(((HUGS)))

It's the worst part about the best thing in our lives.....

i am so sorry for your loss.

I'm so sorry.

Thanks for thinking of me. I feel a little better today. He was such a great guy. He would always come in at dark and he never was any trouble at all. He loved being with people and was friendly with all our other pets. At times, he could be shy or scared but I think it was because he had a hard life before he came. Whether he was abandoned I don't know, but he found us and stayed near always. Yesterday, he spent all morning laying in the sun on a gigantic catnip plant in his favorite corner of the garden. That's where he can be now. Laying on a cushion of catnip covered in rose petals. It's the first thing I'm going to do now that the sky is beginning to get light.

The amount of trust that he had in me. I don't think I could trust like that. I felt so bad even giving him a bath or going to the doctor's. We go to a great cats only hospital and all the staff loved him. Loved his being friendly with them even while he was scared. He never hissed or growled or anything. He was patient with me when I made mistakes. I used to tell him, if you were a person, you'd be a saint. Maybe he went to abide with the angels. I learned so much from him and I should have appreciated it more. Now I see what I had and it's hard to face that it's gone. Thank you Jussi for all you did for everyone.

I think your posts kind of echos what a lot of us feel kitty, I'm so sorry. {{{hugs}}}

you two had a very special bond, it's something you can treasure till the end of time. death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves the memories no one can steal. <3

i'm so sorry for your loss. (((hugs)))

They really do make us better people, don't they? Long ago I saw a sticker that said "I aspire to be the person my dog thinks I am" and though I'm a cat person it always stuck with me.

I hope you find peace in knowing that you have given each one a wonderful home where they were safe and loved.

I'm so very sorry, kitty, and know exactly how it feels. We adopted older animals from shelters and all of them died too soon, Cushing's disease, cancer three times, with horrific and expensive pre-death experiences, and kidney failure. None of them stayed with us long enough and when I look at their graves I feel the pain all over again. It never really goes away, and yet when they're gone the house seems so empty without them. So many waiting for homes, how can we not help them? Some of us keep doing it and others can no longer bear to do it. But we loved and we tried, and they all felt that. In the end, it's more about them than about us, and the pain of loss has to be seen as a part of life. Perhaps it makes us more humble and sensitive. I surely hope it's good for something.

I'm so sorry about the loss of your kitty. I lost my very special boy in Nov. 2015. Time and having new kittens has helped, but I still miss him very much. He was with me for 15 years. Their time with us is indeed too short.

What was his name, kittie? And how old was he? We'd love to see a photo if possible. Yes, it hurts to lose a beloved pet, especially a sweetie like yours.

Knowing their lifespan is less than ours doesn't help much. May the good memories comfort you.

I'm very sorry for your loss, kittymoonbeam. Yes, it does seem that their lives are way too short.

I'm sorry, all pet lovers understand how truly heartbreaking it is to lose their little furry children. Every time I lost one, I thought, never again, I can't go through that heartache. You have to go through the grief process, and that can take time. I still get teary eyed over the loss of my little sheltie, and she's been gone over 10 yrs now. But, in time, you may find you want to open your heart to another, you can never replace the pet you lost, but each one is special and unique in it's own way. The unconditional love they give us makes up for the pain of eventually losing them.

Today I took three big bouquets to the cat hospital and two big boxes of chocolates. An early Valentines thank you for being kind to us. A big bunch of gold medal roses and a big bouquet of carnations in red pinks and white with white mums and over a hundred stems of sweet mini daffodils that prospered in the rain.

I'm still with a heavy heart when I see his favorite velvet chair empty or missing him being in his other favorite places in the garden. Sometimes I think I see him and it's a coat or something. I hate that. The last few days have been busy with work so I don't have time to think about it much. I miss him mostly at night. He used to try and get long pets at bedtime. I'd be tired and wanting to fall asleep. He'd been sleeping for a few hours after dinner so he'd want to be petted. I'd pet him and stop, then he'd lick my cheek or hand to get more pets. Sometimes I'd get so tired that I'd put him down at the foot of the bed and he'd come back again over and over. A few nights I had to hide under the blanket just to give him the message that I was going to sleep.

I tried to stay near these last months, sitting with him by the fire, on the couch, on the bed, in the garden ,wherever he wanted to be.

I will look for a good picture of him. I think I can do that now. The Valentine's card I picked for the vets shows two kitties cuddled up. Inside it says

I want to spend all my lives with you.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

This is a really sweet story that was posted in the vet clinic I used to work at (I'm not sure of the original author) - it's specific to dogs, but really applies to any companion animal. It really resonated with me and I try to share it with fellow pet lovers:

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolf hound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's Death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, 'I know why.'

He said, 'People are born so that they can learn how to live a good Life - - like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?' The Six-year-old continued, 'Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.'

oh man lovekcdillas, you're making me bawl & I'm at work!

So innapropriate ;)

milly - yea if you don't tear up at that one, I don't think you have a soul ;)

My aunts lost the cat that has been living with them for 20 years. I know how hard it may be. But now, after few years passed, they have a new pet. And they love it so much.

I understand that it was your furry friend that provided you love and comfort. And maybe it’s too early, but you may consider getting another one.

We humans leave wills expressing our wishes.

The following is suggested as the sentiments of a recently lost pet.

When
humans die, they make a will
To leave their homes and all they have
to those they love.
I, too, would make a will if I could write.
To some poor wistful, lonely stray
I leave my happy home,
My dish, my cozy bed, my cushioned chair, my toy.
The well loved lap, the gentle stroking hand,
the loving voice,
The place I made in someone's heart,
The love that at the last could help me to
a peaceful painless end
Held in loving arms.
If I should die, Oh do not say,
"No more a pet I'll have,
to grieve me by its loss"
Seek out some lonely, unloved dog
And give my place to him.
This is the legacy I leave behind -
'tis all I have to give.