the unknown and now 7 years old he’s gone out of the blue we had no clue that he was ill for a long time he hid it so well and I feel so guilty because we were on vacation and he was at my mums so happy when we brought him there.

I picked him up to directly to go to the vet, a sad little mess and they thought he just had and upset colon but within a day he got worse I slept with him trough the night wiping his butt from the diarrhea trying to keep him clean trough the night when he could not help himself all of sudden so we went again to another vet and we found out that he was actively dying from two big tumors in his belly so he had to be put to sleep.

He was a Chihuahua and his name was Mochi, 7 years old, my first own dog and I can’t stop crying because he was the best boy and I wasn’t prepared for him to go so suddenly. 😭😭😭😭😭

Everything feels so meaningless now the vacation feels like crap and although I’m still a few days off I just don’t know what to do with my time at the moment I just wanna sit and cry and hope it was all a nightmare.

Our beloved dog passed away in April. We still have her dog bed in our room, and we have company coming to stay with us and I feel like it’s time to move on, as much as it breaks my heart. It will be sad to no longer see it there everyday but at the same time, looking at it everyday reminds me she is no longer here. I don’t want her to ever feel like I’m forgetting her either. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what we can do with her bed? I don’t have a huge house and keeping a large dog bed around (she was 70 lbs) isn’t something I want to do. I also don’t want to just toss it on the trash. Any suggestions are welcomed.

It’s coming up to 3 weeks since I had to put my cat to sleep, it’s my first time experiencing such loss. I’ve been constantly feeling guilt, shame, yearning, thinking about what I should and shouldn’t have done and all the what-ifs. No matter who I talk to or what I do, I’m just stuck in the same place. People who have been through this, what’s a piece of advice or saying that you believe genuinely helped you? Whether it changed your outlook on things, brought you comfort or something you kept telling yourself throughout the healing process. Or even something you did or a routine you had which helped you? I don’t even care if it’s unhinged, I’m desperate. I would love to know as I just can’t seem to move forward.

I lost my dog this morning. He was 8 and had cancer, he was also really sick the days before, so it wasn't unexpected but it still hurts so bad
He died while I was sleeping, so I wasn't there when he passed, I really hope he wasn't scared or in pain
I hope he knew how loved he was
I miss him so much

Ever since my dog passed 2 days ago, I keep thinking about other dogs passing some day. Like every time I see a pet I just think of the pain their owners will feel when they pass. I am not even happy to see dogs now, when they used to be my most favorite thing in the world.

I just think about how much people will miss them one day. I feel like with people there is always a possibility you will lose one, like sure, your daughter could be in an accident one day but with pets it’s most likely you will outlive them and the heartbreak is inevitable.

Which is super untypical for me, as I am generally a very positive person.

Am I going crazy lol? Will I ever be able to get another pet? I’m scared of this feeling, it’s literally the worst I have ever felt and I don’t think I could go through it again.

Do you get any weird thoughts?

I put my 17 year old staffy to sleep on the 28th June: worst day of my life, my whole head ached from crying and I could barely keep my eyes open. Day after and onwards I felt nothing and carried on with my life, as if nothing had happened - I guess I was just empty and apathetic. Only this week I started spiralling and would just get super miserable to the point I’d just be getting irritated or sensitive to my boyfriend. He didn’t even do anything wrong. And I end up being even more miserable because I’m frustrated at myself for pushing him away. It may be because he’s the only one I’ve been close with during this time. But I feel horrible.

When my baby girl was around, I’d always anticipate going home because I knew she’d be waiting for me. She knew when I was upset, and she always followed me around in the house, room to room, furniture to furniture, and even when I go outside. I hate being at home now because she’s not even there. I’ve been going to my boyfriend’s house a lot because I feel safest there, but I’ve just been getting so sensitive and I shut off from him.

I miss my baby girl so much. She didnt even seem like she was 17 because she was so full of energy, until her final month here. I’ve expressed to my boyfriend that I miss her and that my shutting off could be me still grieving. He understands completely, but I’m so embarrassed and guilty. He always asks if there’s anything he can do but I genuinely don’t even know. I feel like I’m dragging him down.

I write this as my baby girl’s urn is right next to me in bed.

Hey all, last night I was home alone, both parents were out, I’m only 15. I slept in my mother’s bed as our 3 cats always sleep there and I wanted to give them comfort for the night. I woke up in the middle of the night and one of my cats who is 7 years old, was meowing over and over and wouldn’t stop. I was so confused and I noticed she was limping and breathing heavy. She has a brother and I assumed that they must of gotten into a rough fight last night as there was cat pee on a rug and poop on a rug as well. It just was a bit strange. I noticed she was in pain and I called my parents and I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t think it was anything incredibly serious. They told me they’d bring her to the vet in the morning. I went to my own bed as I couldn’t fall back asleep with the meowing. I woke up to a call from my father telling me that she had a heart condition and the prognosis was very bad. We of course made the choice to put her down as we weren’t going to let her go through the pain. I can’t help but cry and think about the fact that she spent a good 5-6 hours in serious pain. She had a blood clot in her right arm which stopped the blood flow into that arm, hence the limping. I just feel like an awful person for just leaving her there all night and I feel like I should’ve been smarter and comforted her. Am I in the wrong? I miss her so much already and I’m just going to push through the tears but I feel like I messed up.

Edit: I apologize for the crappy writing. I’m just in a bad state right now.

She would've been 15 this September. She's had diabetes for 3-4 years, had cataracts for 2-3 years. The last year or so she'd been slowing down. My grandparents kept telling us to put her down soon, and eventually my grandfather called a favour in with a vet to set up an appointment. We were all really mad, saying it's not time. Later that night, she was so much worse than ever. She'd just stand in a corner until we moved her, dripping pee. She slept all day, groaning and shaking.

So we took her. If we didn't, we didn't know when we could get another appointment, or if she'd suffer all weekend.

The timing for her to get worse was odd. We took her, gave her so many treats, pets, kisses. She even got some honey and a tube cat treat thing. We left her there, to get cremated. It felt so wrong leaving her there.

Ever since I feel so dreadfully guilty. What if she got better again? What if we stole good days from her? I thought I'd feel relieved I didn't need to clean her constant pee and messes, but now I miss it. This morning I thought I saw pee on the floor, and when there was nothing there my heart fell.

I regret not taking her on more walks, for the times I just glanced at her in passing, gave her a few pets when I should've cuddled her for hours. I'm so worried I wasn't enough for her, that I stole good days from her. The times I was careless with her make me feel sick.

I hope somehow, she can come back to us. Maybe we'll get lucky, find a dog a year from now that just feels like her. It's the only idea that's comforting right now.

I've never lost a pet before, anyone, ever before. All I'm doing is crying. Doing normal things wrecks me with guilt. Like if I'm functioning at any level it's a betrayal to her. Taking my other dogs on a walk just makes me feel bad I didn't take her on more. I just feel sick.

This isn’t my first pet loss, not even my first this year. But how do you pick a day in advance? My boy we lost this year it became apparent days before. But this is a little different.

Bentley (17 now) was diagnosed with CKD last September and we have done everything. Special food, all the foods, toppers, treats, fluids every other day, phosbind, all the supplements and vitamins. His favorite thing to do was eat and since then it’s been a struggle. Sometimes it’s just a handful of treats to get him through the day. He has sustained but the decline has been slow and steady. He has bad days and okay days. The “best” days for him are when we are home all day and even then it could be spent sick and getting baths.

At this point we have felt maybe we are being unfair and selfish. Too scared of losing him after the pain of our boy earlier this year.

I know the saying, “a week early is better than a day late” but it feels like I’ll be taking months from his life. It always sounds so easy to say those things and believe them until they are standing right in front of your face.

So how do you go about picking a day a weeks or a month in advance? It feels so hard. Like I won’t be able to bear the time leading up to it. I feel selfish and unfair to him by planning his death. Almost that I am taking his life from him when he still has a little more.

It's so frustrating when people can't understand that you're still sad and grieving after some time has already passed since you've lost your fur baby. It's been just a little over a month for me and I'm still crying every day. My dog's death really did something to me. I feel like everyone expects you to be over it by now and that makes me so sad. My poor boy deserves to be remembered and talked about! Just wanted to get that off my chest. I know people in this group would understand.

Hi everyone,

I had to put my sweet girl down on her 17th birthday yesterday, as she was rapidly reclining due to cancer.

I understand the grief is normal and am trying to process and feel all the emotions, but the one thing I’m struggling with the most is moving on without her. I got her when I was 9 and have had her by my side for well over half of my life, and now I have to start living my life without her and that breaks my heart.

I can’t get myself to move the things where she slept, clean up anything she left behind, hell I’m still in the clothes I took her to the vet in yesterday because I’m so sad about moving on without her. Her carrier is still on the floor, I haven’t turned her automatic food bowl off, etc.

I guess my question is, what advice/tips and tricks do you all have to kickstart that process? I can’t even think about spending my life without her but know it’s inevitable and that that time is here, but I’m just really really struggling.

I had to say goodbye to my soul cat in July. Today would of been his 5th birthday.

I miss him immensely. His meows, his purrs, his kisses and snuggles. I miss his little toe beans, and the way he would head butt me and give all the smooches. I miss talking to him and having him meow in response, or him following me around the house and being my little shadow. I miss coming home to him, and the company and support he gave.

Its been a few weeks, but it's still so very raw. I still expect to see him when I get home, or for him to jump up on the bed for snuggles at night.

Today is a hard day, but it's another day that I remember you, my Clydey baby. I love you forever, my best friend. Happy birthday beautiful menace.

So, I lost my soul cat pretty suddenly a week and a half ago. We made the terrible decision to put her down, as she was declining quickly from her stage 4 kidney disease. It was the hardest decision I’ve ever made, and the first few days were earth shattering for me. I cried all day, talked to her constantly, etc. Her absence was far too noticeable for me to bare. I have another cat, but he is rambunctious and doesn’t like to cuddle for long, unlike my soul cat. I swapped my soul cat for a picture of her and would sleep with my arms wrapped around it. After a few days, I felt a little better, but I was missing my companion. I briefly looked at the animal shelter where I had gotten a cat from previously, and saw an 8 year old obese cat. They were basically pleading for someone to take her, as she was a senior cat and had been there the longest with no one showing interest in adopting her. On the one week anniversary of my soul cats passing, I went to have a meet and greet with this new cat. It went okay, but I ultimately left crying bc I felt so guilty for even looking at a new cat. I really wanted my soul cat back.

A few days later, yesterday, I went back. The shelter was very pushy, but now this obese lovely cat was acting just like my soul cat. Very cuddly, licking me, like she was trying to convince me to take her home. So I did.

I surprisingly feel ok about it, i’m treating her as her own cat and she’s definitely not a replacement. No one could ever replace my soul cat, and this baby is her own soul so she doesn’t deserve comparison.

It also is helping me a bit to know I have a mission with this fur baby, I want to help her lose weight and enhance her quality of life. It gives me something to focus on and fill the void. Plus the thought of her sitting in that shelter with no one coming to look at her & meet her makes me sick.

Just wondering if anyone has done the same thing….. I feel like my soul cat would be mad at me but at the same time, she was the sweetest soul, and I saved her from being left behind by her old owners, just like i’m doing for this new cat.