I'm Heartbroken!, Lost kitty Options

[RitainMN]

Our gorgeous cat, Louie, has disappeared from our neighborhood. We live on the end of a cul-de-sac with no busy streets, and all of our cats have been let out daily for awhile. Louie never came home this past Tuesday. I've done EVERYTHING to find him - you name it. There's nothing more I can do, and I miss him horribly - as does his buddy here at home, Leo. Jasmine, who is a 22 year old tortie, doesn't miss him - she only got along with one other cat in her life, Lester, and she has way outlived him.

Louie was my baby - I called him my "little ray of sunshine," because I suffer from several ailments, including clinical depression, type II diabetes, bad osteoarthritis, and Crohn's disease. All are pretty well under control now, except for the awful depression, which has made Louie's loss unbearable. I took the day off from work the day after he disappeared to put up flyers at some businesses, deliver them to homes, call the Humane Society, the microchip company, three local vets' offices, and just cry my eyes out. I still call for him every morning and every evening, but I cry after that. He was such a loving cat, and following me from room to room when he was in, slept with me, purred madly with me, stood up against the kitchen counter and waved his paw at me when I was getting ready to feed him, played with Leo - I just miss him so much I can't stand it. With depression, something like this is just unbearable, as I said. I've seen my therapist, and called the psychiatrist who prescribed my recent medication. I emailed four friends on Friday asking them to please call me this weekend if they get a chance and told them why. Only two have called so far, and only one was helpful. As you all know, many people just don't get it when a pet dies or is lost. The man I work with started making little jokes until I flat-out told him, "It's NOT funny." Now he's been nicer.

I have a husband and two adult children who are living at home now due to the economy. My husband works 12 hour shifts plus every other weekend, many nights, so I rarely see him. I am taking this so hard, I'm sure, because when we had to euthanize two other cats we loved, they were very sick, older, and deserved to be relieved of their pain. With Louie, he was 5 1/2 years old, healthy as an ox, muscular, 16 pounds, had all his claws, was a good tree-climber (we have lots of trees around our neighborhood) and could defend himself well, I'm sure. He is microchipped, and my only hope now is that someone took him in and will eventually take him either to a shelter or to their own vet, and his microchip will be checked. It's been 4 days now, and I'm not even functioning well.

I guess I just had to get all of this off my chest and I figured people on this forum would totally understand my grief and sense of helplessness. Thanks for letting me vent!

Rita in MN

[Sassy Girl]

Our gorgeous cat, Louie, has disappeared from our neighborhood. We live on the end of a cul-de-sac with no busy streets, and all of our cats have been let out daily for awhile. Louie never came home this past Tuesday. I've done EVERYTHING to find him - you name it. There's nothing more I can do, and I miss him horribly - as does his buddy here at home, Leo. Jasmine, who is a 22 year old tortie, doesn't miss him - she only got along with one other cat in her life, Lester, and she has way outlived him.

Louie was my baby - I called him my "little ray of sunshine," because I suffer from several ailments, including clinical depression, type II diabetes, bad osteoarthritis, and Crohn's disease. All are pretty well under control now, except for the awful depression, which has made Louie's loss unbearable. I took the day off from work the day after he disappeared to put up flyers at some businesses, deliver them to homes, call the Humane Society, the microchip company, three local vets' offices, and just cry my eyes out. I still call for him every morning and every evening, but I cry after that. He was such a loving cat, and following me from room to room when he was in, slept with me, purred madly with me, stood up against the kitchen counter and waved his paw at me when I was getting ready to feed him, played with Leo - I just miss him so much I can't stand it. With depression, something like this is just unbearable, as I said. I've seen my therapist, and called the psychiatrist who prescribed my recent medication. I emailed four friends on Friday asking them to please call me this weekend if they get a chance and told them why. Only two have called so far, and only one was helpful. As you all know, many people just don't get it when a pet dies or is lost. The man I work with started making little jokes until I flat-out told him, "It's NOT funny." Now he's been nicer.

I have a husband and two adult children who are living at home now due to the economy. My husband works 12 hour shifts plus every other weekend, many nights, so I rarely see him. I am taking this so hard, I'm sure, because when we had to euthanize two other cats we loved, they were very sick, older, and deserved to be relieved of their pain. With Louie, he was 5 1/2 years old, healthy as an ox, muscular, 16 pounds, had all his claws, was a good tree-climber (we have lots of trees around our neighborhood) and could defend himself well, I'm sure. He is microchipped, and my only hope now is that someone took him in and will eventually take him either to a shelter or to their own vet, and his microchip will be checked. It's been 4 days now, and I'm not even functioning well.

I guess I just had to get all of this off my chest and I figured people on this forum would totally understand my grief and sense of helplessness. Thanks for letting me vent!

Rita in MN

Hi, Rita
I am so sorry about your missing fur baby.

Have checked with the place that you had the micro chip put in at.

My Sassy Girl went missing this past January. She had a micro chip in her. I never have found her. I let her out about 5:00 am went for my walk around my condo complex and came back home. She would always be in before I left for work at 7:30 every once in awhile she would not come in so her grandmom would have to come down to get her in. But that moring I knew something was not right. I calle my mom in tears and she came down to help me. I went to work in tear's. I was up all night makeing flyers and past them out. Sassy was a very frendly cat and in my group of cond's everyone knew her and they knew that I was Sassy's mom. As I was passing out my flayers and looking for her I found out that Coyet's had been seen haning around. So I think that is what happend to her. I still have dream's of her at my back patio door wanting in.

I would just love that dream to come true. She might not be to happy to see that she would have a brother to share with.
I could not take not having a fur baby around me. At first I was not going to get another on because it is just so hard to lose them. Even worse not knowing for sure what happend. But I realized that life goes on and I have my really good memories of her.

Now I have a little boy named Rascal and his name fit's him to a T.

I will say a prayer for you and your fur baby. Please keep us informed. Come in and just let it all out.


Take care
Sandy

[RitainMN]

Hi, Rita
I am so sorry about your missing fur baby.

Have checked with the place that you had the micro chip put in at.

My Sassy Girl went missing this past January. She had a micro chip in her. I never have found her. I let her out about 5:00 am went for my walk around my condo complex and came back home. She would always be in before I left for work at 7:30 every once in awhile she would not come in so her grandmom would have to come down to get her in. But that moring I knew something was not right. I calle my mom in tears and she came down to help me. I went to work in tear's. I was up all night makeing flyers and past them out. Sassy was a very frendly cat and in my group of cond's everyone knew her and they knew that I was Sassy's mom. As I was passing out my flayers and looking for her I found out that Coyet's had been seen haning around. So I think that is what happend to her. I still have dream's of her at my back patio door wanting in.

I would just love that dream to come true. She might not be to happy to see that she would have a brother to share with.
I could not take not having a fur baby around me. At first I was not going to get another on because it is just so hard to lose them. Even worse not knowing for sure what happend. But I realized that life goes on and I have my really good memories of her.

Now I have a little boy named Rascal and his name fit's him to a T.

I will say a prayer for you and your fur baby. Please keep us informed. Come in and just let it all out.


Take care
Sandy

[RitainMN]

Hi Sandy,

Thanks so much for the email. My son and I just got home from driving around the neighborhood behind us where he apparently hung out sometimes. I called his name, then we'd drive on a ways, and I'd call him again. We stopped and I talked to whomever I saw outside, but none had seen Louie. We, too, have been known to have coyotes and foxes around here, but Louie was a 16 pound, muscular guy with all of his claws, and he climbed trees well. I just don't know.....maybe someone took him in and decided to keep him. Yes, he was microchipped, and I've called all the local vets, humane society, emergency vet clinic, put up flyers in the neighborhood stores, put an ad in the local weekly paper and, just today, in the Minneapolis newspaper. There is absolutely nothing more I can do but grieve. Tonight, I'm going to a pet loss grief group at the Humane Society - it meets twice a month there. I hope that helps a bit.....

I'm so sorry about your fur-baby. My husband won't let me get another one if he doesn't come back, because we still have a 22 year old tortie and a 15 year old Maine Coon boy....I need something new to cheer me up if Louie doesn't come home.....

Rita in MN