I just lost a life long friend. My cat, Skippy had to be put down today due to liver cancer. I'm a wreck. I've got a brand new kitten, but its helping effects are not enough. How would you comfort your self? I'm sitting on my bed in tears. It happened two hours ago. I've had Skippy since I was two. Words cannont express the loss in my heart and the empty feeling that I am feeling when I get home and not see her laying there on my bed. I'm at a loss of words. I'm sorry I'm rambling on... but I needed to get that off my chest. How would you deal with the loss of a life long friend?
2007-09-17 09:48:11 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Cats
I am 18 and I recently had to put down my ferret which i've had since I was 9. It has been two months and I am still upset. It takes time but just keep telling yourself that she is in a better place and isn't suffering anymore. You did the right thing. This is what I keep telling myself and it makes me feel better knowing that she's happy wherever she is and she's not in pain anymore. My ferret was 11 years old and she went into a massive seisure and couldnt be brought out of it. The vets were very nice. They gave her a shot to stop the seizure and another one to take the pain away, THEN they put her down so she wouldnt be in pain when she passed. Good Luck. I wish you the best. Be strong and show your new kitten lots of love, even though I know the new kitten can never replace Skippy.
2007-09-17 09:58:03 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
My commiserations. I lost a 16 year old cat a few years ago and bawled like a baby for hours. I now have four cats, acquired two a time, but Griffin is still missed.
Let it out. Ignore people who tell you Skippy was "only a cat".
When you're ready, find the website called "Rainbow Bridge". You'll cry again, but it is comforting to think of our pets in this way, rather than the way you currently remember Skippy.
Did you get the kitten before Skippy died? I hope so. Try not to scare her, and let the kitten come to you when you're sad. Let her make her own pawprints on your heart, right beside Skippy's. She's an addition, not a replacement.
2007-09-17 09:59:28 · answer #2 · answered by tantelise 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
The new kitty will never replace the memory of the old one, but it will give you lots of happiness in the future. Make sure you play with it a lot so it knows it will have a great home.
Only time will heal the wound of the loss of your Skippy. Lots of us have been there, it's a terrible feeling.
The best thing you can do to mourn your loss, is cry, look at pictures, write about it, read all the cat loss websites, talk about it with your friends and family. Give the new kitty lots of affection. It will be returned and you will love that. It's a little baby that needs your affection, and the best way to honor the memory of the one that passed away is to give the little one another part of yourself. Good luck, I'm sorry for your loss.
2007-09-17 12:58:00 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Cry, scream, yell, beat a pillow, but most of all find someone with a sympathetic ear to listen. Most people do not realize that the loss of a pet is just like the loss of a human. Sometimes, worse. You need to grieve. Expect to grieve. When I was younger I had to put my cat down and I had her for almost 19 years. I got her the same time as my brother, and let me tell you, I liked the cat better. Don't let ANYONE diminish your feelings. Everything you feel is normal. All I can say (and this doesn't help right now), is that the cliche is true - in time it does get better. As for the new kitten, congrats, but remember that you cannot REPLACE a pet. You can only LOVE a new one. Hugs.
2007-09-17 10:03:51 · answer #4 · answered by novakillar 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm sorry to hear that, I know how you feel. A year ago, I lost my cat of 18 years who I'd had since I was 6. I didn't know what life was like without her, she'd always been there and was the light of my life really! She hadn't been ill, save the heart murmur she'd acquired in old age - we just found her dead on the driveway. Even a year on, I still do little things like keep my feet off the floor when I'm sitting on the stool by where her cat food plates used to be - forgetting that they're not there anymore!
Anyway, it was time really that got me by, although I do still miss her like crazy. I still live in the same house that I grew up with her in, and I'm quite anxious to leave. I personally cannot have another cat in this house, it just wouldn't seem right. I'm not surprised having the new kitty isn't really helping, but at least you've got something cute to take your mind off it!
I was lucky that everyone understood how much Candi meant to me, so I had plenty of support when she died. I buried her in the back garden with my dad, sister and niece, and made her grave look really lovely. I also put pictures of her around my room, and I have her picture on my phone.
I think this might just have to be a case of letting time heal for you. That and talking plenty about her, remembering all the wonderful times with her even if it makes you cry. I had one enormous cry the day Candi went, but other than that I didn't cry again until just recently, which was weird - think I had it bottled up a bit, but I read something that opened the flood gates! I'm a vet nurse and I was pretty useless at cat euthanasias for a while as well, took me some time to get my 'chill switch' back, as I call it!
Anyway, just take each day as it comes. One day it will be better. Promise! But there's nothing wrong with crying every day 'til then.
RIP Skippy and Candi
Chalice
2007-09-17 10:06:20 · answer #5 · answered by Chalice 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
This is one of the toughest things to deal with. I give to you and Skippy a sincere cyber hug.
Skippy had a good, long, happy life with you. That's the best an animal can hope for in a hard and cruel world. She's crossed the Rainbow Bridge and is with God now. That's not a bad thing. She's safe and not in pain anymore and she'll be waiting for you when it's your time to go home.
2007-09-17 10:41:16 · answer #6 · answered by Leslie L 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well the first pet I lost was when I was 2... I've had lots, and I mean LOTS of animals living with me... over the years you accept that their lives are shorter than yours and it's part of their nature. So as long as the animal has lived a happy life, why not celebrate that joyful life instead of being too sad for their death? I know it's sad, because you lose a friend... and the first times it can be very very strange. But if you focus on the good memories, and thank Muffin for what she was, well it will make it easier for you -and you will honour her life. :-) Let the grief out... don't swallow the sadness, just let it out... but once it's out, focus on the positive you shared with her. :-) And give thanks. Most of the animals who lived with me were buried when they died... not in times of epidemics, when well, there wasn't really much time to dedicate to the dead since I had to focus on the living first... especially the young.
2016-05-17 06:51:51 · answer #7 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I just lost another cat on Wednesday, to cardio myopathy which we didn't even know he had till literally the last day. He'd only been with us for 4 years, but I'm still breaking up over it.
My hardest to loose was Sylvester who died two months short of 20 years old, he'd been with me for 3/4 of my life and we lost him to cancer just like your Skippy. I can tell you that the first two weeks were awful. And I'd still be tearing up thinking about him as much as three years later.
All I can say is to cry, go ahead and don't hold it back. If you try to stuff it inside you it makes it worse. There's a pattern to grief and you have to just let time work it's way through. A new cat helps, but it's no replacement, just another companion. Give it time, you can't shorten this part up, unfortunately.
2007-09-17 11:42:34 · answer #8 · answered by Elaine M 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I am so sorry for your loss. The pain can be tremendous and overwhelming. I believe it is very important to do a couple of things to get yourself through this.
First, take good care of yourself. Nurture yourself and allow yourself to be sad. The loss of a pet it always much harder than expected. Honor that.
Secondly, take some action. Find some pictures of her, her favorite toys, gather them up and put them on a table and light a candle in her honor. Maybe write a poem, some memory of her that you do not want to lose.
Trust in time (as horrible as that sounds right now). but as you are waiting for time to pass, staying busy will help a lot.
There are many suggestions for building an altar, taking care of yourself, memorializing your little one at: http://www.custompeturns.com/blog/
2007-09-21 06:06:57 · answer #9 · answered by alexandra p 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You deal with it one hour at a time, one day at a time. It's a big loss for you, remember the good times, look at pictures. Get it slowly but surely off your chest.
Think about it this way : liver cancer is painful, your cat had to go on and it's a brave thing to let him go. Cats (and dogs for that matter) just don't live as long as we do and it is part of it, when having a pet that we have to eventually let them go. You could not have pets to avoid this, but I'd rather love and lose then not love at all... :)
2007-09-17 10:02:36 · answer #10 · answered by chibi_sylphe 2 · 4⤊ 1⤋