Goodbye, little friend.

[Guest CLARENCE]

Just back from the vets, having our Burmese cat, Suki, put to sleep. One of the awful facts about having pets, they just don't live long enough!

She was just over 13, has slowly faded away over the last 6 months, not ill, jut old and tired; she was just skin and bones at the end, and spent most of her time asleep.

I'm really going to miss her, the house is already feeling empty, although we have a couple of small dogs to keep us busy.

Goodbye little friend and companion.

[russ p]

Doesn't matter whatever your pet is its always a very sad time when they go.

I really feel for you

[Clagsniffer]

Such a sad time when you have to say goodbye to a friend. We had our dog put to sleep just before Christmas, feels like you’re betraying them. But in truth it’s the last good thing we can do for them. It’s a thing people who’ve never had pets can’t understand, it’s like losing a family member. My heart goes out to you. Looked a beautiful cat.

[Mike at C&M]

I wish that you have as many happy memories of Suki as we have had of our various cats down the years. As time goes by, you will be able to remember with fondness the joy that the lovely lady brought to you.

[laurenceb]

Condolences Clarence, the problem with our little friends is that they don't live long enough 

[monkeysarefun]

Condolences on the sad loss.

 

I see you have a Papillon, I lost mine 2 and a half years ago at the age of 17, she is irreplaceable and I still miss her.

 

The answer to short lived pets might be parrots. In the early '70's a couple moved into our street with a cockatoo called George. They had a framed picture on their sideboard of the ladies father in uniform  on his return from the trenches after WW1. On his shoulder was a young  George.  She inherited him after her father passed on.

Accordingly I now have a parrot who will probably see me out.

Edited March 22, 2019 by monkeysarefun

[Andy Hayter]

Having now 22 cats - though no known fault of my own let me say - and having lost a few on the way, you have mt sympathises.   It is never easy losing a friend - human or animal - that has been close.  

The trite thing is to say that time will heal, but really, you remembering the good times is what keeps your friends alive even after they are not.

[Guest CLARENCE]

Thanks very much to all who answered and reacted to my post, I'm very touched by the response.

A couple more pics;

Sassy and Suki, the smallest full-grown cat I've ever known! Sassy died some years ago.

Kira and Mickey our two Papillons, still quite young.

Edited March 23, 2019 by CLARENCE
Extra text added

[Simon Lee]

 

Sorry to read of your loss. 

They are never just "a cat"or "a dog" but a massive integral part of our lives and leave a massive hole when they are gone.

RIP Suki

[big jim]

i put the below post in the "things that make you smile" thread as id put updates from when we got odin in there but unfortunately he died earlier today in a tragic accident

 

he went out this morning and was happily playing in the garden coming and going for food, this afternoon i was a bit concerned i couldn't see him so we looked round the back garden and shouted him, looking down the drive my wife spotted him under a pallet we had something delivered on a while back however when i lifted it up he had been crushed under it, i think it must have fell as he tried to climb it and its fallen on him and crushed him, unfortunately there was nothing we could do as he was dead, he wasn't cold so hadn't been there long but it was pretty obvious he was gone, my wife got him and took him to the vet who have kept hold of the body for a couple of days until we decide what to do with him

 

the hardest part was breaking the news to the kids who like the rest of us are absolutely devastated, im typing this with panda eyes and tears streaming down my face, we have only had him 3 months and nursed him from the brink of death the first night we got him where my wife had to keep him warm and feed him hourly after being found abandoned in a factory to being a beautiful healthy tom cat who quite simply was one of the family and felt like he had always been here despite only being with us a short time, we feeel so gutted to have lost him through a tragic accident in such a short time

 

the night we got him in january after being found purposely abandoned in a factory

 

Playtime 

 

 

 

and a final pic from this morning with gethin

 

Edited March 26, 2019 by big jim

[Classsix T]

...lots of mice to chase in Valhalla, RIP Odin.

 

C6T. 

[big jim]

We have Odin ashes back now, going to do something with them in a couple of weeks after our holidays 

[brianusa]

What more can be said, Clarence, other than what has already been written.  Those of us with pets can understand while those with no pets in the house will never understand fully why their loss affects us so much.  While we don't usually consider it at the time, another will come along usually without you thinking about it!

[shortliner]

Big Jim - condolences - we have been "adopted" by a feral tom (probably a farm cat) who turned up one day, completely wild, and who has gradually come to be tamed (semi) - we think that he was an older kitten and now think he is about 15 months - one of the nicest-natured cats we've had, but there is no way that he will ever accept being put in a travelling-basket to visit the vets. We'd be devastated when/ if we lost him, and can understand how you feel. Hopefully it was quick and he suffered as little as possible. RIP. small furry person.

Edited April 13, 2019 by shortliner

[brianusa]

Agree with  shortliners message.  Our short hair female fixed tabby was feral and for the past ten years or so has calmed down to a house cat, albeit only with my wife and I.  Hates strangers and loud trucks but sleeps with us all night long but unfortunately she won't even contemplate a trips to the vet in her carrier.  Fortunately she remains healthy.

     Brian.

[57xx]

Sorry to hear of both of your losses. My two are both rescues, the one found in a bin bag with his siblings in Blackpool when he was a few weeks old is the most affectionate cat I've ever had. He's 19 now and the other is 20 and starting to show their age so I know it's only a matter of time.

[Dave Hunt]

Having lost both our 21 year old tabby puss and 14 year old lab/collie cross in twelve months I sympathise Jim. SWMBO wants to get another dog but I can't bring myself to agree with her - I'm afraid that I'd always be comparing it with Sam, that it would somehow be disloyal to his memory to replace him and if I did get to love another creature as I do our two departed ones I don't want to go through this grief again.

 

Dave

[big jim]

We felt we needed a car in the house straight away so got a ‘foster cat’ the day after who has now adopted us and is ours permanently, she’ll never be a replacement for Odin, but if he hadn’t have got her it would have been a very empty house after not having a cat for 5 years after our previous one died after 22 years!

 

I had such a vivid dream the other morning after I nodded off following a call from the vet saying odin’s ashes sweet there, he came bounding in the room and jumped on my chest and was snuggling up to me, licking my face, he was the same cat but totally grey, I could feel him, stroke him, talk to him, like he was there then he got up left the room and that was it, almost like he was saying goodbye!

 

soft I know but boy it was so real! 

[big jim]

Here is the cat we got to foster after Odin’s death 

 

within half an hour of being let out of the carrier  she had found a place to sit and relax, didn’t hide away, came for a fuss, so much so that she too felt like she had always been here, as I say never going to be a replacement for Odin, 2 completely different characters but the house (and caravan) feels so complete with her strutting around, she is about 8 years old and a wise old woman that’s for sure 

 

 

we were thinking the other day of how Odin suited his name, named after the god of war, it was reputed he did things with little thought about the consequences! 

 

in the short time we had him he got stuck up a tree, lost in a duvet cover, tried to catch the fish in the tank, got tangled in a cat toy, and funniest of all, you had to be there to see it to believe it, pushed a small cardboard box along the landing to the edge of the top step then jumped in it and went flying down the stairs in it like something off cool runnings!

 

 

 

[laurenceb]

At least you have happy memories of him Jim

[RANGERS]

13 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

Having lost both our 21 year old tabby puss and 14 year old lab/collie cross in twelve months I sympathise Jim. SWMBO wants to get another dog but I can't bring myself to agree with her - I'm afraid that I'd always be comparing it with Sam, that it would somehow be disloyal to his memory to replace him and if I did get to love another creature as I do our two departed ones I don't want to go through this grief again.

 

Dave

It’s a natural reaction to think you’ll compare them, and on occasions you might, but if the memories you’ll always have and pleasure they gave spurred you to want to do it all again, what better tribute could you pay them?

 

losing them and the pain it brings is hard, but having had our rescue lab diagnosed with tumours a few weeks ago, I take comfort from knowing she probably had her best days with us and the huge pleasure she brought us over the past six years, and for however long she goes, will be great comfort. The fact I know there are dogs out there in the same position as she once was, would be just too much for me to ignore. When the dreaded time comes, I know I’ll feel obliged to do it all again in tribute to her.

[shortliner]

Big Jim - condolences - we have been "adopted" by a feral tom (probably a farm cat) who turned up one day, completely wild, and who has gradually come to be tamed (semi) - we think that he was an older kitten and now think he is about 15 months - one of the nicest-natured cats we've had, but

there is no way that he will ever accept being put in a travelling-basket to visit the vets. We'd be devastated when/ if we lost him, and can understand how you feel. Hopefully it was quick and he suffered as little as possible. RIP. small furry person.

 

Jim - just thought you'd like to know that  your "Foster-cat" could almost be the the twin of our feral tom - i know they say that "all black cats look alike in the dark" - but the resemblance is uncanny!

[Dave Hunt]

On 13/04/2019 at 21:34, RANGERS said:

It’s a natural reaction to think you’ll compare them, and on occasions you might, but if the memories you’ll always have and pleasure they gave spurred you to want to do it all again, what better tribute could you pay them?

 

losing them and the pain it brings is hard, but having had our rescue lab diagnosed with tumours a few weeks ago, I take comfort from knowing she probably had her best days with us and the huge pleasure she brought us over the past six years, and for however long she goes, will be great comfort. The fact I know there are dogs out there in the same position as she once was, would be just too much for me to ignore. When the dreaded time comes, I know I’ll feel obliged to do it all again in tribute to her.

 

Rangers,

 

There is merit in what you say and a part of me thinks you are right but I'm still a bit raw. Maybe after a bit more time I'll be able to contemplate taking in another creature that needs to be given a good home as Big Jim has done. We shall see.....

 

Thank you for the thoughts.

 

Dave

[big jim]

one of our rescue cats suffered a heart attack the night before last, although he is still with us it’s not looking good for him but we are hoping he will pull through 

 

‘Mike’ is our 12 year old Maine c00n who came to us as a short term foster but we decided to keep hold of him as we had him so long he became part of the family!

 

rhe reason we had him for so king was he was unable to be fostered as he was constantly sneezing as the previous owner who bought him as a status symbol never bothered to get him inoculated and he contracted cat flu which he thankfully survived but then got cancer, again he survived that too but was Then kept in a box room with very little freedom

 

the night before last I noticed his breathing was a bit shallow and he was sat with his mouth slightly open, he tried to jump off the windowsill and came a cropper as if his legs had just given away under him, we tried to put him in a warm room with us but he kept going back to the cold windowsill or tiled kitchen floor and laying down which is not like him at all

 

my wife took him to the vet who as well as the heart attack (which is when we saw him breathing through his mouth) he has got fluid on his lungs and is anemic, the vet is doing his best to keep him comfortable and there is one more means of treatment open to us but if that doesn’t work it’s going to be kindest to have him put to sleep, by rights he really shouldn’t be alive anyway due to the neglect by his previous owner and we have (like Odin) given him so far an extra 9 months of his life nobody thought he would have

 

He’s not the most affectionate of cats but certainly likes to show his dominance over the foster cats that come and go from the house, he’s still not managed to win round Lola but she tolerates him now, when young males come to stay he certainly lets them know he is the alpha male of the house, often I’ve heard him chirping at them as if keeping order!

 

he’s certainly on the ball when it comes to security, every night we watch him walk round the house checking doors and windows are closed, anything untoward and he will come up to you and mioww and chirp until you follow him to where the problem is, prime example was my wife left a candle lit one night downstairs and he came into the bedroom and sat next to me, chirping, then bit my wrist (which is a Maine c00n show of affection) then kept nudging me until I got up and followed him downstairs to the candle, he did the same with a faulty charger which was smoking in a socket, like cat version of lassie! 
 

as I say he’s still with us but we will have to see what the next few hours bring as to what is best for mike 

 

 

 

 

 

[admiles]

Hope Mike finds a way forward Jim. Positive vibes from Suffolk for him!