Have you ever loved a pet so much you considered it family, would do anything (even give your own life) to protect it, and were/would be devastated by it's passing? I have. Several times. Share your experiences.
>>5055190Yeah... These past 5 years I've had quite a few animals die from old age and other circumstances that were beyond my control to the point where I had to pick out a designated spot for a pet graveyard. Its a awful feeling but knowing I gave them the best life I could have and a well kept spot where they will be remembered comforts me some.
>>5055190My first and favorite cat lived to be twenty. I lost her five years ago and still dream about her from time to time.
>>5055477Growing up, my family had a skinny American Wirehair who lived to 19, and was shy and gentle and lithe to the last. Then my older sister (God knows where) got another American Wirehair who was big and almost ridiculously forward. He'd loll on the sidewalk and be pet by passers-by, wander into the houses of neighbors unconcerned, and in fat old age was very agreeable to me--as long as I didn't touch his paws. While staying at her house, he'd hoist himself onto my bed with a heavy OOMPH over my ankles, then settle into the nook between my torso and right arm, for a long sleepy chill session.
>>5055190>Have you ever loved a pet so much you considered it familyI am reluctant to say this, but I have never experienced stuff like that. I have always bonded with and loved other peoples pets as well as my own, but I have never had the inclination that they were like family. There has always been a distinction between pet and family to me, like a dog or a cat is a sentient individual with a unique personality and character that I appreciate but that has never elevated them to personhood if that makes sense. They are just their own thing. The only time I have ever been challenged on this is with Gray Parrots due to how borderline sapient they are, yet they are still alien enough for it to not click in my head "oh they are like a sibling I would die for". I get sad when pets die and I feel their absence, but it's not like grief for a family member.I don't know if that is something indicative of my empathy or emotional capacity or if that's a normal thing, but that's how I feel about it.
>>5055478*That sister happened to live where her backyard was adjacent to an unusually spacious suburban easement, where there was rather a lot of botanical variety bordering its lawns. Didn't take me long to notice Catnip among it, and bring some sprigs in. It had a lot more effect than I expected, and my sister was, predictably, delighted by the result as she was irritated by the comparison when it comes to memory. So much for sibling rivalry.
>>5055190Of course our critters are family. That's the point entirely. Hopefully, we make each others lives better along the way. My 12 yo Pibbie died a few months ago and I'm just lost.....it was her time after having cancer for over a year, but I really can't even allow myself to think about her, or I will lose it. She's buried in my backyard and I put a flower on her grave everyday, but I miss her so bad. For some reason, I can see other dogs that look 99% identical and feel nothing, but everything I go to the grocery store and past the pet food isle, I start to cry. Don't need food for a dog that isn't at home anymore, after all.It took me almost a decade to get her after my previous dog died, but I can't wait that long again. I'm just waiting for the universe to send a puppy my way. If I went to the Pound, I would just adopt them all, so I can't let myself even look. Dogz Rule (and cats are pretty cool too).We really don't deserve them.
>>5055190YeahI never owned a cat again. It's been 13 years now. Franky you were the best. I didn't deserve you but I got to share my life with you anyways. I'll love you forever.
Yes. For as long as I can remember, I've had pets. They've been my family, and their loss has pained me deeply. From 1990 to 2005, I lived with a dog and three cats: mother, daughter, and granddaughter. The oldest cat died from a virus in the water. My family has traveled a lot around the world, and at that time, we were in Ecuador. The tap water wasn't drinkable back then, so it had to be boiled. Unfortunately, animals don't understand that, and my cat (a Siamese named Duchess) drank it and died a few days later. I cared for her until her last minute. One day, we went to sleep together, cuddling, and when I woke up, she was dead. I was 10 years old. I'll always remember that. My dog (a German Shepherd named Chispa) died of grief. We were given a female German Shepherd puppy, but some neighbors poisoned her. He became so attached to her that when we found her dead in the yard, along with him, he stopped eating, drinking, and moving, and finally died. It was very painful to see how he didn't fight.
>>5055779Sorry about your loss, sounds like the pibble was lucky and had a very nice life with you.
The daughter of my first cat (Randoll was called Countess) was a lovely cat, one day she went to sleep and didn't wake up and she was in very good physical condition, she was 12 years old, I saw her being born, the first cat, her mother, when she was going to give birth woke me up to let me know that she was going to have the babies and wanted help, I was very young I had to wakeup my mother. The third cat (without a breed she was called Princess) liked to go out a lot, one day she was hit by a car, I don't know why she didn't walk fast, why she stopped, I didn't know what happened, she died instantly, she had babies a few months before dying, I gave them to acquaintances because we had to travel again and there were a lot of babies, we couldn't travel with them.
I didn't have another pet until 2008. My current cat, Lilith, is 17 years old and has been battling osteoarthritis and hyperthyroidism since 2024. She could die any day now. It hurts so much. I live in fear that one day she won't breathe. She's my motivation to keep going every day, and I'll do what I can when she's no longer with me. But I'm grateful for having her and for the time I still have left with her. After her, I don't think I'll have another pet for a while. But if I have to, I won't say no. I love animals.
Although the losses hurt a lot, all the good and bad times lived, I wouldn't change them for anything, if there is a heaven, I hope I can see them once more.
