My 14yr old cat has passed

[HollyS]

We've been waiting and watching as our kitty went through the final stages of her life. She has died of leukemia, as some older cats will do. She passed rather peacefully, at home, at 6:15 this morning. Her daddy and I spent lots of quality time with her all weekend, and last week.

DH stayed up with her last night, and was with her in her final moments. He thought he came to wake me up in time, but I think she had just died when I went in to see her. That's okay, though. It would have been much harder on me to see those final hours and imagine that she had suffered any pain. I'm very grateful that we did not have to put her in her carrier and take her in for The Shot. It was so much less traumatic for her and for us this way.

Friends of ours have a pet cremation service. We will have her with us always in a little cedar box with an engraved nameplate. Neither of us wanted to bury her in the backyard.

I've been through this before, but it never really gets any easier. But, that's how you know you have loved your pet the way they deserve to be loved - - as family.

 

[mrs jam]

Holly, big, big hugs to you. I'm so sorry, but I'm also so glad your kitty got to live her beautiful life with a loving family. My heart goes out to you and your husband.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Holly, I'm very sorry that you have lost a dear friend. I hope you will take comfort in how lucky your kitty was to be a part of your family for all those years.

 

[decodelighted]

So sorry for your loss, Holly. **hugs***

 

[CJ2008]

Sorry, Holly...I've never gone through this yet, but I can imagine how difficult it must be.

So glad that her last hours she was with her dad and mom close by, giving her comfort and love.

 

[mimi123]

I'm so sorry Holly, it's very difficult to lose a furry family member you've loved for years. And you're right, it never gets easier.....We had to give our 19 yo siamese The Shot a few years back. He had been my steadfast loving little companion early in my separation. He was very protective of me - would be glued to me whenever a stranger came to my home and even hiss if you got too close. It took him a while to warm up to my now hubby of 20 yrs. We both were devasted for weeks. The house felt like a tomb. Finally I couldn't take any more and decided that we would have to adopt a new furry baby to love and care for. We got two and their pranks and antics brought us back to life again. A house is not a home without a pet in it, imo. I know one day we'll be going through this again - twice. But the joy and memories they give us are priceless and we know at least these two will have had a happy life with us and it will be worth the pain in the end.

 

[fleur-de-lis]

(((HollyS)))

 

[HollyS]

Thank you, everyone. We all love our fur babies here on PS, and we understand what a loss it is when someone loses their precious pet.

If it were up to me, I would adopt another ASAP. (Emma was a shelter adoption, too.) But DH needs a little time; he feels that he would be cheating on Emma. Poor thing; he hasn't been this close to a pet in more than 35 years. This is harder on him than it is on me, I think.

Update on Mr. I'm Not Even Thinking About Adopting Yet: he took some of the unopened special food we had back to the vet on his way to work; he just called to tell me that they have two cute tabbies for adoption and I need to go over and look at them. Seems he might need a little kitty TLC to help him grieve for his lost buddy. Meanwhile, they invited us to come by and visit their in-house rescue cat, who is extremely lovable and loves to cuddle with everyone. I might need some cuddling later today.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Sorry for your loss.....

kind regards, Sharon

 

[Gypsy]

I'm so sorry Holly. It never gets easier. And it shouldn't really, cause we love them so much and they give us so much. ((HUGS)).

 

[Enerchi]

So sorry to hear this sad news. Holly I hope that you and Mr Holly get thru this rough time of loss. We grieve because we loved so much.

{{{HUG}}}

 

[movie zombie]

so sorry for your loss, Holly. as you said, it never gets easier. i have 6 urns lined up and still keep a candle burning.....

re Mr Holly: it may be "soon" but it is what it is....when you can bring more love into the house, it is the ultimate tribute to his buddy.

 

[isaku5]

I'm so very sorry for your loss, Holly. After 14 years,a kitty is a big part of your human family.

We almost lost our little guy to liver problems two years ago when he was 11. Our vet had called us in for 'the talk', but we chose not to reply and later in the day took our Sammy to a state of the art facility about an hour from home. We were to spend the long weekend with our family at the cottage -none of them is quite as devoted to a pet as this crazy old woman. The hospital called every night to inform us of his status - still not eating or drinking and having to be force-fed every four hours.

As soon as we got home, we sped to the animal hospital to pick up our boy. He had run up a huge bill, but that was beside the point. We received what was left of his meds and began the healing process on our own again. DH kept saying, "Whatever it takes" we'd keep trying. Within a couple of days, he was back to his former self - eating and drinking on his own. There was hope!

Now at 13, he's still healthy, but I know that the time will come when he'll leave us for good. That will be a day when part of 'us' will go with him.

I have grieved over the loss of many kitties, Holly, so I feel your pain.

[[[[[[[[[[[BIG HUGS]]]]]]]]]

 

[Maisie]

I'm so sorry for your loss Holly.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Holly
sorry to hear the sad news. HUGS

 

[missy]

Oh Holly, I am so very sorry for your loss. My heart goes out to you... big hugs.

 

[missy]

so sorry for your loss, Holly. as you said, it never gets easier. i have 6 urns lined up and still keep a candle burning.....

re Mr Holly: it may be "soon" but it is what it is....when you can bring more love into the house, it is the ultimate tribute to his buddy.

This is of course a very personal decision and there is definitely no right or wrong here but this is how I feel. When our darling Billy died my dh thought he could never adopt another but after some time we ended up adopting 3 more rescues. I felt it was the ultimate tribute to Billy and all he meant to us. No one can ever replace him in our hearts but there we have so much love to share that we just wanted to save more lives in honor of Billy.

 

[minousbijoux]

Besides sending you condolences for losing a key member of your family, I just want to add that it sounds like you were awesome parents, and your cat was as blessed as you. I love that Mr. Holly was right there at the end - rare to see such devotion. Any fur baby would be lucky to be part of your family.

 

[Amber St. Clare]

I'm so very sorry.

We lost Oscar just a year ago and we still miss him a lot. Pets are truly membrs of the family.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

So sorry, Holly.

Annette

 

[iheartscience]

I'm so sorry for your loss, Holly. Losing pets is so, so hard. I lost my big fella Charles last year to intestinal lymphoma at age 17.5 and I still miss him terribly. But the good memories have started to replace the memories of him being sick and now we can talk about him fondly instead of just crying.

As for whether or not to adopt so soon, if you think it will help you both heal, I would go for it. We have 2 other lovely ladies which helped a ton. If Charles was our only cat I think we would have adopted another cat pretty quickly. You might consider getting a pair of kittens/young cats. They'll be super energetic and entertaining and could certainly help keep you occupied and keep the house busy.

 

[HollyS]

Thanks again to everyone who consoled me. You're good friends.

I had a good cathartic cry just a bit ago. I was on YouTube watching cat videos and laughing at crazy kitty antics, and, for whatever reason, there was a link to a photo album about a baby's short life. This couple knew that their child was suffering from Trisomy 18, and would very likely die shortly after birth. They hired photographers and videographers to capture the few short precious hours with their 2nd son. Every family member held the baby, including his very young brother. There was such love and joy, mixed with sorrow, on their faces. It broke my heart, and I found myself sobbing, getting tears all over the keyboard.

It gave me a chance to really cry - - something I had done only in short spurts - - and let go of pent up emotion. And, of course, it put my 'suffering' into proper perspective. I was truly blessed to be her mommy and to have her for as long as I did. How can that be anything but wonderful?

 

[movie zombie]

you were both blessed. and she will be in your heart forever.

 

[lulu]

So sorry for your loss.

 

[Enerchi]

THose types of cry's are very therapeutic. They get down to your core and really cleanse you.

Hang in there Holly - savour the memories, for they are what make us who we are and what we bring to the world.

 

[Skippy123]

oh sweet Holly; I am so so sorry. huge huge hugs.

 

[yennyfire]

I am so sorry Holly! It's never easy to let a loved one go...I'm sure your DHs presence was a comfort to her and she knew how much she was loved. Hugs to you and your family.

 

[Kaleigh]

Oh Holly I am so very sorry, huge loss. Big big hugs...

 

[Matata]

Condolences and & big hugs to you & DH.

 

[diamondringlover]

I am so sorry for your loss...pets are just like a family member