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AIBU?

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To think the death of a cat is not the same a parent

31 replies

ChoudeBruxelles · 09/09/2018 16:06

My friend now empathises with me over the loss of my parents because their dog sadly died.

They are bereft, devasted and unable to function properly and now understand how I felts when my parents passed away

It’s not the same and insulting to compare the two things

OP posts:
SpoilsburyToastGirl · 09/09/2018 19:02

9amtrain I am so sorry for your loss and I cannot believe anyone would make that comparison. I loved my cat but how I felt about him could never compare to the love I have for my nephew or my own children.

LollyPopsApple · 09/09/2018 19:04

Bloody hell. Everyone experiences grief differently. It’s not a competition.

Having experienced the loss of my mum and my cat, I see where they’re coming from. Both were excruciating. I wouldn’t say either hurt any less than the other, though the former has had longer term ramifications. Yet I’m 14 years on from the cat and 8 from my mum and they still both appear in my dreams so I guess love is love and loss is loss.

Most people are trying to clumsily empathise by relating to their own experience, not compare exactly like for like.

Bombardier25966 · 09/09/2018 19:05

It's not a competition, and there's no hierarchy of deaths. It's cruel to judge someone who reacts differently to you, for something so very personal.

PurpleDaisies · 09/09/2018 19:08

Grief isn’t the same for everyone. You can’t judge what someone else feels. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a very insensitive thing to say.

Sorry for your loss.

butterflysugarbaby · 09/09/2018 19:09

Yeah, the EXACT same subject was posted last week!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3352501-Colleague-compares-pet-death-to-relative?pg=6

A woman had lost her mother, and a colleague said she empathised because her pet died recently.

Obviously losing a parent is not the same a losing a pet. Losing a parent is far worse... (For most people!)

Sorry for your loss. Flowers

Goth237 · 09/09/2018 19:57

... Didn't you post this a week or so ago? Either that or you need to be friends with this other person who had the same thing happen

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