When Your Cat Dies – 4 Ways to Cope With a Kitty’s Death
How Do You Cope When Your Cat Dies?
You may be surprised at the depth of grief when your cat dies. These ways to cope with a kitty’s death are from cat lovers who have felt your pain.
Before the tips, a quip:
“Grief can’t be shared. Everyone carries it alone, his own burden, his own way.” ~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh.
The sadness you feel when your cat dies can’t be shared and is yours alone. But, it can help to read about how others mourned pet loss. Here, pet owners share tips for coping with cat loss — these tips may not take away the pain, but at least they’ll help you see you’re not alone.
In Letting Go of an Animal You Love, I gathered 75 ways to cope with pet death from veterinarians, pet loss experts, grief counselors, and cat lovers. If you’re struggling to cope with grief because your cat died, you may find comfort there.
And here are several tips for healing from cat lovers who experienced the pain of their kitty’s deaths.
When Your Cat Dies – 4 Ways to Cope With a Kitty’s Death
Everyone deals with their pet’s death in different ways. These stories from people who loved and lost their cats may help you heal…
Share memories about your cat with people who knew him or her
“As a child, we were encouraged to talk about the pet and remember him or her,” says cat lover Pam Vetter. “Pets are family members and have important roles in our lives. Whenever a frog, lizard, parakeet or guinea pig has died in our house over the last 14 years since my kids were born, we’ve held a mini-funeral in the backyard. We bury the pet, put a rock marker on top, and share our memories about the pet. The time together serves to recognize the pet’s role in our lives. My kids are encouraged to share their memories about our lost pets.”
Give yourself time to heal after your cat dies
“There is no single formula to saying good-bye when your cat dies,” says Dan. “Healing takes place over time. The loss of a pet is the loss of someone you loved, and when anything you loved is abruptly taken away from you, there is no substitute. Four years ago, my cat Peep disappeared without a trace. I live in an exclusive suburb of Los Angeles in the hills. It’s often you have wild life and predators roaming at night. I was sick with some dental problem and when I came home from pharmacy at 9 pm, I couldn’t locate both my cats…one of then came home and the other didn’t.” – Dan Tanner
Welcome another cat into your home – when you’re ready
“Last January we had to have our beloved cat, Janvier, put down,” says cat lover Jessica. “He was suffering from renal failure, and the treatment would have crushed his spirit and terrified him, so we made the hardest decision of our lives. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss having my first baby around. It’s pathetic, but we haven’t even gotten rid of his kitty litter (it’s clean!) or his leftover food. I still think I can hear him puttering around at night. We have two young children and insanely busy lives, so we haven’t adopted a new cat yet. We feel like we wouldn’t be able to give him or her enough attention at this time, which would just not be fair. I really believe that having a new kitten would help us survive our cat’s death. I also think that bringing a new pet into our lives would help us honor Janvier, by constantly reminding us of the cute and funny things he used to do. So I hope that one day soon-ish, we’ll open our homes to a new pet both to help heal our hearts and so our children know the joy a cat can bring to a home.”
Cats Are Beautiful
Rescue an abandoned kitten or cat
“I had my multi-coloured white and ginger cat, Penny, for 8 wonderful years,” says Cynthia. “Her death was sudden. She seemed to be losing weight to a point until she appeared too thin, so I took her in to the vet’s and got the bad news. They suggested an operation, but the next day I got a call during the surgery that she might not make it. I rushed in, and she died in my arms. In my case, whether or not to get another cat was already solved in a way, as I had just rescued a small black kitten, and was fostering her for the local Cat Adoption Team. The month before, I had decided to adopt her myself. After Penny died, I called her my ‘Little Gift from God’.” – Cynthia Colby.
In Letting Go of an Animal You Love, I share 75 ways to cope with pet death from veterinarians, pet loss experts, grief counselors, and cat lovers. If you’re struggling to cope with grief because of your cat’s death, you may find comfort there.
If you don’t know if you should get another cat, read Should You Get a Cat After Your Cat’s Death? 4 Helpful Tips.
And if you want to share your stories and thoughts about your cat, please do below.
Category: Cats and Kitty Tips, Pet Care Tips
I had to put my 8 month old kitty Mistic to sleep today.. And It was the Hardest thing I have ever had to do..I am so heart broken, Even Know I have several other animals,,,I still hurt…He was the only one who would cuddle up to me and demand attention… Poor Baby got hit by a car and broke his Pelvic and legs…I didnt want him to suffer with the pain and never being the same…I love him and Miss him!!!!! How long does this hurt last????? I never had to put a family member to sleep before>>>.
pets will come and go…yes its sad… but honestly,its a part of life.if you love something let it go,if it loves you, it will come back someday.just remember,……..love,joy,and happiness for our 4 leg companions is like a fragile rose,……sometimes it blossoms…sometimes it breaks,….and sometimes it dies.
One our cats, Frasier, passed away a month ago. He was almost 14 years old and was adopted along with his brother Niles by us at 10 weeks old. He passed away snuggling with us on the couch as he did every night. We decided to have him created and place his ashes in a nice wood photo cube. I still think about him everyday. Let yourself grieve. For me at first it was lots of tears. Now it’s tears here and there and more smiles about all the great years with him. If you have other pets, give them attention and time to grieve as well. Niles, our other cat has always been vocal, but now a lot more. We know he misses his buddy. My thoughts go out to others that recently lost a beloved pet.
Hi
I am heart broken!!! My beautiful black and white kitten left me alone in this world! She died yesterday and I don’t know how to cope with it. She was the most amazing 2month old baby cat! I can’t stop crying. Our dogs atacked her and 5hours after the atack she died! I mis Bella so much. Feel so alone!!! :,(
Katherine, I’m so sorry to hear about losing Cash. Running outdoors always comes with risks. I’m sure you were very close to Cash. When you are hit by a shock like you have described it is easy to feel guilt, anger, sorrow, crazy all bunched in together. You are allowed to feel angry, let down, sad and miss him, it is part of being human. You will feel like this for a bit of time and eventually you will feel better. Do what you must, that is how so many of us ended up here at this website, looking for people to share our innermost feelings with and to find answers to the craziness.
I believe God the creator can re-create Cash in heaven and there he can run and not get hit.
Take one day at a time and don’t be too hard on yourself.
I’m having a hard time coping. My little baby boy, barely a year old, was ran over on Tuesday. The hardest thing was that I saw him get ran over, and watched him slowly die. It took me several months to find him and adopt him. He was my first kitten out of my parents home. He was a super spoiled orange tabby. His name was Cash. We called him Cash Kitty, Cash Money, Cashepoo…you name it. I don’t like to dwell on, and have others around me upset, but he was my baby, my best friend and we had a deep special bond. We even “talked” to each other. I would talk to him and he would just meow back..and it breaks my heart that he had to suffer the way he did. I guess I just need someone to tell me that I’m grieving normally, I”m not crazy…and that everything is going to be okay. I can’t tell you how many offers I have gotten for a new kitty, or how many people have called to tell me they are sorry for my loss. I would post so many pictures and videos of him on Facebook to share with my friends and family so in a way I’m honored that so many people loved my baby has much as I did, and still do. I just wish he never got curious for the outdoors and was never ran over. I feel guilty. I’m angry at the person that hit him, even though it was just a freak accident. I’m sad that my uber best friend is gone, and I’m heart broken I’ll never hear him meow again.
One of my cat’s just died about 7 hours ago. She had heart trouble and was on meds and doing very well. The vet believes she must have suffered a heart attack she could not recover from. They saw her last week and were in disbelief that she was so well then and died today despite their best efforts.
I put my feelings on paper and will bury them with her. I will always love her and will miss her.