Pet Loss: Has My Cat Gone Off to Die?

Learning how to communicate with animals is just like learning any other language. The more you practice, the better you become. ~  Karen A. Anderson

A reader writes: Have you ever heard of a pet going away from home if they know they are going to die? A good friend of mine told me this just a few days before my 15-year-old cat disappeared from his usual favorite place to be, the front porch! Osh was 15 years old and never left the front porch. He was spending more and more time out there, and I always brought him in. That particular time, for some reason, I decided to let him stay! He and I were very attached to each other, my mom and I got him about 11 years ago. Funny thing is my mom passed away suddenly in a car accident 6 years ago and a big part of me feels like she was ready for him.

Pet Loss: A Reader Asks, How Am I Doing?

The thing about grief is that it's a roller coaster -- it's up, it's down. The emotions sometimes take over.  ~ Brent Sexton

A reader writes: It's been a bit over 7 months now since the death of my cat and I'd like to say I'm doing wonderfully, but I'm not. In fact, between the numbness that lasted so long and trying too hard to 'improve', I've had even more of a delayed reaction to the deep grief than I'd first thought! In some ways, I think I did 'better' with the loss of my first cat than with this one, in that I knew very little about coping skills at first and went about it almost in a more natural way. Whereas this time, I tried to apply maybe too many of those coping strategies too soon, resulting in more of an avoidance of the deeper pain than I'd wanted, or that I think was healthy for me. I'm still stuck in that to some degree, but overall, I've been feeling pretty terrible and debilitated....despite still doing things for myself and my future. But I miss my girl more and more each day w/o her and many times still can't even begin to contemplate a world w/o her here.

Pet Loss: Signs of Progress in Grief

You should feel proud of yourself for every small step you make because healing from grief isn’t the result of smoothly navigating a journey. Healing from grief is what happens when you get up each day and decide to keep walking.  ~ Eleanor Haley

A reader writes: Well, it's been a bit over 7 months now and I'd like to say I'm doing wonderfully, but I'm not. I've been feeling pretty terrible and debilitated since my beloved cat died ....despite still DOING things for myself and my future. But I miss my girl more and more each day w/o her and many times still can't even begin to contemplate a world w/o her here.

Coping with Pet Loss, July 26 - August 1, 2015

Best selection from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Pet Loss and Animal Communication: Suggested Resources, http://j.mp/1Jpoef9 « Grief Healing Blog

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Pet Loss and Animal Communication: Suggested Resources

[Reviewed and updated April 6, 2023]

Source

. . . when we love animals and want to honor and effectively communicate with them, we must relate to them not only via their physical bodies and observable behavior, but also beyond biology and behavior--to acknowledge and communicate with them at the level of their souls. ~ Teresa Whalen

A reader writes: I am in therapy, and one of the things that I discovered in my sessions is that as much as I miss my cat on a daily basis, what hurts me the most and continues to haunt me is her untimely and totally unexpected death. She was just TOO young and I feel it was so unfair that she was cheated out of her life. Even today, I continue to worry about her and wonder if she is okay. Upon my therapist's suggestion, I have tried to repeat to myself that wherever she is (?) that she is okay, but I find that easier to believe some days than other days. I just so want to believe/KNOW that she is alright. And although I want to do some kind of memorial, I am not ready. Just writing this has brought new tears and I know that looking at her pictures still has the same effect.

Pet Loss: Guilt in the Wake of the Euthanasia Decision

Source

[Reviewed and updated September 7, 2025]

Once a forever person and a forever cat find each other, nothing can ever separate them.  ~ Christine Davis

A reader writes: I’m asking for help. I don’t know what to do. I’m completely distraught. My dearest cat Shadow got sick and I had to put her down early last Wednesday morning. She was sneezing when she came to us as a kitten seven years ago, and she always had a problem with her sinuses. She was the smallest of all my cats, but still, she grew into a beautiful girl, playful, friendly and smart. She was totally loving to everybody, very psychically aware and sensitive, a real healer.

Coping with Pet Loss, July 28 - August 3, 2013

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

What Remains, http://j.mp/1bOlyYG « Obit Magazine

After the Loss, Pet Owners Tell their Pet's Story, http://j.mp/14eQe2A  « VetzInsight

Teresa Wagner on Animal Communication--What is It and How Does it Work? http://j.mp/yZT79v « Animals in Our Hearts

Coping with Pet Loss, January 15 - January 21, 2012

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

• Helping Children Cope with A Pet's Euthanasia, http://j.mp/iPJoT9  

• Helping Kids Cope with PetLoss, http://bit.ly/xafOeB from @Kidlutions via @411Voices
  
  
• Life lessons learned from pet loss, http://bit.ly/zqszzg by @Precious_Mettle
  
  
• Helping children with pet loss, http://bit.ly/zkRgvd by @sBaffone
  
  
• Animal Communication: What is It and How Does it Work? http://j.mp/yZT79v