I miss my cat.

[WineAcademy]

I had to put her to sleep recently, it was such a shock. I only took her in for a blood test, but the vet said it was a kidney issue and the kindest thing to do would be to give her the injection. She was very, very ill, but I'd hoped there was a better solution.

I adopted her only a few years ago, she was still so young. Only 6. I also adopted her kitten, they came as a pair, and the kitten was still nursing at the time.

We still have the kitten, of course now fully grown, but the house seems empty with only one cat in it.

I was toying with the idea of adopting another cat, or getting a kitten, but really I just want her back. :(

It’s very early days for you and it sounds very sudden too. 6 is no age to lose a cat.

Most things in life you can beg, borrow or steal your way out of but if the cat dies you hit a brick wall.

Yes, exactly.

I thought I would have her for another 15 years at least.

My sympathies, OP.

You obviously have a lot of love to give a cat. Of course you would prefer to have her back but there are hundreds of cats in shelters who would benefit from that love. I would suggest at least going for a look.

I understand OP. I had to have my cat pts last March (2020) and I still miss her every single day. She was 13, so older than yours but not really that old. I was utterly heart broken. We have since got 2 kittens (actually they've just turned one). They are so so cute, lovely and just what I needed. In no way have they replaced her but they have helped. At first I never wanted to get another cat but then I love cats and have a good home to give. Its still early days for you. Give yourself time, and just think you gave your cat a nice happy life and she would have known she was loved.

I had one of mine PTS at 8 years old. I felt really cheated out if the years we should ha e had.

So sorry they are so precious.

I’m sure there’s another special one in your future.

I can empathise BastardCat died suddenly in March - he was only 8 and we still miss him so much and talk him every day.

My heart goes out to you

We had to have our dear girl PTS a couple of years ago, she was fine one week and then deteriorated so quickly, with kidney and then multiple organ failure. I’m not even ashamed to say I cried my heart out for days. I felt guilty at the time as my grandad had died that same year and the grief of losing DCat hit me 10 times harder. I think it’s because they are so innocent and such wonderful companions and personalities that you see every day

I put together a photo collage of DCat which was sad but also made DH and I chuckle a lot at the funny memories.

We then got another cat about 9 months later (but existing DCat and new DCat don’t really get on....which is another challenge....)

Be kind to yourself and don’t be afraid to grieve as you would a person. They were loved.

Thinking of you. I lost my girl last August after 11 years together. Kidneys as well. I still miss her a painful amount.

We got 2 kittens a couple of months later, and it has helped to fill the cat shaped hole (even if they're not her). If you have space in your life for another one I would recommend x

Thank you all for your kind words.

I definitely want to make space in my life for another cat, when the time is right. xx

@WineAcademy - Two years ago, I had to put my beloved cat to sleep. I missed him so much I cannot tell you.

About a month or two later, I dreamt of him for the first and last time. I treated this as a sign that he had arrived in kitty heaven, had settled in and wanted me to know that he was well.

I had my eldest cat put to sleep 2 years ago. She'd been everywhere with me my whole adult life. I miss her so much. It's like a physical pain sometimes. I have other pets but she was so very special.

My 5 year old moggie dropped dead with no warning last September. The shock of losing our healthy cat was awful. We really expected her to live another ten years at least and certainly expected her to outlive the other two (who have heart conditions). She was particularly attached to DH and spent most evenings curled up on top of him. It took him a few months just to be able to look at a photo of her (he now has two framed in his home office bless him). We have to keep reminding ourselves that we were incredibly lucky to have such an affectionate cat, even if she died so soon but it still hurts.

I hope your kitten is ok. One of our cats spent a good month wandering around calling out for the one we lost and getting excited whenever she heard the cat flap (before falling down into a heap when she realised it was the wrong cat). It was really sad and DH found it hard to watch.

We lost our cat in an accident nearly two months ago. We decided we weren’t ready to commit to adopting a new cat but we were ready to foster because we missed having a cat in the house. It’s been a lovely experience so far and it almost feels like something positive has come out of the grief. There are so many cats needing help. It might be worth contacting your local shelters to see if that could be an option? If you find you have bonded with the cat you can always ‘foster fail’ but if you don’t feel the same as you did with your other cat then you’ve still done a lovely thing looking after a cat in need.

Yes, I've considered fostering. I am wfh for the foreseeable, I have DC and another cat, I could easily support creating well socialised kittens.

And thanks to the pp who asked, my remaining cat is doing OK. She hasn't gone off food or changed behaviour. I'll continue to keep an eye, of course.

Honestly give it a try, it’s been so healing for us. It’s not all kittens, sometimes cats can’t cope in the shelter or need some care and attention before they are ready to be adopted either because they are unsocialised or poorly.

I had to pts my cat last year. She was only 8 years old and had been with me for only 3 years. I adopted another cat a couple of weeks later not to replace my previous cat but to fill the void she left behind.