From the sounds of it you took in a homeless kitty and gave him years of a happy and well fed life. Had you not his life would have been short and either ended with being hit by a car, disease or starvation .
You did a kind thing, his life was good. Go and love some more. :) hugs
WanderingK serious hugs. So many have done what you needed to do; give the last act of profound love to a furbaby by taking the pain into our own hearts so they won't suffer.
I've been feeding (and occasionally successfully relocating) and TNR'ing various street cats in my area. Most of them are extremely feral and can't be easily adopted. There are no good shelters in the area. So they're just out there surviving as best they can with a little help from their friends.
One beautiful set of siblings were doing quite well, harming nobody, and mostly keeping to themselves in a thicket of reeds near a park until some a**hole poisoned them. I still haven't gotten over the loss. (BTW, the a**hole was caught and prosecuted.)
Just recently another set of feral young-uns that I've been monitoring and playing with for about a year (since their birth) all died from some disease. Another person who has been active in feeding and helping them found them. Apparently they were all bundling up with each other to sleep and stay warm during the cold nights. One of them got a virus and spread it to the others.
I'm always a bit surprised how the loss affects me... A part of me doesn't want to wallow in the sadness. "They're just street cats," I try to tell myself. But deep down, I feel it like I just lost some close friends.
I can only imagine how hard it is for you after 10 years together. I lost a pet cat (also a 10-year relationship) during my mission. Got the news in a letter from home. Felt bummed out about it for days. (Still feel bummed about it whenever I think about it.) One of the things that I really had looked forward to when thinking about the end of my mission was seeing that little guy again. But then he was gone. And all that was left was a hole where the anticipation of reunion at the end of my mission had been.
Wally I am glad you help the ferals as I also do. Their life is very hard and I am glad they prosecuted that person. I have done TNR for many and also did trap-neuter-bring home-all mine were either feral or from the shelter. They all became tame eventually and wonderful companions. Some I had fed in parking lots where they lived, for years until I could trap them and get them safe. Hugs to you for helping the ferals, the unseen and forgotten! :). :). :)
I'm so sorry for your loss. People who have never bonded with pets do not understand that the death of an animal companion can be as devastating as the loss of a beloved human family member.
I adopted a rescue cat. He'd been living on the streets for years and was in bad shape. When I took him home he was very sick and I had to feed him through a feeding tube. He recovered but was never super healthy. He was the best cat ever. He loved me because he knew I cared about him. He was always by my side and followed me where ever I went. He was my shadow. I loved him so.
After 9 years his health declined. I spent a fortune trying to keep him alive. In the end I had to let the vet put him to sleep. It broke my heart and I still think about him almost every day. I haven't been able to adopt another cat because I can't take the heartache.
So sorry about your friend. I volunteer at the no kill shelter and you did a great thing taking in one who needed that care. I hope you will someday share your love with another needy homeless furry companion. :)
Having had to go through the experience myself a few times with my dogs, it is truly the most agonizing, heartbreaking experience of my life. I lost both my parents and they both would know (as they had to experience it themselves) the pain for my loss of my dogs has been harder.
When I lost my second dog (King Charles Spaniel), I said I'd never get another dog or if I did, I'd rescue as then when I had to let them go, I'd know I had give them a life. But, as so many other people say, they saved me. I've 2 now who are 5 and I'm about 62. I'm hoping we can go together as I'm just not up to losing any more of my dogs.
cl2 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- I > lost both my parents and they both would know (as > they had to experience it themselves) the pain for > my loss of my dogs has been harder. >
This is true for me, as well. Loosing my furry family members was much harder
So emotionally debilitating, but so glad you were there with your dog.
I lost my King Charles Spaniel today (March 1st) 8 years ago. He had been with me through the worst years of my life. And now it is time to go look for a ball in the back yard as I bought him so many that they still show up and I've saved them all. They are to be buried with me.
I wish I could cure your heartache.
I agree with Shinehah. If they aren't there, then there is no "heaven."
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2019 12:37PM by cl2.
I've had many beloved four-legged friends, and I still miss them terribly. I had to have one, a dog, put to sleep, and yes, it was definitely one of the hardest, most traumatic things I've ever had to do.
I am sorry you have had to go through that, and I'm sorry for your loss. You did wonderful things, giving him a loving home and a quick and peaceful death. May the hole in your lives mend as quickly as possible.
For sure, many of us have recovered from the church because we share a strong love for animals. I'm amazed of how many care for strays living in the street. What a sense of compassion!
I bring this up because so many of us were part of an organization that had to remind its members to be nice.
Secondly, I reflect back growing up in the church and I just realized how few of my church acquaintances (they were never friends in any sense) had family pets. Maybe out of 7, two had a dog or cat. I remember going to their homes to play outside and the dog was tied up in the dog house. So I would ask my church buddy to untie him so the dog could run around, play catch with us. "Oh no Messy. He's too old for that. He just likes to sleep there."
Sure, looking back that poor dog died from a broken heart. Yeah, the dog was fed, sheltered but completely ignored by those high and mighty members. Conversely, the church buddies discovered a very happy dog at the Goops. That dog did everything and went everywhere with me. I left him to go on my mission and he died before I returned. He was a great dog.
I rescue mini dachshunds with many of them being older. They live the rest of their remaining years with me in a loving peaceful environment. But that also meant I didn't have many of them very long. I was losing a little human friend about every two years. I had to cut back because it was taking an emotional toll on me. A few years back when I had to put an 18 year old 9 pound black and tan dachshund down, one of the vet techs handed me this card with a little story which I keep on my fridge and read daily. I hope you like it.
Author Unknown (Substitute dog with cat)
"It came to me that every time I lose a dog, they take a piece of my heart with them. And every new dog who comes into my life gifts me with a piece of their heart. If I live long enough, all the components of my heart will be dog, and maybe I will become as generous and loving as they are."
Good on you for rescuing and then no matter how hard their lives were to start they had a loving warm place filled with love and care at the last when they needed it most. Bravo rosy!!!
I must comment as I was so touched by the above sentiments. My wife and I are in our late 70s and when our beloved Golden died a few years ago we decided not to get another so we wouldn't have to go through the end of life issues and subject the pet to it if we go first.
But after a few years we relented and now have a 7 month old puppy that has added so much to our lives. We even took a west coast-east coast trip by car that we normal fly just to take the dog with us. He was such a great traveler!
Sadness for your loss. Unfortunately death is part of life.
I'm so sorry - it hurts so much when the four-footed friends leave us. And having to make that decision is so hard and yet (for me, the one time I've had to so far) so obviously the right thing to do...ouch.
I am so sorry for your loss. There is nothing more painful that I can recall than having to make that decision to put a beloved pet down. May happy memories of the many years you shared with your cat bring you some comfort at this difficult time.
Remind yourselves of the ten loving years you provided for your cat and maybe, when the time is right, you can visit your local shelter and share your loving care with another furry friend. I know that most shelters have many cats in need of loving homes.
My best to you and I hope the pain of your loss lessens as time goes by :)
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/02/2019 04:35PM by cinda.
Pets are worth every bit of the pain! That's for sure!
We spend more hours in the day and night (with them either sleeping on top of us or in their own little bed nearby) than we do with any other human, except our own babies.
When my husband abandoned me and our children, we were stranded in Utah, at a mountain cabin, with no job and no family around. We had our two cats with us, and they gave us great comfort! I remember sitting my the fireplace--our only heat in a bad snowstorm--in the middle of the night, wondering what was to become of me and my children. Somehow, the warm, purring, fuzzy creatures in my lap made me feel that everything was going to be all right. The kitties trusted me, and so did my children, and, I realized, so did I. Those cats lived to be 20 and 21! I think they lived so long and were so healthy, because we needed them so much. I wish they had a longer life-span.
That is a hard loss. I've been there, and it hurts.
But please keep this in mind: If not for you, he would not have had the ten years of safety, security, health, and love that you gave him. And you would not have had ten years of unconditional love from him.
Clearly, you loved him. I have no doubt he loved you.