Too Soon For A New Kitty? Options

[Gracie's Mama]

It'll be three weeks tomorrow since my little Gracie died and while it has gotten a little easier, my boyfriend and I have run into the issue of getting a new cat. Because of Gracie's leukemia, we have to wait at least another week before we bring another kitty home so we're just testing the waters right now to see if the right cats (we're going to get 2 this time) are out there. But it is so unbearably lonely in the apartment without her. My bed feels so empty without her beside me, my lap feels cold without her curled up in it, and I don't know what to do to keep my hands busy without her soft, fleecy fur to pet. I even miss her standing outside the bedroom door in the morning, practically tapping her paw impatiently as she waited for breakfast! I feel like I have no purpose without a cat. But what if I'm mistaken and it's just that I feel like I have no purpose with Gracie? That may sound sort of lame, but I can remember how she would look up at me and her eyes would be filled with so much love and trust and I knew - at that moment - that I meant as much to her as she meant to me.

I don't feel like I would be betraying her memory by getting another cat, that's not really the issue. I just worry that I won't be as good of a mom to my next kitties as I was to Gracie. If you got a new pet after your furbaby passed, how long did you wait? Did anybody feel the same way I do?

[beth4275]

Noone can tell you when it is too soon or when the right time is ... my snoops died in September and I was devastated (still am to some extent). I thought at the time that I would wait for awhile before getting another dog ... didn't want to betray his memory and I was afraid that I would keep wanting the new one to be him. Well, as things turned out I lasted about a week before I realized that my world was too empty. I had reached the point where I was staying at work to all hours of the night so I didn't have to go home ... not a good situation. My husband and I decided to go look at puppies that weekend (a week after Snoops passed) and we ended up bringing home the most precious bundle ... we got a second pup at the same time but he was too young to bring home at the time. I had misgivings ... but what I discovered was that I didn't expect the new little ones to be my Snoops ... I saw the differences and enjoyed them. What did happen is that the lonliness and emptiness went away. The new ones helped fill up the days but they did not take the pain of losing snoops away ... that is still here with me and I still cry over him (although not as often as I used to).

An interesting thing though ... I have noticed that the youngest one has a lot of traits the my Snoops had and that makes my new little guy all that more precious to me.

As long as you are not looking for a replacment and you feel ready then go for it ... only you know if it is too soon ...

Good luck and I am deeply sorry for your loss ...

Beth