I Still Feel Lost (adoption, euthanize, mouse, animals)

[RiWrites]

My wonderful companion named Minx died at the beginning of January. He was 19 years old and lived a wonderful life. It seems only like yesterday that I brought him home as a kitten. He was born in the garage of my best friends' parents. He was the runt of the litter but turned out to be the best of the bunch.

Minx was half Siamese and half American Shorthair. The only Siamese in the bunch. When I first picked him up he fit in the my hand and I have small hands. When he was fully grown he was the Arnold Schwartzenegger of cats. Not fat but solidly built and long.

To call him my companion is not the really the right word. He was my consoler when I was grieving over a loss. He would sit with me and would watch tv or a dvd. At times when I would say something to him it was almost like he knew what I was saying. I loved how he would greet me at the door when I got home at night. And like a dog, he would go to the door if he heard someone at it but like a cat would run and hide when I opened it to see who it was. He did the same thing with my best friend who is my roommate. He would divide his time between her room and mine. He had his favorite place on the couch and if you were sitting there he would either stare at you until you moved or he would wait until you got up to go get something to drink etc and when you got back he would be sitting there with an innocent look on his face. Neither of us could be mad at him when he did this.

Now all that is gone. I still miss him so much. God let him pass away at home on his favorite knitted throw in my best friends room instead of in the sterile room of the vet. Her room gets the sun and he was laying in a bean of sunshine when he passed. I was with him at the end and saw him take his last breath. And for a brief moment I felt like I had felt his spirit leave the room. I know people will say animals have no souls but I don't believe it. God created them and they are as much loved by him as we are. Just because they can't speak or reason like we do doesn't mean they don't have souls.
The only thing I was sorry about was that my best friend was at work when he died. I had to tell her when she got home.

We buried him back where it all began. We picked a beautiful spot under a Camellia tree and I know he is resting peacefully. He lived a long life considering he was diabetic, even the vet was impressed.

He was a cat who was not your normal cat. He hated playing with cat toys but loved to chase wadded up paper or red and white peppermint candies that were wrapped. I think he loved the peppermint smell more. There wasn't a paper bag he didn't love and when he was done laying on it, it would be in the shape of his body. Basil and oregano were his catnip. I would have the smell on my hands and he would go crazy, rubbing his head against my hands and licking them. I am going to remember him this way and not how he was in the end. He deserves this much for all the love, joy and laughter he gave me and my best friend over the years.

May we all remember our animal companions this way and not the way they left this world for the rainbow bridge.

[Woof Woof Woof!]

Rest in peace, Minx.

[3chidogs]

I'm so sorry for your loss. Clearly Minx was dearly loved and gave it back many times.

[bjh]

Sounds like a wonderful friend! So cool that he grew to be a big dude.

Love the couch story and other stories. It's funny the little things each pet does.

And I, too, am relieved when a pet doesn't have to be put down at the vet's.

And I like your description that he was in a sunbeam. I guess he followed that sunbeam on up to the rainbow bridge, because I don't believe that people get to decide whether animals have souls.

In my observation animals definitely have reason, because they are intelligent, and the two words mean the same thing to me. Now they have different types of intelligence, and they are certainly at different levels of intelligence both as species and as individuals within their species. Just like people.

They even have a sense of humor. YOu have to have humor to pretend a string is a mouse to chase.

Didja know the word "animal" comes from Latin, "anima" which means SOUL!

Originally Posted by RiWrites

I am going to remember him this way and not how he was in the end. He deserves this much for all the love, joy and laughter he gave me and my best friend over the years. May we all remember our animal companions this way and not the way they left this world for the rainbow bridge.

Right on! And thanks for being his friend and caretaker all those years!

[movin'on]

Originally Posted by RiWrites

My wonderful companion named Minx died at the beginning of January. He was 19 years old and lived a wonderful life. It seems only like yesterday that I brought him home as a kitten. He was born in the garage of my best friends' parents. He was the runt of the litter but turned out to be the best of the bunch.

Minx was half Siamese and half American Shorthair. The only Siamese in the bunch. When I first picked him up he fit in the my hand and I have small hands. When he was fully grown he was the Arnold Schwartzenegger of cats. Not fat but solidly built and long.

To call him my companion is not the really the right word. He was my consoler when I was grieving over a loss. He would sit with me and would watch tv or a dvd. At times when I would say something to him it was almost like he knew what I was saying. I loved how he would greet me at the door when I got home at night. And like a dog, he would go to the door if he heard someone at it but like a cat would run and hide when I opened it to see who it was. He did the same thing with my best friend who is my roommate. He would divide his time between her room and mine. He had his favorite place on the couch and if you were sitting there he would either stare at you until you moved or he would wait until you got up to go get something to drink etc and when you got back he would be sitting there with an innocent look on his face. Neither of us could be mad at him when he did this.

Now all that is gone. I still miss him so much. God let him pass away at home on his favorite knitted throw in my best friends room instead of in the sterile room of the vet. Her room gets the sun and he was laying in a bean of sunshine when he passed. I was with him at the end and saw him take his last breath. And for a brief moment I felt like I had felt his spirit leave the room. I know people will say animals have no souls but I don't believe it. God created them and they are as much loved by him as we are. Just because they can't speak or reason like we do doesn't mean they don't have souls.
The only thing I was sorry about was that my best friend was at work when he died. I had to tell her when she got home.

We buried him back where it all began. We picked a beautiful spot under a Camellia tree and I know he is resting peacefully. He lived a long life considering he was diabetic, even the vet was impressed.

He was a cat who was not your normal cat. He hated playing with cat toys but loved to chase wadded up paper or red and white peppermint candies that were wrapped. I think he loved the peppermint smell more. There wasn't a paper bag he didn't love and when he was done laying on it, it would be in the shape of his body. Basil and oregano were his catnip. I would have the smell on my hands and he would go crazy, rubbing his head against my hands and licking them. I am going to remember him this way and not how he was in the end. He deserves this much for all the love, joy and laughter he gave me and my best friend over the years.

May we all remember our animal companions this way and not the way they left this world for the rainbow bridge.

What a beautiful tribute to Minx. He was greatly loved. The only thing I can say is the pain does ease with time. I had to get two new pups in order to save my mental health, after I lost my Teddy, so I do understand the grief. I won't suggest another pet. People did that to me at the time and it was like...this was my child who will never be replaced. It's still true to this day, although the energy is back in my house with two pups. Hang in there!

[catfriend]

I lost my cat, Spooky yesterday. She had been sick since Monday, I took her to the emergency vet yesterday morning, and was told she had advanced kidney disease. She was put to sleep. I was devastated, still am. I'm coping with a huge loss, I lived with her for 9 years, she was my friend. I connected with that cat, we could communicate non-verbally. She was, as all animals are 100% honest with me, even if she wanted to be left alone, it wasn't personal, she just needed the space, and when she wanted to talk, she'd talk, and when she wanted to play she'd play. Her timing was always right on, like she knew my moods, I felt like I knew her moods too. sounds weird and crazy, and I hated to see her sick, it made me depressed and irritable, I wanted her to get over it and not be sick, and I'm still feeling guilt over not reading the signs of discomfort earlier. I'm mad that I don't have more pictures of her (most of them in cell phones that were old and erased). I feel like something really good has been taken from me, now I feel a void, and saddened by her loss.
Sometimes I felt like that cat "owned" me. In 2000, my roomate and I wanted to get a cat, but we quickly bonded, and she was considered my cat. She was very protective of me and her space, she stood her ground if she thought someone was trespassing her space, not with other animals, but with people. She was part Siamese, I don't know what the other part was, but she was a beautiful shiny black cat, she was lovely and she knew how pretty she was. She grew up to a healthy size. Some people said she was a "big cat", but I thought she looked normal. Some people would think she was a weird cat, because she was so protective of me, and sometimes they would joke that she was a witch's cat guarding her witch owner. By the way, I'm not a witch or practice wiccan, I think people just got freaked out by the connection I had with Spooky.
I don't know just how to describe it, but there was defintely intelligent energy there, as in all animals and beings, it's just easier to see it in animals. I don't know where her soul/energy went, that's what I will miss the most, I'd like to think it's still around, but I don't know where....

[tcrackly]

With the exception of "not having many pictures", Catfriend, I could have written your post about losing your kitty. I had to euthanize my kitty, Comet, over a year ago and aI still grieve because she was such a good friend. She was a foundling that adopted me and my husband about 11 years ago. She helped me through several family funerals and other hard times. I still miss her insistence on bringing me the occassional mouse "gifts".

[RiWrites]

I never realized how much life he brought into the apartment. It is so quiet now. I have thought about getting another cat but when I go to look for one I never find the right one.

I am glad there are others who feel like I do. It is hard to get people who don't have pets to understand that the loss can be as great as losing a person. I am glad we have this board to all be together.

[maggiekate]

Originally Posted by RiWrites

My wonderful companion named Minx died at the beginning of January. He was 19 years old and lived a wonderful life. It seems only like yesterday that I brought him home as a kitten. He was born in the garage of my best friends' parents. He was the runt of the litter but turned out to be the best of the bunch.

Minx was half Siamese and half American Shorthair. The only Siamese in the bunch. When I first picked him up he fit in the my hand and I have small hands. When he was fully grown he was the Arnold Schwartzenegger of cats. Not fat but solidly built and long.

To call him my companion is not the really the right word. He was my consoler when I was grieving over a loss. He would sit with me and would watch tv or a dvd. At times when I would say something to him it was almost like he knew what I was saying. I loved how he would greet me at the door when I got home at night. And like a dog, he would go to the door if he heard someone at it but like a cat would run and hide when I opened it to see who it was. He did the same thing with my best friend who is my roommate. He would divide his time between her room and mine. He had his favorite place on the couch and if you were sitting there he would either stare at you until you moved or he would wait until you got up to go get something to drink etc and when you got back he would be sitting there with an innocent look on his face. Neither of us could be mad at him when he did this.

Now all that is gone. I still miss him so much. God let him pass away at home on his favorite knitted throw in my best friends room instead of in the sterile room of the vet. Her room gets the sun and he was laying in a bean of sunshine when he passed. I was with him at the end and saw him take his last breath. And for a brief moment I felt like I had felt his spirit leave the room. I know people will say animals have no souls but I don't believe it. God created them and they are as much loved by him as we are. Just because they can't speak or reason like we do doesn't mean they don't have souls.
The only thing I was sorry about was that my best friend was at work when he died. I had to tell her when she got home.

We buried him back where it all began. We picked a beautiful spot under a Camellia tree and I know he is resting peacefully. He lived a long life considering he was diabetic, even the vet was impressed.

He was a cat who was not your normal cat. He hated playing with cat toys but loved to chase wadded up paper or red and white peppermint candies that were wrapped. I think he loved the peppermint smell more. There wasn't a paper bag he didn't love and when he was done laying on it, it would be in the shape of his body. Basil and oregano were his catnip. I would have the smell on my hands and he would go crazy, rubbing his head against my hands and licking them. I am going to remember him this way and not how he was in the end. He deserves this much for all the love, joy and laughter he gave me and my best friend over the years.

May we all remember our animal companions this way and not the way they left this world for the rainbow bridge.

Angels have no souls but are in heaven? You had a very special pet! Think of the fun now he has, and image , and try to believe! I believe my dog is in heaven, she was kind, and sweet, but at times!
sweet!

[Woof Woof Woof!]

Originally Posted by RiWrites

I never realized how much life he brought into the apartment. It is so quiet now. I have thought about getting another cat but when I go to look for one I never find the right one.

I am glad there are others who feel like I do. It is hard to get people who don't have pets to understand that the loss can be as great as losing a person. I am glad we have this board to all be together.

Yes, it is really awful. It's a horrible void. The loneliness is too awful to bear sometimes. You won't find a cat like him, but you will find another cat you come to love. I love my cat, but I would not be able to pick him out at an adoption center. If he were in a cage with people looking at him, he would be scared and timid. His personality only comes out when he feels safe and comfortable in his surroundings.