Cat had a heart attack today.

[Asnowflakeisforlife]

That's it really. She was only 6 years old. We came home to find her on the floor. Vet said it would have been quick and no pain. I haven't told DD yet ( she thinks that the vet is currently making her better) what do we say?

I keep thinking I can hear the cat flap :(

. How horrible and what a shock. How old is DD?

I'm sorry to hear this Snowflake.
How old is your DD? I would be as honest as possible with your DD, and tell her the vet wasn't able to make her better, and that she died. Answer any questions that she has. Let her cry and talk about her pet, and have a little funeral for her.
Your poor cat. and poor you. It's very common to think you can hear pets after they have died.
On a practical note, do make sure the catflap is locked both ways so stray cats don't start coming in.

She is 4. In her eyes the cat was hers. Everynight at storytime she would come join us on DD's bed whilst we read.

I know she will ask in the morning and I don't know how to tell her.

Our little one year old cat died unexpectedly. We found her -and she was perfect-just looked asleep. We knew she had a heart murmur, so we think it was heart-related.

Not sure what to suggest re your DD, did she ask where she was at storytime tonight?

Thanks. fivehourssleep

sparklingbaubles sorry to hear about your cat.

Yes, we said that when we found her earlier she wasn't well so is staying with the vet tonight to try and make her better. I should have just told her but I couldn't. I am worried about explaining the heart attack. Is 4 old enough to understand this? DH thinks we should say there had been an accident rather than an illness.

I don't know really. Could a 4 year old cope with an explanation that the cat's heart stopped working properly while the cat was asleep? Not sure whether an accident would sound worse to her? Difficult.

My boys were 8 and 10 so a bit easier to explain to them but they worry about the new cat a lot because of it.

Sorry to hear this, must have been a shock for you.

I would just tell her. My kids have known 3 of our cats die, 2 old and kidney-failure/PTS, and one run over 9 month old. They were very straightforward about it all, and stroked the body, before we buried. I think stroking helped them understand that they were gone. My kids ranged from 2-9 for these. The 2 year old enjoyed the first pet funeral so much that she said "oh, I wish 2ndcat would die too"...

Would recommend the book Goodbye Mog too.

Thankyou all. I am going to tell DD the truth tomorrow. I think letting her stroke the cat may help. I will see how DD feels about this.

Once again thankyou.

Hope she's ok Asnow. We went out and got a cat garden ornament for the boys that sits on the patio in little cat's memory. Maybe you could get her a little toy cat or similar.

Tell her that there was something wrong with your cats heart and it stopped. Be prepared for lots of questions about whether your/her heart is okay.
If you can cope, get a copy of 'goodbye Mog' and read it with her.
A soft toy cat might be a good idea...

Morning ASnow thinking of you this morning.

I'm so sorry to hear this snowflake.

I would be honest- tell her that for some reason the cat's heart stopped working and the vet couldn't make it work again.

We have told DD. She was very upset and said she 'hadn't got to say goodbye.' We asked her if she wanted to see our cat but explained that she wouldn't be moving etc, but DD declined.

The questions are slowly coming and we are going to answer them as best we can. DD is very reflective though so I imagine that I will be answering them for some time. We have ordered Goodbye Mog and a couple of related reading books.

Thank you all for thinking of us.

Well done Asnow it must have been so difficult. Are you leaving the cat at the vets or bringing her back? I left little cat at the vets.

Is DD at nursery/school? I would let them know in case she gets sad while she's there.

We phoned the vets and decided to leave her there for an individual cremation. :(

I will tell pre-school tomorrow. DH has taken DD swimming for some quality time to talk. I am at home with DS (1yr). When he wakes I am going to remove our cats things. I love being a parent but sometimes teaching them about life (and death) just sucks.

That's so true Asnow. Do you have any photos of the cat you could make a little album up for her to look at when she's ready? So that she knows she can remember her?

How's your DD doing Asnow?.

DD is OK. We are going to plant some flowers where our cat used to lay under a shrub in the sunshine, in the front garden. DD has written a Christmas card to say goodbye and seems to understand that our cat has gone and that she won't come back. We have explained that whenever she wants to talk to our cat she can just close her eyes and say her message in her head. We washed the collar and have given it to DD along with a picture for her room.

I think she is coping really well. Thankyou for asking again.