Ugh, those first “withouts” are really hard!

[Furries]

I’m having a crap day today. It would have been Simba’s 11th birthday and it’s really knocked me - can’t seem to stop crying. I miss him so, so much.

I miss hearing him stomping across the wooden floor (my 52kg dog is lighter footed than he was). I miss his funny little miaow. I miss his paw wrapping round my finger when I tickled his giant paw pads. I miss him being curled up in his favourite place in the world which was right beside me. And I miss waking up to find his face as close as possible to me (seriously, I’d often open my eyes to find him this close).

Love you so much Mr Handsome Cat 💔💔💔

I understand how you feel, the first time I fed the others and her bowl was empty and on the side, I just sobbed. With me for 17 odd years and I miss her every day. Much love and hugs

They are very difficult and I don’t know how to make them easier, I suspect there isn’t a way.

I hope everyone’s being nice to you.

I totally get it. Especially when photos pop up on Timehop or Facebook memories.

Ah so sorry for your loss. I know the pain of loosing a furry family member. He was a beautiful boy.

Sorry for your loss of your fabulous cat.

Just an idea, and I hope it won't be insensitive, should we have a memorial thread for The Litter Tray cats that have gone? You could post pictures and memories and I hope other posters would respect the thread's intentions and commiserate with others.

Thanks all, really appreciate it it.

@Worried74 - god, that first empty bowl thing is horrible isn’t it. Much love and hugs back to you too.

@Fluffycloudland77 - thank you and you’re right, there isn’t a way. But the fact there’s so many lovely people here definitely helps. People have been nice, lovely messages from mum and sister. Plus went to my friend this afternoon (her family is my bubble) and her twin boys really helped take my mind off things - one of them happily declaring “we’re so happy you can come over here, you are part of our family and we love you”. I’ll remind him of that when they get older!

@Toddlerteaplease - thank you. Luckily, I am a bit of a weirdo and hate Facebook, so haven’t had to contend with that.

@cushioncovers - thanks, he really was a stunner with a huge heart. Am sorry you’ve felt this pain too. Wish we were allowed to borrow them back for one day a year.

@TheLongRider -thank you, he was definitely fabulous! Funnily enough, I was thinking this recently, as I know it can be hard for people seeing posts like this. How do I contact MNHQ to suggest a dedicated thread? Think it would be much nicer for people to choose to enter the subject, and the thought of being able to post memories without upsetting anyone on general cat chat would definitely make me more comfortable about doing so.

How are you today?.

I think we do need a thread for cat mourning, there’s another 2 lost in the last 24hrs on here.

I bet the dog section would like one too.

I know how you feel. It would have been Troy and Barnaby's 10th Birthday last Friday and they died at 5 and 3 respectively. It's my niece's 10th Birthday today so I'll always remember the birthdays of my 2 lovely black and whites.