Death, more than just a cat.
Offline Just feel like venting...it was a horrible night and morning. I bought my girlfriend a kitten for christmas a couple years ago. It was her first pet she raised and called her own. That cat was awesome, I have had cats and dogs all my life and that cat was something special, the most tenacious, tuff and completely bonkers animal I have ever encountered. I have a 120lbs italian mastiff X pitbull, one that has a serious dominance issue and has injured 3 other male dogs that have run up on him before I could get in the middle, one time resulting in my crushed finger in his jaws. That cat slept on my dogs head, they were best friends and if he got out of line she would let him know as she had a far superior intelect and he kinda followed her around. Her days consisted of hunting, and stairing out the window waiting for us to let her out so she can hunt more, she hunted everything, chased away much larger cats and skunks off the property, just a wild ass cat I felt it would be abuse to keep a cat like her inside. Almost a week ago she went missing, we looked everywhere for her, put up signs, walked around calling her the hole deal. The disturbing part is where and how we found her, at night before bed under our bed curled in the corner. I had no Idea what to tell my girlfriend standing right behind me she just collapsed in hysterics, what a horrible moment.
So I just got her out of there to her parents house and we slept their. Her boss forced her to come to work in the morning (ASS), she's in no shape to be a pleasant dental receptionist today shes a very emotional person and that cat was like her child. I told my client I was taking the day off and my morning has consisted of doing a basic checkup on the stiff bloaded body to see if I can help explain the death to my girlfriend, and cleaning and sanitizing the entire room, after I unwrapped her from where she had curled up in some clothing it was evident she had been there for a while and the smell came out and was horrible. These seemingly sudden death diseases are apparrently fairly commen with cats because they instinctively hide their weakness and symptoms for long periods of time untill their last moments when they can't hold up the front anymore and choose to hide in a safe place to die alone, where as dogs will come to you for comfort and show they are sick and in pain.
After cleaning I grabbed some beers and a doobie for my bummed out cat dying day off I'm having one of those "Wtf the fuck am I doing with myself" days. It evolves far past the cats death and turns into something bigger. Should I be doing more everyday? Should I call my 72 year old loopy jehovahs witness mother I barely talk too anymore and say hello? Take her out for dinner? Should I get a long overdue doctors check up on those lungs I can feel are damaged from smoking cigarettes heaviliy for 13 years I can feel are damaged? Lol, you know what I mean?
Just a horrible night and day in general, I'd give it a 3 out of 10, I've had worse, but still crappy. 
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Sorry to hear about your loss. Those critters sure find a way into our hearts. I have talked about the death of dogs and cats here as well. My wife is an animal collector. Each year one or two die. (dogs, cats, chickens, guinea hens). I have learn just to only grieve and not bring in anything else. I don't need to do anything different, but go through the pain. Take care.
Religion Kills !!!
Numbers 31:17-18 - Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.
http://jesus-needs-money.blogspot.com/
Strange how "just a cat" death can make you ponder so many things... For every cat that dies alone of an oddball disease, infection, bacteria or worm of some kind a young child does aswell. What a bummer, I guess it's gods plan!
The death of pets is never easy. I saw my last cat die right in front of me. What hurt the most was that he was complaining earlier in the day, and I sluffed it off and was thinking I could take him to the vet the next day, it was the weekend anyway, and the Skins were on. Little did I know how serious it was.
It was new years eve/day, about 2am in the morning and around midnight I saw him go down fast. I thought maybe he would just cough something up and be fine in the morning. But he suddenly passed out after that long decline and twitched for about 15 seconds and that was it. I found out later, even if I had taken him in when he first started complaining, there would have been nothing they could have done. He died from a blocked urinary tract which exploded.
My current cat, still alive is named in honor of my last cat Payton(girl's spelling). He was a boy but when I went to the vet the first time we(my x wife and I spelled Peyton(as in the quarterback) wrong and gave him the girls spelling. On our next visit the vet told me I misspelled his name. I laughed and said not to change it. So he went his entire life with a girls name.
My current cat, is Sharah, or Sarah for short. Each letter in his name is the first letter in my best male friends names. Bob Spence is one of the letters "S". So my current cat who is a boy, also has a girl's name in Payton's honor.
Payton was feisty but loyal. I once watched him get a shoestring caught around his neck. I kept keys on it and wore it around my neck so I would lose them. Anyway he liked to play with the string, so I dangled it in front of him, but like I said, It got caught around his neck. So since I didn't want him to choke, I dropped the keys. When the keys hit the floor it startled him. He bolted away from the sound like a ping pong ball in a jar with the keys in tow. I laughed my fucking ass off. He ran away from them for at least two minutes bouncing of the walls
I love my current cat as much and even more than Payton, although he can never be replaced. Sarah is the biggest baby in the world. He loves to cuddle and when I tease him the worst he does is furrow his brow. I can even pin him to the floor gently and pretend to be angry with him and he purrs and curls his paws.
Oh, and how we met, Sarah picked me. I was at a cat adoption place in a room full of a sea of cats. Out of nowhere out of the corner of my eye he, tiny as hell, bolted across the backs of all the cats like lightening, hugged my leg, looked up at me and meowed. All I could say at that point was "I'm toast"
And look man, there seriously is no wrong way to deal with death, be it a pet or human. I don't think you have to drastically change your life because reality will always be there, even our own ultimate reality. Just mourn, and feel it and then eventually accept it and move on. No one will tell you how to mourn or how long you should take. Just do it in the way you feel comfortable.
But I've been there, and so have many of us here. It sucks. Sounds like you had a great pet.
My mom has a saying she printed out for my and I keep on the visor in the van, "Don't cry because it is over, smile because it happened". I am sure it is too soon for you for that, but with time, the happy times will comfort you.
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog
It wasn't just a cat. It was a cat that adopted all of you as it's family.
Obviously, there was love between all of your family, and the cat.
It hurts when a family member you love, dies.
My condolences.
I keep asking myself " Are they just playin' stupid, or are they just plain stupid?..."
"To explain the unknown by the known is a logical procedure; to explain the known by the unknown is a form of theological lunacy" : David Brooks
" Only on the subject of God can smart people still imagine that they reap the fruits of human intelligence even as they plow them under." : Sam Harris
Sorry for your loss.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
Hugs for all. It is never "just" a cat, when you care for the little guy.
I am sorry for the loss. We recently had to put our 15 year old cat to sleep for multiple health reasons. His brother died 5 years ago suddenly of a hypertrophic cardio myopothy (sp). I understand how you feel. It is very tough but it is also part of life, Accepting that does not make the pain of the loss any less however it is easier to deal with.
They are never just cats or dogs or some dumb animal as some people seem to feel like. They are like family. They crawl into your your heart and your life and can never be replaced. You can always get a new pet but you are not replacing your former friend you are simply bringing a new member into the family. Long live your friends in your heart and your memory.
I can explain it to you but I can't understand it for you.
You see that evil will always triumph, because good is dumb.
I'm a cat-lover too. I always had cats from when I was born until now, of every variety and such. Most of them were stray cats, but there was one "family" that kept on for 20 years. Anyway my family had healthful cats and crippled ones (blind, deaf, voiceless, disabled...), and often the most esthetic ones die younger (urinary problems, an argument that is always there when talking about cats).
I have even a friend that arrived to 90 cats, but I'd rather not talk of him, just saying.
So in the end I too had to witness their death: poisons, cars, age, suppressions... One of the baddest deaths was not so much time ago (some months) when a young kitten had an acute case of pneumonia or similar pathology - you can guess he was a stray cat, and it was winter, but I managed to get him inside our "circle"... Only it was too late. He was incurable, we did not even had the time to call the veterinary; he choked before our eyes. Now I don't know if someone of you saw a living being choke, but that's something I don't think I'll forget easily, and I know he suffered a lot, he showed evident signs of pain.
This is just to say I participate to your grief too, but in the end death has concluded any relationship with that cat. It's no more, leave it be. You may have a photo, you may have memories, but that's it. In some case it's a good thing too, because seeing a cat suffering endless for days it only makes you wish he'd die as soon as possible, instead of watching him living a pointless (or better: a not possible to enjoy) life.
Last thing, sometimes you have to ponder on how much in the sorrowing it is you (that was attached to the cat) and how much it's really the cat. To think of it, this forum, RRS, was born to tell people how much it's stupid to live your life attached to something doesn't exists (or in this case, it doesn't exists anymore).
Wow that sucks, what a way to bring in the new year. It's good you have a new cat in your life, how long did it take you to feel like your wanted a new one. I don't think I could get a cat for a while, my girl especially couldn't she just getting over the crying for her and moving on the just blocking it our for a while untill it gets easier. I still have frequent flashbacks of her pitter pattering around behind me following me everywhere attacking my feet, intot the bathroom attacking the toilet paper. Chokes me up at random places and times ("cough cough" back to work). She use to play this game, when I was...in the bathroom with the door closed she would wiggle her paw under the door untill I smacked it with my foot, then wait a few seconds and wiggle it under the door some more taunting me. If I opedned the door she'd bookit down the hall around the corner, when I'd close the door the wiggly paw returned. She was the tuffest animal pound for pound I have ever known if she weighed 50 lbs she sould have taken my mastiff, maybe even me. Her displays of agility and verocity in our battles (her vs my hand while I watched tv on the couch) were remarkable I never knew a cat like this out of the 5 or 6 I've lived with. She'd be hiding behind the curtains, bounce off the tv stand, off the top of the fireplace mantle, and pounce on the couch with a little floating side step off my punching bag and clamp down on my hand. I could flip her, toss her around, pin her down there was no quit in this animal she just fought harder. I could slide her 20 feet down the laminate floors and she loved it, just run back hide behind something and plan her new attack on my hand. It was awesome you never knew when it was coming.I can't imagine how people deal with loising children, I don't think I could handle it.
Thanks guys I'm glad some pet owners here understand, the morning off my business partner was like "just get rid of the body do a quick clean and go to work it's just a cat." And I'm thinking I never take days off even when I'm sick but I don't think I should be renovating someones dreamhome that day. Some people just don't get that connection to animals atall and don't understand how much it impacts you.
Cheers for all the responses to my buzzed n bummed rant the other day!
I got him later that year, not quite sure when. But my mom and co-workers thought it would be good for me and snap me out of my depression. If I had picked a different cat, it might not have, but I got lucky.
But like I said, when I got Sarah he melted my heart. He's the opposite of your cat. He is a big(not physically) just a big baby. He loves attention and I can tease him without fear of being bitten and the worst he does is furrow his brow as if to say "Are you done yet"? He is super mellow and loves to curl up next to me. I love the fact he is not aggressive or snooty. He loves it at night when my bedroom door is closed, he meows to get in. When I open the door he bolts to the opposite side of the house because he wants me to chase him. When I pick him up he loves to perch himself on my shoulder.
But regardless, pets really can be your best friend. But if you do decide to get another, always remember, just like humans, they have different personalities and it would be unreasonable to expect a future cat to be the same. You can only appreciate their individuality. That when you are at that point then maybe you can jump back in.
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog