Can anyone offer a bit of moral support?

[pyjamas89]

I had to have my cat put to sleep last night and I feel absolutely distraught. She wasn't a young thing but was honestly fine and within ten minutes really not fine. She looked so distressed and was struggling to breathe, the whole thing was just awful.

I've had a really rough couple of years with my Dad dying from cancer and my Mum being diagnosed with an advanced last Christmas time - I know she was just a cat but this honestly feels like the last fucking straw.

she was not "just a cat"- she was a personality and a family member and an individual you had a connection and a relationship with. I'm cuddling my adored cat here, and I know what a cat can mean to you. Well done on giving her a loving life, and being brave enough to do the right thing for her at the end. SEnding you lots of love xxx

I’m so sorry, @pyjamas89. It’s a very sad time.

(There’ll be lots of support on the Litter Tray board if you wanted to get your post moved there.)

I am so sorry.

Thanks all. I am completely gutted and so sad she deteriorated like that, hardly able to breathe.

Where is the Litter Tray board @SparklingLime? I didn't know about that!

I have not slept a wink and I am meant to be working in a couple of hours.

I’m so sorry.
There’s no such thing as just a cat, they’re family just with 4 paws and whiskers and our heart breaks the same when we lose them.

it's devastating. I lost my 13 year old golden lab 2 months ago and I miss her so much. We have her brother from the same litter and he's just not the same since she passed away either. I'm so sorry for the loss of your girl x

It’s here, OP: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_litter_tray

You can always report your post to MN and ask for it to be moved to there.

Thank you, I have asked for it to be moved.
I have taken last minute annual leave as I've not slept at all but I feel really guilty as work is so busy at the moment. Not that I'd be much help in this state.

Your grief is genuine and anyone who doesn’t understand the love for a dear pet and how your sorrow is just as deep as it would be for a human family member is cold hearted.

Sorry for your loss and I hope your lovely memories bring you some comfort.

There’s a helpline for pet bereavement that you might like to be aware of: www.supportline.org.uk/problems/pet-bereavement/

So sorry for your loss. They mean so much to us. It's so devastating when they go. It takes time to adjust to their absence and hurts so much knowing they're not with you anymore

She was part of your family. I’m so sorry.

Anyone who begrudges you the leave is an insensitive idiot.

It will feel better in time, I promise.

I'm so sorry you lost your girl

Would you be able (want) to show us a photo of her ?

Thanks for the kind thoughts. I have never been attached to a pet like this before, she was so gentle and lovely. I really worry I could never have the same kind of bond with another cat, that she really was a once in a lifetime pet 💔

This is Belle, who of course believed she was Queen of the household!

Aww, what a beautiful and poised little Queen.

How are you doing today, @pyjamas89?

Thanks for asking @SparklingLime
Work's been fairly hideous and I cried more than once - not helpful to be working from home and notice her not being around. I gathered up most of her things and put them in a cupboard earlier as I can't bear to look at them but putting them away also felt weird 😢

Awww look at the way her paws were crossed. She was beautiful. She was family. Sending you love.

She's a beautiful little lady. I cried every day for nearly a year when I lost mine. It's very hard to lose them.

What a beautiful cat. I understand your pain. My beautiful cat had to be put to sleep last year, she was only 8. There's now a rather gorgeous tabby curled up on my bed who has helped me to heal. Look after yourself x

Hugs, pyjamas. It’s such early days.

Thank you. She always slept like that with her tiny paws crossed. Feeling really sad this evening. Keep thinking I can hear her and expecting the patter of her little paws through the doorway. 😢

She was beautiful

This is a thing, OP. People go through crushing times - divorce, bereavements, illness, etc and get through it. But then they lose their cat and are distraught. It is because you "get through it" to take care of your cat and the cat gives you love, or gives you an opportunity to express love. Then, in time, the cat crosses the Bridge. As you put it, it is the last straw.

I had my cat put to sleep last month and I wailed in the vets. I'm filling up now. I lost both parents 2 years ago and she got me through that fairly calmly. But when the time came to see her off, I was a state. I cried when they rang to tell me her ashes were in. It was the last straw for me too.

So this is normal. You will open your heart to the cat your beloved will send you (I do believe that). But until then, remember that your cat had a life most people would envy and she loved you very much.

She was gorjuss, by the way. As @SparklingLime says, she looks like a Queen.

So beautiful.

She wasn't "just a cat". She was your friend and she made you happy. Of course you're grieving for her.

Be kind to yourself. Losing them is very, very hard.