Who has had a cat that you loved and it died?

[NoDecision]

Do you really miss it? Or maybe you lost your trusted side-kick dog. What would you do if you could get it back?

[Lliam]

There are a couple that I miss very much. I still cherish their memories.

The main one was named Rosie. I ran out and rescued her from the white line of a very busy highway just as a tsunami of cars was bearing down.
My wife and I had only been married for a couple of months and she had been wanting a pet, but I had put her off because we lived in an apartment and both worked full time.
So when I brought the kitten home, my wife cuddled it to her chest and said "Oh, can we keep it? Can we keep it?" I said, "Of course."
The highway where I rescued her was Rosecrans Blvd in Manhattan Beach, Ca, so we named her Rosecrans but shortened it to Rosie.
When we took her in to get spayed, the vet said she was about 5 weeks old. She fit easily into the palm of my hand.

She was very frightened when I first brought her home, so we set her up with a comfy blanket in a box, food, water, and a litter box in a downstairs bedroom. We checked on her regularly but didn't bother her.
Two days later, when we were upstairs watching TV in the living room, I saw a tiny creature, exploring the edges of the room. That tiny kitten had climbed all the up the carpeted stairs. She eventually started sniffing around the sofa and my feet. Then she climbed up my pants leg, explored the sofa, and climbed into my lap, curled up and went to sleep.
That's when she decided that we were her mommy and daddy.

We kept her indoors because we didn't want anything to happen to her. She turned into the best kitty.
We moved two times before finally moving into a house of our own - he forever home.

She always slept on our bed, at the foot between us. We put a cat bed there for her. Sometimes she would come up a cuddle next to us or on top of my wife.

She was a sweet girl. But she was very playful. She loved toys and even invented games like tag.

We had her for almost exactly 22 years. She slowed down but never showed any signs of discomfort. But about a week before she passed, she quit eating.
Then one morning, my wife found her collapsed next to a door in the hallway and placed her gently on a soft blanket on the sofa.
My wife went to work, but I sat next to Rosie all morning. She was quiet and motionless but I gently touched her often to see if she was breathing and to let her know I was there.
At 11:15 am on 12/10/2019, I checked her and she was gone.

I put her blanket in a box and laid her on it, curled up like she was sleeping.
We had two rose bushes but one was bare. So I walked out to the other one and it was bare, too, except for one perfect red and yellow rose. It was like a miracle, a gift for our little girl.
I placed it in the box.
When my wife got home, we both cried.
I pulled the blanket over her, sealed up the box, decorated the outside and wrote messages on it. Then we buried our little girl in our back yard with a large quartz stone to mark her grave.

My wife and I still recall how sweet Rosie was and all the funny stuff she did. She was one of a kind.

We had other cats, too. They were indoor/outdoor for catching mice and voles in the yard. They were all sweet and different in their own ways.
One, in particular was amazing, but I don't have room to write about her here.

We have two cats now.

[NoDecision]

That is sooo sad. She was lucky to be so loved. 😥

[Lliam]

Thank you for the MHO, NoDecision.
Yeah, it was like we were meant to be together for 22 years. She had a wonderful life and we loved her dearly.

[RavVid]

That is a pretty nice story of Rosie. Clearly there was a big connection. My tabby was a stray but I think got abandoned. I used to work upstairs and if I went downstairs he'd run downstairs with me. Then when I got the apple he'd run back upstairs with me. Didn't want me out of his sight but eventually decided that was a lot of work and I always returned to the desk chair anyway..

The story of Rosie coming upstairs reminded of that. Tabby took about 12 months to remember lap sitting and about the same time to figure out he had a sound roof so there was no disappear under the couch.

Eventually he got confident enough to go to the french door and watch it rain.

Thanks for the smiles your story gave me.

[Lliam]

@RavVid. Cats are so cool. They all have their own unique personalities.

[RavVid]

I like somewhat stroppy with a strong will to get their own way.

[RavVid]

Hey do you like Simons Cat cartoons? What is your favorite? Check out on YT if you don't know them.

My fav is where Simon is fast asleep and doesn't respond to gentle prompts to get up and feed. Cat disappears and comes back with a baseball bat. When Simon sits up Cat drops the bat and curls up fast asleep with a who me expression.

That was very Tabby. He would run up the wall to the dormer window and watch me. If I was partially awake he would engineer an almost near miss jumping down for plausible deniability. 6Kg of cat from 1.5 meters wakes.

If I was sound asleep he'd hit me smack center on the chest. Like Simon I'd sit up abruptly saying "who hit me?". His variation was to run out of the bedroom so I didn't connect the dots.

[Lliam]

@RavVid. LOL. That's funny.
My wife is the one who gets up in the morning and feeds the cats. If she didn't get up early enough, Rosie and, later, Coco, a cat we had after Rosie, would come up, stand on her and stare at her face until she woke up with a look like "It's my breakfast time, slave, did you forget your job?"

[RavVid]

They do that very well. Just as well they can't sack us.

[Ironco]

I just lost my cat a couple weeks ago.

He was just shy of 21. He witnessed my whole adult life with me. All my ups and downs. His personality was a lot like mine. We were bests buds.

I knew he wouldn't live forever, but it still hurt to loose him.

I miss you, Harley

We'll meet again, I'll take care of your sister, buddy.

[NoDecision]

21 is old for a cat. But if he lived a loving life with someone who loved him, then he was blessed. 🥰

[Ironco]

Yes, he definitely had it made.

[Lliam]

I'm sorry for your loss, Ironco. I know the feeling.

[RavVid]

Yeah we know it is a short time that they sojourn in our life. But it still hurts when they pass. Getting on to a year I still think I hear him at times.

He was my best friend - in fact my only friend during one bad year. Solace.

[TheDraconianJester]

I had my childhood cat die in my arms unexpectedly when I was younger. It's been over nine years now, and I still miss him. I constantly remind myself how to perform CPR for both cats and dogs, ever since, in hopes that I don't go through that again. I don't even know what he died from or if CPR would've helped, but I still remind myself anyway. I had him when I was in third grade, up to ~7th grade. He was such a chill love bug, even as a kitten when we adopted him.

As for my childhood dog, he passed from cancer in 2019. I wasn't able to go to the vets to be there with him during his last moments, and I've always felt guilty about it. He and the cat I've mentioned were the best of buds, and I sometimes hope that wherever they are in the afterlife, they found each other. At one point, four years after my dog's passing, I had a weird dream where I woke up on the living room couch. The windows were pure white, and there was light everywhere, especially near the kitchen. It felt weirdly peaceful. I remember seeing my dog walk into the living room, doing his little croissant dance (He used to shake his entire body into a croissant shape while wagging his tail). I cried and hugged him. After what felt like forever, I had finally let him go and watched him walk through the open back door that was connected to the kitchen, straight into the white void.
When I woke up (irl), I was sleeping on the same couch and felt oddly better than I had before.
A part of me believes it was just wild REM sleep stuff, but it was odd because I've never really dreamed about my dog before this or after this (currently). Sometimes, though, I believe that maybe it was his spirit coming to me so I could say my final goodbye (long overdue, but I'll always forgive him for the late visit). Ever since I had that dream, I could finally tell memories and stories of him without bawling my eyes out.

Currently, I have a cat that is nine years old, the oldest cat I've owned so far in my life. He's a little turd at times, but I'll always love him no matter how many times he jumps at me in the dark when I'm trying to grab a glass of water. 🫶

Two best friends. RIP to them both. 🫶

[lorenzomichael]

I had a Cool kitten I named Mico but he died years ago my neighbor was doing some work on his car and he left some Antifreeze in the driveway. My kitten licked it up and later died that sucked. I now have a cat named Sebastian. He’s all white with blue eyes He’s deaf so he doesn’t leave the house.

[NoDecision]

Gotta be careful with that antifreeze as it has a sweet taste. I don't know why they can't make it foul tasting. 😔

[lorenzomichael]

I know right Nico was such a cute kitten he would have grown up to be a beautiful cat he looked Siamese, but more white

[exitseven]

I had two of them. One was killed by a coyote in broad daylight and the other lived a good long 20 years. I have them buried in the backyard. I say hi to them when I mow the lawn

[NoDecision]

Hope you got that coyote! 🤬

[exitseven]

Unfortunately I did not

[lightbulb27]

yes, always a story and a tragedy. I have some regrets in how I handled several of their lives, as the caretaker.

multiple cats. they are little individuals... all unique.

[Wiredone]

Since my childhood I've had several cats and dogs that died. I miss every single one of them because they were a part of my family. They weren't just a pet, they were our fur babies

[Cormac995]

I had a ginger tom cat that was a feral I rescued and adopted. I lost him about half a year ago to fatty liver disease. The doctors said the only way to keep him alive would be to force feed him and get his liver flushed every few days and that would have been cruel not to mention even if I was that sick and selfish I never could have afforded it so there was no choice but to put him down. I'm still shook up about it I loved that cat.

[DeeDeeDeVour]

I've felt that heartbreak so many times in my lifetime.

[Bricealan]

3x's Never forget any of them... broke you heart every time

[Surely]

I once had a German Shepherd and Collie mixed. She was my buddy. Loved to go ground hog hunting. Wasn’t afraid of guns. Best watch dog ever. I have since developed an allergy to dogs. Don’t believe in getting shots. But I would take them for her!

[NoDecision]

What happened to her? Are you saying you wouldn't do the same for some cute little puppy?

[Surely]

@nodecision. I found her dead one morning along the road. When I went out to catch the school bus. Carried her into the yard and went to school.
Don’t want to chance an allergic reaction to a dog. My neighbor had a huge rottie. About thirty minutes around him. My skin would itch. My eyes would water and I would start to sneeze.

[NoDecision]

Sounds like Dander got you.

[RavVid]

I miss tabby. It is 9 months but I sometimes think I hear him. He'd come and check on me during the night.

[CuriousMufuxka]

The late great Recleus. Original name was Trixie until I trained her to be a battle kitty! Rest in sleep.

[AlenAHHHH]

Yes, my childhood cat Murka ❤️ she died in 2020

[SotiCoto]

Are you trying to make me cry?
Don't do that.
If I start thinking about Gawain or Nebula I'll end up crying again.

[Wise4myage]

One of my sisters cats. I wouldn't do anything because her cat was really old.

[Phoenix98]

I've loved and lost 3 cats over the years.

[Anonymous]

I never had a cat, but I had a rabbit who died :(

[WhitneySnow]

I have. My first cat. I really miss him.

[Nikki1989]

Yes, both cats and dogs.

[msc545]

I have. Incredibly sad.

[NoDecision]

Always!

[HДLILБΞУ]

yes when i was little..

[DishLady]

@Ironco

[talka20]

Never had a pet