How to deal with a pet cat dying ?

Question

He wasn't a pet he was a part of her family. He was more of a friend that a pet. She toatally loved him. I don't know if her life will ever be the same again. Please help my bff. Her life is not very bright right now. : (

HELP!!! Please she needs help and I want to be ther for her and get her the most help I can give her. I'm her BFF its the least I can do.

Answer 1

grieve as you would for any family death. think on the pleasure you attained from the animal & when the time is right, give a good home to another animal in need of one. your friends cat is watching over him/her. take comfort from that.

Answer 2

That happened to me. My cat had cancer and had to get put down. She was 18 and had had a good life but she was still part of my family and i was so devestated when she was put down. I takes a while to get over something like this, especially if you have had the pet for ages. It took me about 1 year to get over it. Just be there for your BFF and talk with her about the happy times. Maybe sauggest she could write a letter to her cat and let him know how much she misses him and tell him all the things she never got to say. This helps with the healing process.
Wait about a year or 2 until your BFF is over it and then a great present to get her would be to take her pet shopping and buy her a new kitten.

Answer 3

Whatever you do, don't get her a new pet. What if she's not ready? Where is that cat going to go if she says she doesn't want it? There are alot of ways for dealing with pet loss grief. If she has pictures of her kitty, she can make a scrapbook, or maybe a poster and then frame it and put it up on the wall. Maybe she can write a poem, or a memoir about her cat. If she is old enough, maybe she can volunteer at her local animal shelter and spend time with the cats there that need affection, without actually having to open her heart to another cat when it is still so sore from losing one. When she is ready, there are millions of homeless pets in shelters that need homes. Most shelters do not like to adopt pets as gifts for various reasons. She will need to do this on her own, but you can help her with your love and support. Good Luck!

Answer 4

You are already helping her. You appreciate the depth of her grief and that she hasn't just lost a pet she's lost an important member of the family. That alone is a massive support. Lots of people really don't comprehend how painful losing a cat can be. She feels bad now as any grieving person would be but as with any loss she will get over it in time. However this thought may comfort her, it's helped me in the past. The only reason she feels such grief is because her friend brought her so much joy while he was alive, when the pain begins to subside she will have all the joy to remember and cherish for the rest of her life.

my sympathise to your friend, I know exactly what she's going through

Answer 5

Its amazing how much we care for our animals these days.. losing one is just as bad as losing a family member. I dont think she is ready for a new kitten if she is still in the grieving process. She may turn her back to the kitten because it is not her lost cat and she may feel guilty at first by having a replacement. If I were you I would find a beautiful picture of the cat, if you can find one that is of her and the cat, and blow it up and put it in a beautiful frame. Then give her a copy of the poem "Rainbow Bridge" (If you have never heard it, then just type the name into any search engine and it will pull it up, its a beautiful poem written about losing a pet) Slowly she will heal, because thats what time does. When you think she has let go a little ask her about going to a local rescue (no kill shelter) and possibly looking at cats. Maybe she'll fall in love with one, and feel good that she is saving a life and honoring her lost pet.

Answer 6

I know what people mean when they say that pets are members of the family, they create their own personaility and they can make a house a home. However, when you have lost a real person, like a mother, close friend or sister it's puts the loss of an animal into perspective. I recently took my cat to have her put down due to a long illness. I was devastated but I doubt the cat would have missed me if I'd have died in a car crash two weeks prior to her termination. People who love animals have to believe that they provided the animal with the love and affection that it couldn't have got elsewhere, thus giving it a perfect environment to thrive in. That's all you can do. Wasting time grieving over animals is not what we were designed to do.

Answer 7

I know how she feels, its devastating to lose such a close bond, with a non-judgemental unconditionally loving soul, but believe me she will be ok, and accepting death is a part of life, it happens to everything eventually, if she says she cant face having another pet, tell her that out there somewhere there is an animal that needs a good owner, and a loving home, eventually she will be able to think about it, but she will never forget her beloved pet, my dear little spot the cat was killed 13 years ago, and I still miss him!

Having a new kitten will help, but not yet, give her time, let her cry, she will be fine, I promise.

Answer 8

I know what she is going through. My cat died at 10 years old. AND I didn't get to see her before she died. I was away doing military stuff... Do what you would do if he were a person. My parents burried her in the garden and later when I came home, I got her a little stone that had a sweet inscription on it. (sometimes pet stores have something like that). Maybe make a scrap book for her. She probably needs time, but sometimes a cure for a lost pet is getting a new pet. I went to the shelter and hung out with some kitties. didn't feel anything for them at all until one day I found my Sniper. (it was over a month later). He chose me. I don't know why I took him home. It took a while for me to feel anything for him but now I don't know what I would do with out him. Hope that helps. Get her to be around some kitties after a little while.

Answer 9

I know what that is like. I lost a pet cat after 25 years and never thought I'd get over it. I have another one now and wouldn't be without my new one. Give her time to grieve then get her to go near cats and kittens again in a couple of weeks and see how she reacts. When you feel the time is right let her choose another one, I'd suggest a kitten and allow her to choose a name. That way the grief will ease a little. She will never forget the cat you have now but she has to be able to have the chance to love another.

Answer 10

i had to put my cat to sleep 2 years ago he was also like my family he used to sleep under my arm in bed at night i missed him so much that i couldnt sleep i cried alot i said i would never have another cat again but as soft as i am a few months later i came home with 2 kittens and every thing is ok again even though i still miss my cat i know he was part of my life and i was happy to have had him.
at the time i was very sad everyone told me the best thing is get a new cat even my vet said it but i was stuburn and hurt and waited a few months and they where all right it does help

Answer 11

nothing and nobody can help only time been there done that its the loss of a family member not just a cat as some would say but the pain will go in time and after saying that you never really get over it you just learn to live with it i lost a Cain terrier 13 years ago and then another 7 years ago and i can honestly say there is not one day gos by that i don't think about them i still remember there birthdays and the dates they died and i can still cry for them i only hope if there is any thing up there that my little girls are as happy up there as they were down here and god willing i will be back with them one day.