Discussion
Tonight, after I arrived home from work and let my beautiful cats out to play (just after taking a shot of them both sitting in the window), Ronnie - seen on his own below - was hit and killed by a van just outside my house on a not especially busy road.I won't lie, I am in pieces.I went from the regular playtime we have on the bed, to our regular half hour cuddle and brush on my lap, to him being dead in a box all in the space of a few hours.
They were Brothers and were about 1.5 years old and as I type this, Reggie, the remaining cat, is hunting the house and looking constantly out of windows for his soulmate.Does it get better? Do cats cope or pine for years to come? Should we show him the body of his Brother? Should we adpot another cat quickly to fill the void?
Not ashamed to admit I have cried lots tonight and any experiences of such things would be much appreciated as he is being buried in the garden tomorrow.
RIP my beautiful big boy x
They were Brothers and were about 1.5 years old and as I type this, Reggie, the remaining cat, is hunting the house and looking constantly out of windows for his soulmate.Does it get better? Do cats cope or pine for years to come? Should we show him the body of his Brother? Should we adpot another cat quickly to fill the void?
Not ashamed to admit I have cried lots tonight and any experiences of such things would be much appreciated as he is being buried in the garden tomorrow.
RIP my beautiful big boy x
So sorry to hear, must be horrible right now.
in answer to your question, letting the cat see, smell and touch the body can help.
they will also be responding to your change in mood. remember to keep up the same routines as before re play time and brushing as this will help keep the other cat stable.
really sorry for your loss
in answer to your question, letting the cat see, smell and touch the body can help.
they will also be responding to your change in mood. remember to keep up the same routines as before re play time and brushing as this will help keep the other cat stable.
really sorry for your loss
I'm so sorry this has happened'it is truly heartbreaking.
Re: Ronnie it's difficult to know how they will react but as he is searching for his brother I would let him see him.
I lost my 15 yr old a month ago, his soulmate (my fitz cat) definitely struggled for a couple weeks, though not as much as I had thought he might (he slept in her bed for over a week) but he did improve, he was actually a bit distant from us but he is back on our laps where he belongs (during her illness he spent most of his time by her side)
Give him time, lots of fuss, attention. Give him some non prescription calming products (zylkene from your vets) if he is getting stressed.
Not much more I can say right now, except to say again how genuinely sorry I am for your loss
Re: Ronnie it's difficult to know how they will react but as he is searching for his brother I would let him see him.
I lost my 15 yr old a month ago, his soulmate (my fitz cat) definitely struggled for a couple weeks, though not as much as I had thought he might (he slept in her bed for over a week) but he did improve, he was actually a bit distant from us but he is back on our laps where he belongs (during her illness he spent most of his time by her side)
Give him time, lots of fuss, attention. Give him some non prescription calming products (zylkene from your vets) if he is getting stressed.
Not much more I can say right now, except to say again how genuinely sorry I am for your loss
So sorry to hear, must be horrible right now.
in answer to your question, letting the cat see, smell and touch the body can help.
they will also be responding to your change in mood. remember to keep up the same routines as before re play time and brushing as this will help keep the other cat stable.
really sorry for your loss
in answer to your question, letting the cat see, smell and touch the body can help.
they will also be responding to your change in mood. remember to keep up the same routines as before re play time and brushing as this will help keep the other cat stable.
really sorry for your loss
If you don't show your cat the dead body how will it know what's happened? I think it really is that simple.
Cats are lovely pets but after having 4 cats hit by cars on a quiet road I've come to the conclusion that there are generally too many cars on our roads for cats.
It's a horrible situation for you, I am sorry.
Cats are lovely pets but after having 4 cats hit by cars on a quiet road I've come to the conclusion that there are generally too many cars on our roads for cats.
It's a horrible situation for you, I am sorry.
after having a cat come home limping and having to have its hip socket repaired we now have two cats, the big one isnt at all keen on the great outdoors, the little one is too small (but fully grown) a big owl or BOP could take her..
your cat will know "somethings wrong" but they arent like us, they know whats what, they may pine a little but usually bounce back.
sorry for your loss, terrible thing to happen, but so common.
your cat will know "somethings wrong" but they arent like us, they know whats what, they may pine a little but usually bounce back.
sorry for your loss, terrible thing to happen, but so common.
Thank you for the kind words and suggestions.I had to work today, but my parents and wife made him a lovely grave at the top of our garden and did let Reggie see his Brother for the last time.
I will update this in time to let you know what we decided to do and to let you know how Reggie is coping.He's certainly coping better than we are at the moment.Every toy I see, every tooth mark in a box he chewed and every sleeping spot I look at simply makes me cry.
I will update this in time to let you know what we decided to do and to let you know how Reggie is coping.He's certainly coping better than we are at the moment.Every toy I see, every tooth mark in a box he chewed and every sleeping spot I look at simply makes me cry.
Last year (well the year before now) I lost my cat Nelson. We rescued him from my GFs vets (shes a VN) when he was about 4 months old. 5 months later, Hannah is leaving and I'm playing with Nelson upstairs. She asks whether he should go out, I say call him and give him 10 seconds. She called, counts to ten, 11 seconds later he left. If only we'd stuck to the 10 seconds! I go out about 15 minutes later to the shops, come back with my weekly food shop. He'd usually hear us/see us come back and trot to the door. 10 minutes later I get a knock at my door. My neighbour had Nelson in her arms, dead and still warm. He'd been hit by a car on his way to my house. I was in absaloute peices for about 2 weeks. We didn't have any other pets, but I really struggled with the loss. It was made worse as he wasn't even a year old, and I've never met such a loving and effectionate cat. I still think about him all the time, and miss him. It does get easier, and in the end you're just left with amazing memories.
Nelson...
Nelson...
Life imitating art I fear. But seriously, Reggie will get over it. Cats are resilliant little sods. I had a pair of cats, who were brother and sister. The sister was run over (and killed) by my next door neighbour. The brother acted oddly for about a week, then yawned, then stretched, then carried on like it hadn't happened.
So sorry to hear of your loss, so many of them are lost to the road, it's heartbreaking
I wouldn't rush out and bring another cat home straight away, both your remaining cat and yourself need to go through the grieving process. There's no guarantee that a new cat will get along with your current pet as much, but when you feel ready there's lots of cats & kittens needing good homes in rescue. In the meantime you may want to consider cat proofing your garden, sadly free roaming is no longer really safe for cats in most places.
Thoughts are with you and yours.
I wouldn't rush out and bring another cat home straight away, both your remaining cat and yourself need to go through the grieving process. There's no guarantee that a new cat will get along with your current pet as much, but when you feel ready there's lots of cats & kittens needing good homes in rescue. In the meantime you may want to consider cat proofing your garden, sadly free roaming is no longer really safe for cats in most places.
Thoughts are with you and yours.
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