Lost My Princess Cat 2 Days Ago Options

[leejaye]

I lost my best friend of 17 years 2 days ago, she was the most beautiful courageous soul i have ever met - only a tiny little cat but with the biggest heart. I got her when i was at uni and she has been the biggest part of my life ever since, she shared everything with me, she was there in a way noone else in my life has ever been, just giving me her love, we understood each instinctively from the day we met when she was the last tiniest kitten in the pet shop. 12 months ago my Mischief cat was diagnosed with feline breast cancer, a massive shock since she had always been healthy and was desexed and should have had almost no chance of of developing this disease. Fortunately i work with my partner and we were able to arrange our work so i was able to spend most of that time caring for her, we went to the vet about 2 months ago and they were amazed at how well she was doing, especially for her age, the cancer seemed stabilised, her coat was as beautiful, shiny and soft as it had ever been. We came home and continued in all the little routines of our shared life, getting up together to get breakfast, back into bed for a cuddle, time for a drink, sitting in her favourite sunny spots in the garden - we filled the day together as often as we could. Then last week she went off her food, grew quite lethargic and wanted to drink heaps, her breathing was becoming laboured (the cancer had spread to her right lung some time back but seemed to have stabilised at some point with the meds so that she usually breathed normally) and she just wanted cuddles so we went to the vet and she told us Missy had damaged kidneys from the cancer meds, she had fluid on her lungs because her kidneys weren't processing properly, so she gave Mischief a diuretic shot to shift the fluid and sent us home with a scary looking fluids bag and line and needles for subcutaneous fluids. I spent the week giving 24 hour care, sub q fluids, meds, syringing food, trying to keep the balance between her lungs and her kidneys, she tried so hard for me, she was such a little fighter, but on Friday she could hardly breathe or walk and i did the hardest thing i have ever had to do, I held her little head and her little paw while the vets gave her the injection and just told her how much i loved her and all that she was in my life, the vet said i didn't have to stay but i couldn't let her leave without me there, i didn't want her to be scared or think that i'd left her when she really needed me, she did so much for me it was the very least i could do for her, they let me stay with her afterwards but i only stayed for about 10 minutes holding and stroking her small beautiful furry little body, otherwise i would have stayed forever. I said goodbye to my best girl, my love , my little one, and my brother and i just drove for hours he let me talk when i needed, cry when i needed, be silent when i needed, i thought i might hold up, but i got home and went to sit in her spot near the heater and i lost it, i didn't think it would feel like someone ripped a hole in me, and i know i'm crying for myself, cos i had to do this for her but damn it hurt, hurts, it actually hurts in my chest and my gut. I woke up at 3am looking for her and remembered and just started sobbing convulsively and i asked her to please stay with me alittle longer til i could cope and her dad was home (my partner who has known and loved mischief and me for 10 years had to go overseas for work just before we went to the vet that long week ago). I'ts only 2 days later and i'm still crying at unpredictable times but yesterday afternoon i was looking at my photos of her, all pictures of her in her favourite spots doing her favourite things, and i was thanking her for that and thinking of all the good stuff and i got this feeling of comfort like she was there with me, it's still with me, i slept with her blanket and little cat toy and collar again last night the bed didn't feel quite as empty as it did. I've been crying while i write this and i still don't know what to do with the day, or tomorrow or the next day without her here, quite how to fill the gigantic hole a tiny cat has left.

[Cheryl83]

Dear leejaye,

Just reading through your journey again, and I could have sworn that I'd posted a message in your thread, but I now see that I haven't. I remember being touched by your story, and the love you have for your baby girl, and I remember being astonished by how beautiful she is (she really is one of the most stunning looking kitties I have EVER seen -- so girly and pretty looking). I think what must have happened was that I started to type a reply, but then deleted it, because I just couldn't find the right words. Sometimes that happens. I'm sure you understand how it is.

Well, I just want to say that my heart goes out to you. I'm sorry you're still hurting so badly. This is a long, difficult journey that we have to go through, a journey which has no real destination. We are constantly adjusting and adapting to our new lives without our babies physical presence -- constantly trying to establish 'who we are' now without them physically here. But I promise you, the pain does ease in time. You will never stop missing your darling girl, but we reach a stage in the journey where we feel a kind of peace. I'm just over the 1 year mark now, and I promise you, that although right now you might think you will never get there, you will. I started to think of my baby's passing as a 'transition' and not as a death. Love cannot die. I started to feel her presence so strongly, and I realized that a part of her will always be with me. And then I came to believe that I will be reunited with her for all eternity, when it's my appropriate time. I hope you can find some comfort in this.

We are all here for you, leejaye, every step of the way.

Thinking of you and wishing you well -- Cheryl xx