So at about 11:45 last night the wife's phone starts ringing. We were in bed, she misses it whilst waking from her slumber and calls back. Its the local Vet. They have our beloved Bengal Cat Hudson. He is deceased. Utter devastation sweeps the room. Surely not. It cant be.
Unfortunately hit by a car a while earlier in the evening. He doesn't wear a collar, so the folks who spotted him called the Vets. They came and collected him, scanned his microchip and got our details.
My wife wants to go and get him. I question if his mangled body is the last image of him she wants ingrained into her memory. She calls the Vet, they say he had a small amount of blood around his mouth, but they have cleaned him up.
25 minutes later she is back with the little guy wrapped up in a towel. We lay him on the sofa, unwrap him and the reality really hits. He looks peaceful, but i still cant believe it. I would give anything for him to wake up.
After some silence and some tears, the wife and I chat and the decision is made to bury him in the garden in the morning. We wrap him back up, put him in the garage and head up to bed. I think i managed 3 hours before i am woken by my 5 year old daughter. once awake i am hit again with the pure devastation of it all. I feel sick to the pit of my stomach.
We share the bad news with my daughter. She is too young to understand it. She enquiries why we are crying so much. Its hard to explain it to her. She puts a positive spin on things and says we still have one cat we can all share.
5:15am and i am in the garden, the burial spot is chosen. Next to the small bench he would lay on and have his tummy rubbed. My wife was intending on transferring a tree from a pot to the garden, so that's what we decide to do.
A little research later and it is said that in hard ground, you need to bury at least two feet deep. I remove the grass top layer and get stuck in. Fuelled by upset and heartbreak i make short work of the hard soil. His grave is dug.
We place a lay of tissue paper down in the hole. I go to the garage, carrying him out in his blanket and lay him down. We unwrap him and say our last goodbyes. Into the hole i gently lay him, with another sheet of tissue paper over the top. I start scooping small amounts of soil into the hole.
A large bag of planting soil later and the hole is ready to receive the small tree. A bit of a wrestle to remove it from the pot and its free. At this time my daughter brings a picture of Hudson she has drawn, with love hearts all around it. We decide to bury that with him, so make a hole and place it in.
More soil and the job is mostly done. I go upstairs and jump in the shower. I cant hold the tears back any longer. Thoughts of how such a soft and loving boy he was keep flooding my mind. Damn this is tough. Although i know the feelings will pass in time and i will be left with fond memories.
I finish my shower, clean my teeth and get my work clothes on. The show must go on. I hug my wife and daughter goodbye and head to work.
As i sit here typing this, i keep welling up, clicking away, settle myself and come back to type a few more words. Who would have thought a cat could bring me to my knees. I bloody love that boy. And now he is gone.
Pets huh.... who would have them?
I am so sorry for your loss, genuinely x. It's ****ing dusty in here.
Sorry about your family's tragic loss - I know the feeling only too well.
I don't know how old Hudson was but one small consolation must be that he didn't suffer - it will undoubtedly have been instant.
Why do we do it to ourselves.
Because the cuddly times, the fun times, the manic times, the 'WTF are they doing now' moments are worth every second they are with us. I'd be lost without pets in my life. And it leaves me empty like no other feeling when they go. I feel for you and your family.
Literally as you posted this my wife sent me this pic - she'd made the bed this morning and gone upstairs half an hour later and the dog had made himself very much at home (he's under there somewhere!). To some this would cause them to have palpitations - to us it's just the little squirt being what he is...
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Man, that's sad. Yeah, the dust is flying about today. How ridiculous, I don't even like cats!
My dog died 2 Christmases ago, I still ride the trails I use to take her on every night, I still see her jogging along next to me, leaping the big puddles. It still rips at me - and this is even though she lived with the ex for 4 years after we divorced! I still vividly remember her last day. She was always a big softy for me helping her when something was hurting, like a thorn in the paw. She'd just sit there wanting me to fix it. On that last day I went round the house and she was in obvious pain, she came over and pushed her head against my leg like she always did. Asking me to sort it. I couldn't fix her that time and the next day they had to have the gorgeous girl put to sleep. It would be nice to forget that.
Lost my cat a couple of weeks ago
Hit by a car. 2 miles away.
Someone put a photo on FB of him on the road side and by the time I'd seen the post he'd gone and I can't find him.
Pets are ace but they don't half get under your skin
Hate these threads. Brings home that my dog is now 12y/o and probably doesn't have too long left. Also that his brother didn't make it to that age, doesn't ease my anxiety about the whole thing.
Sorry for your loss
Tbf I am sitting here feeling sombre.
Would like a Bengalese kitten
I have a wicked pair of Tonkanese lads who every night accompany me under duvet and I wake up to them sandwiching me or next to my head 😻😻
Yh ok so lips with hair stuck to them aint pretty 🤣
Even though they are getting on for pedigrees they continue to be very healthy
Sad for all you and that I've been through it with all of my previous lil ones
One, my Maincoone was shot and driven over by an evil druggy. Not 😎!
Feel your pain and his energy will be released into the world
Sorry, this won't make you feel better in any way but Kipling put it well...
There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.
Buy a pup and your money will buy
Love unflinching that cannot lie—
Perfect passion and worship fed
By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head.
Nevertheless it is hardly fair
To risk your heart for a dog to tear.
When the fourteen years which Nature permits
Are closing in asthma, or tumour, or fits,
And the vet’s unspoken prescription runs
To lethal chambers or loaded guns,
Then you will find—it’s your own affair—
But … you’ve given your heart to a dog to tear.
When the body that lived at your single will,
With its whimper of welcome, is stilled (how still!).
When the spirit that answered your every mood
Is gone—wherever it goes—for good,
You will discover how much you care,
And will give your heart to a dog to tear.
We’ve sorrow enough in the natural way,
When it comes to burying Christian clay.
Our loves are not given, but only lent,
At compound interest of cent per cent.
Though it is not always the case, I believe,
That the longer we’ve kept ’em, the more do we grieve:
For, when debts are payable, right or wrong,
A short-time loan is as bad as a long—
So why in—Heaven (before we are there)
Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?
Mate, that's awful.
I was certain I was never an animal person. I was so surprised that I have had an almost continuously animal companion.
We have had cats for a total of 22 years. So much so, that when I met my wife,
it was love me - love my cat.
Our last cat - Ava, we have had 7 years and we decided a few months ago that getting a puppy was a good
idea - Milo. I don’t know the answer but I do know that most of the day yesterday - Ava spent lying with me on the bed… Milo has only been here 4 weeks, but it already feels like forever. Anyone who has any tips on housetraining spaniels - give me a PM!
I welled up reading that, so sorry for your loss. I've been there a few times, it never gets easier. On balance though, the laughs, love and companionship they give far, far outweighs the cost in grief when they go. It won't feel like that now, but when you look back it will. In my experience a new cat never replaces the one you've lost, but it eases the grief and in time becomes just as big a part of your life. Life is just richer with pets however hard it is when we lose them. Don't hold back the tears, but be kind to yourself.
It’s the hardest part of owning a pet, they become such a part of the family. Sorry to hear you’ve lost one of yours.
Sorry to read that. There’s ninjas cutting onions in here.
Our ginger loon was off her food for a couple of days recently and we got quite worried but fortunately she seems better now, although the dog is a bit miffed that she’s not getting two breakfasts.
Yeah, it's not nice, i was following a car that hit a cat a few years back, just kept going, so we stopped and i went and picked the poor thing up, held it whilst it died, just sad watching the little shocked face as it slipped away, at least it didn't die alone in the street where that guy left it.
Sorry for your loss.
I’m about to take my new kittens to the vet for their first jabs and it’ll be in the room where I stood five months ago and put down my cat of 17 years. It’s going to be a bit weird.
Really sorry for your loss and completely understand your pain. What you have done for him sounds perfect. Hopefully the tree will retain his spirit for you all.
Drac +1
Sorry for your loss. Me and 'our' dog don't have the best of relationships. He is challenging to say the least. But if he died tomorrow I'd be absolutely devastated.
Oh thats really upsetting for you.
Its a bit dusty in here right now.
I know EXACTLY how you are feeling.
We lost our gorgeous Ernie only 3 weeks ago, had him from 5 weeks, then hit by a 'hit and run' car driver at 17 months old.
Somebody picked him up on thir way to work, and took him to the local vets, who read his micro chip.
To say that we are devestated, still 3 weeks later would be an understatement.
Aww best wishes...so sad to see them lifeless. The horrible feeling does fade though. We had our old boy put to sleep whilst cuddling with us on the sofa back in April and buried him in the garden. ****ing foxes dug him up in that July heatwave. Thankfully left him on the surface as there wasn't much left of interest.
Cat Hudson
Great name.
Sorry for your loss.
My first dog died about 17 years ago. Very sudden and very young. Also buried in the garden.
He was our family dog. It's the only thing I've ever seen that made my hard as nails dad cry.
Even now I still well up every time I think about him 😢
We lost a 1 year old ragdoll, who got run over. He was a bit of a character and always wanted out. We've now got three ragdolls from same parent cats and a rescue. They have a cat run in the garden now. Sorry for your loss
Just wanted to say that we've been there and feel for you.
I'd always bring them home and bury them in the garden if I could.
Some years ago when we lost our Tigger (close to 20) someone one here kindly posted up the Cat's Will, which I found really moving and a real help. I've popped it up a few times recently, so won't do it again unless folk want it, but happy to PM it if anyone wants a look.
That's a real tear-jerker. Gutted for you, but glad your daughter was able to deal with it in such a lovely way.
Thank you for the kind words everyone.
These blighters don’t half pull on your heart strings. I know things will feel better in time, but that doesn’t make losing a best friend any easier.
Again, thanks everyone, it really is appreciated.
my dog is now 12y/o and probably doesn’t have too long left. Also that his brother didn’t make it to that age
We had two sisters from the same litter. We lost the one aged 11 (just) the other week and I'm still struggling with it. Just trying to keep the other one occupied now. Just as well the one we still have was the dominant one. They seem to handle the loss better. Sorry for your loss, you won't get over it but I'm sure you gave him the best life he could have had.
Oh, and to answer the question of the thread title, because without them, the fur-shaped hole is just too big to fill in our lives with anything else.
because without them, the fur-shaped hole is just too big to fill in our lives with anything else.
Isn’t that just the case…
- Muffin (Dog) - 1989 - 1997
- Douglas (Cat) - 1999(?) - 2015
Sorry to hear that OP.
After my thread a couple of weeks ago, we've returned from Hols to find an improving cat (18yo, losing the use of his back legs) had a torrid time in the cats home apparently "missing" his litter tray daily and weeing all over his favourite blanket. The last couple of days home have been a struggle - although he is using his litter tray he seems to like to poop up the side, and yesterday just squatted on the floor, getting up before he'd finished to walk across the kitchen still dribbling, resulting in the cat and the floor being washed.
The left hand side of his face seems a bit droopy too.
Mrs K says give it another week to make sure its not "away from home" trauma, and if not, it could be a last visit to the Vet 🙁
