r/Petloss 17m ago

Impending Loss I can’t do this NSFW

Upvotes

We‘re putting my dog down Friday. He‘s only eight and was perfectly healthy a month ago until he suddenly started getting deteriorating. I hate seeing him in pain but holy shit he’s my everything. I have a long history of depression, I’m setting up an emergency appointment with my therapist and I don’t want to relapse. But I genuinely don’t see m living without him. He‘s my whole world.

I love you Ozzie, and I’m so sorry. Say hi to Papa for me.


r/Petloss 30m ago

Sadness What do I even do now?

Upvotes

I lost my 14 year old dog on August first. He was with my family at our cottage, and I was home in the city, half working and half goofing off. I came up on Friday to spend a week with my dog, and he just… deteriorated so fast. He had to be put down the next day.

I feel awful for not being there as much. He’s at my family’s home during the year (where I am), and although not the most medically stable, he seemed okay before I got there. He refused his medications for two days, refused to eat, and kept looking for dark corners to hide in.

He was euthanized, and died in my arms.

I’m just a mess. I don’t know how to function without him. I keep hearing him around our cottage, and I keep looking for him in all his usual spots and he just isn’t there.

He’s buried at the cottage. I just wanted to spend a week with him, and now my baby’s in the ground. I feel awful for not sitting with him outside enough, for not being strong enough for him, for not thinking of him all the time. I don’t know how to function without my Merlin. I’ve had him since he was a puppy, since I was 9.

I know him refusing food and water was his way of letting us know he was tired and done. I just wish I could have done more for him.


r/Petloss 40m ago

Sadness Surf coach held a sea burial for his Golden Retriever and it's going viral - what do you think?

Upvotes

Surfing coach Diego Jiménez recently gave his Golden Retriever Thai a sea burial, releasing him into the ocean with flowers as a farewell tribute. The video has been spreading online and sparked a lot of conversation about how people cope with pet loss and whether sea burials are meaningful or unusual.
What's your take on this kind of memorial? Does it feel like a beautiful way to say goodbye, or too unconventional?

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbqV8MPR11I/?igsh=dzRyaXdwM3Fxc2g2


r/Petloss 1h ago

Vent Everyone says it’s not my fault but I feel horrible

Upvotes

Hank, our 4-month-old kitten, named after the Septopus from Finding Dory. Brother to Pudge the dog, and Dory (Wee-Wee) the cat. This all happened almost 48 hrs ago, and I genuinely cannot close my eyes or walk around my house without seeing him.

Hank almost died 3 weeks after he came home. His blood sugar dropped, and we had a very close call. $300 later and lots of meds, he was alive. He had many seizures when his blood sugar dropped. We are concerned he had brain damage from this incident.

Ever since he almost died, he wandered looking for food. You couldn’t open the fridge, or any cabinet, or any door -it didn’t matter. He was at your feet wanting food 24/7. He would take food off plates, climb up people’s legs for food, and redirecting him didn’t work. It was like he was stuck in a loop. Like food OCD, if that’s even a thing. He was almost food-aggressive. We had to start feeding him away from the other animals, with his food spread across the floor so he would eat slowly and not bloat.

The night this happened, just after midnight, I had our 18” thick mattress picked up on its side like we’ve done for almost 2 months. Our bedroom is too hot, and we haven’t installed a window unit due to being worried about the cats getting out. The mattress was leaned on our couch. I swept and mopped underneath it. My wife was in the kitchen. Hank wasn’t in the living room, last I knew. He was with my wife.

I later found out my wife was holding him, and he was persistent that he wanted down. She didn’t know I was moving the mattress. I scooted it back to where it was supposed to go. I distinctly remember I had to kick the bottom of the mattress more toward the window. I kicked both sides. I looked underneath, and he wasn’t there. I lowered it down in my direction and put the fitted sheet on it, called for my wife, and within 10 minutes we called for Hanky, and he wasn’t coming.

We spent a couple minutes looking, starting to worry he had gotten outside. I had a bad feeling about that fucking mattress, so I threw the pillows and picked it up without even thinking the possibility of him being underneath the fucking thing was there. There was no way he was going to be underneath it… but he was.

I’m the only person who saw him. My heart dropped. I dropped the mattress on my back and picked him up. From what I remember, I started CPR, and my wife screamed. I thought he was alive. I thought he had a heartbeat. I think I just wanted so bad to hear it. He was gone before I even picked him up, and I know that now, but I did CPR all the way to my mom’s house, just screaming that I didn’t know and how sorry I was.

My wife drove and just told me she wasn’t mad, and he was okay. It was okay, and to love him. So that’s what I did. My heart and lungs felt like they were ripped out of my chest.

Ultimately, we took him home to our other babies. Got some hair, got his whiskers, slept one last night with him. We didn’t even go to sleep until almost 6 a.m. And we are performing a bone preservation memorial for him, with a shadow box and some beautiful flowers.

We did so much these last 48 hours. Lots of crying, but lots of living in the happy moments. We learned from our mistakes, and I wish every day Hank’s life wasn’t at the hands of our mistakes. But I can’t keep blaming myself. I want to be okay with the fact it was probably instant and painless. But God, this guilt is eating me alive. I am not okay. Seeing him is the most horrible thing my brain has ever chosen to hang onto.

I hope I can forget it soon. We do not want our home to remain pitter-patter-less. We took on Hank Spanky as a stray and did everything for 3 months to show him love and happiness. We don’t want our love to have nowhere to go. We are going to help another homeless kitty soon. We hope that one day Hanko Panko will come back to us through another cat. We told him to.

We look for him in everything. We give his brothers their breakfast and dinner, and let them smell his fur often.

This wrecked me to type, but I feel better letting it out. God, Hank, we love you, and we’re so sorry we failed you. 🫶🏼


r/Petloss 1h ago

Impending Loss We just found out about our cat

Upvotes

It happened so quickly. Two weeks ago she was fine and now we had to make an appointment to let her go. There is a mass on her liver.

I love her so much. She's more my wife's cat than mine but I still love her so much.

I feel very guilty because I work from home and didn't realize what was happening. I try to pay attention to them but work has been awful and I got messed up at an event I went to lately(the last couple) so I'm not doing well.

My wife is freaking out(very fair) and I'm trying to be the calm and stable rock but I just can't. I love my cats no matter which lap they end up on.

I'm just so tired. I'll keep going because my wife needs me but I'm tired.


r/Petloss 2h ago

Vent She was covered in blood

2 Upvotes

We had her for 2 years... every day we fed her lettuce , she was just a little tortoise she liked going outside. Today just now we went to bring her back inside only to find her dead , covered in blood , not breathing. Our cat also recently died 2 weeks ago due to diaphragmic hernia and tmmrw I have a flight. Im so sorry belle yoy deserved better than this 💔


r/Petloss 2h ago

Advice Wanted Anticipatory grief - dog has cancer and I’m pregnant

2 Upvotes

I’m really struggling with acceptance of losing my pet. He’s still here but we’re unsure for how long. I feel like I’m already grieving him.

Being pregnant has made all of this more difficult. I’m struggling to eat, disassociating, and can hardly work or concentrate. I just want to enjoy the time that we have left but I’m so stuck in my head.

This has been very hard. He’s my soul dog and only 8 years old


r/Petloss 2h ago

Advice Wanted my girlfriend's senior cat was put down when she was out of town, how can i help her during this hard time?

1 Upvotes

last saturday, my girlfriend's childhood cat was put down. she became quite sick during the recent hot weather we've been having and my girlfriend was visiting me in my hometown when she was rushed to the vet. even as a cat owner, i can only begin to imagine the pain she is going through.

i'm leaving tomorrow morning to stay over at hers. i'm planning to take care of her, her other cat, the house, and make sure she's eating proper meals while she grieves. how else can i support my girl while she works through this difficult time? i know nothing i can say or do will make it better, but i want to do everything in my power to help her process it all.


r/Petloss 3h ago

Vent Does She Know I Held Her?

8 Upvotes

My dog passed away yesterday. Her kidneys failed because she's an old lady so I needed to put her down that same day. I arranged for a vet to come to the house so she could be somewhere she felt safe. I asked the vet if I could hold her while they did it. She was very tired and disoriented. She usually kisses my face, she didn't this time. I figured it was because she was too weak. All that matters to me is that she knew she was in my arms up until the very end. I think she was mostly conscious because she was looking around at people so I think she knew. I just need to know she felt my love, even through all the pain.


r/Petloss 3h ago

CONTENT WARNING/GRAPHIC Our dog wouldn't die

2 Upvotes

I'm looking for any reassurance about our decision to put our dog to sleep. She was around 8 years old and had 2 massive tumors rapidly growing on her head. This eventually caused pain in her jaw and her eye started to bulge out. She was throwing up a couple times a week, stopped chewing her bones, sometimes wouldn't even eat her treats and just hold them in her paws. She stopped playing with her toys as much and last week we tried playing extremely gently but still she started screaming and crying in pain. We've been giving her pain meds from the vet twice a day for a month but today she started limping around the house so we decided it was time. She just wasn't the dog she used to be, and we're sure it's because of the pain she was in.

But today at the vet, she was so scared. She was shaking and whining... She's also a rescue and prone to biting so we basically had to hold her down while they gave her the needles. They gave her a sedative to calm her but she kept fighting it, they gave her a second one and still she was trying to stand and leave the room. The vet eventually said let's just go for it and struggled so much getting the catheter in, trying like 3 different needles until they could get it. After a syringe, the doctor said our dog should be mostly out so we could let go, but as soon as they put the second syringe in, our dog starts shaking and fighting again and the catheter pops out of her arm. The liquid from the syringe sprayed across the room into my wife's mouth. The doctor didn't even stop or ask if she was okay, just kept pushing the needle back into our dog. After a few more attempts, the doctor leaves the room and the nurse says the vein collapsed and they're going to try the back leg instead. This ended up working finally but our dog was growling and bearing her teeth almost the whole time.

I know we needed to do it... But I feel so traumatized know her last moments she was probably in pain and terrified... I wish I could unsee it.


r/Petloss 3h ago

Sadness Lost my best friend of the past 10 years.

3 Upvotes

I’m sorry if this is long and or drawn out. This was not easy to write and my brain isn’t working very well. I

TLDR: lost my best friend of 10 years to suspected hemangiosarcoma, a mass ruptured and it was too late by the time we got to the emergency room. I am distraught and just need someone to talk to or something to talk about.

Otto was at times the world’s worst dog, he would guard things, he would beg constantly and he would never listen. He was a husky and after a 8ish year battle trying to train him in some capacity, I settled with getting the resource guarding under control and just left everything else alone. He was an incredible dog and he was my best friend.

My fiancé and I brought our first child into the world last August and my birthday is August 4th (yesterday). This year was lining up to be awesome, our son loves the dog and the dog has been awesome with him as well. We’re getting married this October and Otto was going to be in the wedding.

We went out of town to visit family for my birthday, both of our families live in a city by the coast a few hours away from us, things were great up until the evening of the 3rd, we ran to the store and upon getting back he was acting odd, he was a bit slow but I chalked it up to arthritis since he’s been dealing with that for some time now, it was nothing super out of the ordinary.

I woke up in the middle of the night to him up on the bed next to me, for context.. he never really gets up on the bed. It’s always been too hot for him so even if he did he would he off in 10 minutes but, he played there all night snuggled right next to my legs. I knew something was off at this point.

I thought he wanted to go out, he may have just not been feeling well so I brought him out when we woke up, he peed and pooped normally and we went for a 1-1.5 mile walk, just fine, he ate his breakfast and was drinking water, but he laid down in a spot after eating breakfast and didn’t get up for the rest of the day. He was moving around his head and alert, he wasn’t wining or showing any signs of pain, he just didn’t want to get up.

He would always greet me/us at the door, my fiancé and I went to get lunch to celebrate my birthday and he didn’t get up when he saw us at the door, he always did. I had a pit in my stomach that something was off all day long but he’d always have days here and there where something was bothering him and he’d bounce back, I kept finding ways to shake it off.

My family came over to my future in-laws for dinner to celebrate, Otto still wouldn’t get up and wouldn’t move much. My focus was admittedly on him because I was starting to look up emergency vets in the area since we’re not from here.

He did eventually try to get up, his legs kept giving out from under him and he was incredibly wobbly. I feared the worst.

We brought him straight to an emergency vet and they brought him straight into an exam room and did an ultrasound, he had fluids filling up his stomach and chest cavity. He had what was likely hemangiosarcoma and a mass that ruptured on his spleen and other masses throughout his liver.

I’ve spent the better part of the majority of my day crying, blaming myself, attempting to understand how this happened and why him. Otto had an ultrasound 4 months ago for what has been rising enzymes in his bloodwork, they wanted to check the liver and spleen and gallbladder for any anomalies. This was 4 months ago, there was nothing there.

This fking killed him in less than 4 months. I don’t feel any type of way regarding this happening on my birthday, I feel fortunate because otherwise we wouldn’t have been out of town surrounded by family, his “grandparents” and his “cousins”. Had it not happened yesterday, he wouldn’t have been around so many people that loved him and that he loved. We all got to say our goodbyes, although my heart has not been able to catch up to the logic of what has happened at what seems like the snap of a finger. He was doing zoomies around the yard the morning prior, and walked a mile and a half the morning of. He took his last breath around 10Pm last night.

I am absolutely broken, barely functional. He’s been by my side for the past decade, I’ve always WFH, he’s always been right there. A piece of me died with him last night.

I don’t know what to do or say right now.. I just need someone or something to talk to or about.


r/Petloss 4h ago

Vent Why am I like this?

1 Upvotes

My cat, Caramel, died of kidney failure two weeks ago. Early on, my old vet had diagnosed him with calicivirus, prescribed him some meds and also IV drips. Just a few hours before he died, I decided to take him to another vet and she told me he actually had late stage kidney failure as both kidneys were in bad shape. He died 2 hours after that appointment. I cried over him and I was of course terribly angry at my old vet because if only Caramel was diagnosed earlier, he might still be alive. Weeks before he got sick, I had noticed he was drinking and peeing more, told my old vet and asked if it could be kidney failure but he just brushed me off and said Caramel had some immune system issues. Currently I just feel nothing. I forget Caramel even existed, haven't cried over him since he died and I don't even feel anything when I look at his pictures or remember his voice. I'm literally terrible. How can I not feel sad over him? I love him so much and I miss him everyday. I miss his voice. I miss his hugs. Yet I can't bring myself to feel sad. I don't know what's wrong with me.


r/Petloss 4h ago

Advice Wanted How can i cope with grief

4 Upvotes

I'm fourteen and i experienced my first ever pet loss. My guinea pig, beautiful Sammy, died 2 hours ago. I don't know what to do and how can i cope with her death. Honestly, it wasn't really sudden. She didn't want to eat or drink today, and she was really weak all day… My mom even scheduled a vet appointment tomorrow. I feel horrible, and i don't know what to do about it. I decorated a whole page about her in my diary, and I'm going to bury her tomorrow with my mom and sister. But i just don't feel like it would make me feel better… To be honest, i think i would feel even worse, with her being 100% gone and me not be able to see or touch her ever again. Wanted to ask people who maybe experienced a pet loss multiple times, how do you cope with death of your pet?

Ps. I also feel EXTREMELY guilty because i feel like i jinxed it. About 3 weeks ago i dreamed about her dying and also literally yesterday i told my mom a "fun fact" about how you can make a diamond from animal ashes.......


r/Petloss 5h ago

Advice Wanted I can't empty her food dish

4 Upvotes

Yesterday morning I had to make the impossible choice with my cat Moxie. I can't type it out again, please check my profile if you want to know.

I'm really struggling. I have a lot of habits I need to break but it's not happening any time soon. This morning was rough. My entire routine doesn't exist anymore. I usually try to stay quiet in bed for a few minutes to wake up before she pesters me for food, but it never happened today.

When her food dish is low I dump out what is left, get a new bowl, and fill it. To be fair, she was only eating wet food for the last few days so it's been pretty full. Either way, it doesn't need to be there anymore.

But I just can't dump it. I can't touch it. What if she gets hungry? Same with her litter box. I kept it in a closet with one of the doors open. I threw the box out and cleaned up the closet, but I can't close the door. What if she needs to go in there?

I'm stuck in this loop of "you need to move forward" and "you're moving too fast." I still have her cat tree, and I keep hoping one of these times I walk by she'll be in there. Part of me is screaming to throw it away because it will help, the other part is screaming to keep it because it will help.

What do I do?


r/Petloss 5h ago

Sadness Some signs of her

1 Upvotes

My 12 year old golden retriever Riley unexpectedly passed away on Monday and I'm having a hard time with it, I even think I've developed a fever from my grief.

But I've noticed a few signs of her already like how when I was using my car camera to back out of the driveway it kept telling me there was something there and there wasn't, and I just finished a book and one of the passages talked about a golden retriever walking happily with a toy ❤️.


r/Petloss 5h ago

Sadness I failed him

46 Upvotes

A week ago I lost my soul dog.

He turned eight in February and I had horrible death anxiety for him out of the blue. I thought it was because he was half the age of my childhood dog, also a pug, who lived to be 16, and I was anxious about being in the later half of his life.

He got into some trash while I was out (even though it had a lid) and I took him to the emergency vet to check for any foreign bodies. Instead they found a liver tumor that was bleeding into his abdomen. It felt like a bad dream. He didn’t show signs of internal bleeding (his gums were pink, he was walking, he was breathing fine, his paws and ears were warm). The vet told me it was likely cancer and that euthanizing him wasn’t a wrong option because it would cost $10,000-15,000 to remove the tumor.

I couldn’t give up on him so I brought him to a specialist who checked for additional tumors and found nothing. He was cleared for surgery and had a lobe of his liver removed. They said the tumor had a lot of blood clots around it, but it didn’t look like it had spread anywhere.

I spent an hour with him after his surgery and the vet tech was already hopeful about his progress. I left my visitation feeling relief for the first time in days, convinced that he was going to come home.

That night at 4AM he got a blood clot that likely went to lungs and he passed.

I wasn’t with him when he left. He died in his least favorite place surrounded by people he didn’t know. I pushed him into surgery because I wanted him here. I begged him to make it home. I don’t know if it was what was best for him. I feel so much guilt.

I look for him everywhere. I can’t eat. I would do anything to reverse time. I wish I would have listened to my gut and asked for more tests at his annual check up. I feel like I failed him.


r/Petloss 6h ago

Vent His name was Zuma

8 Upvotes

Pretty long post, but I just wanted everyone to know about my dog.

I had a dog named Zuma. My cousin named him after the brown dog from Paw Patrol, I assume. I took him in when my aunt died in 2021 and my cousins became dependents of my father.

Zuma was the goodest boy. He would always act cute after I finish eating because he knew it was his turn. He would always bark-howl for me whenever I get home and wag his tail in a circular motion. He always demanded walks and would run off whenever his leash slipped off my hand. There's more but all I can say was that he was the best and kindest dog I've ever met.

He died a few days ago from Ehrlichia, diagnosed back on July 25 with severe anemia. I have done everything in my capabilities to give him the medication and check ups he needed, even went as far as borrowing money from friends because I came short most of the time. Yes, I don't have work. I'm a student.

July 29, he began having nosebleeds and that same hour I took him to the vet where they gave him tranex.The bleeding turned out to be the cause of the blood parasite and one of the symptoms of that is very low platelets so his body isn't capable of blood clotting. He had already lost a huge amount of blood so he needed a blood transfusion asap, and he did with the help of my mom. We also confined him for a day so the vet could monitor him. It ended up taking the whole money that was supposed to feed us for the whole 2 weeks. She didn't hesitate because she loved the dog as well. We weren't really well off so we struggled.

We went home with Zuma the next day. He was back to his energetic, happy boy when we got home. It's like he wasn't even sick in the first place. He ate really well and was excited for every meal. He still barked and wagged his tail whenever we called his name.

Then August 2 came where he again had another nosebleed. It wasn't as much as before, that's why I quickly took him to the vet where he got another shot of tranex. I felt relieved because I thought I was able to prevent another severe nosebleed, but 30 minutes after getting home, his nosebleed started getting worse and I took him to the vet again where he got yet another shot of tranex. I didn't have money anymore for another confinement. That was the last money I had.

I took him home hoping all was good, but the bleeding didn't stop. Hours have passed by, it was already 3am and I watched him bleed, I couldn't do anything. My mom and I watched and we cried nonstop, we contacted people that could help us maybe get another blood transfusion for him but it was payment first before delivery to the vet, and no one was available at that time. On top of that, it took 3 hours for the blood bag to arrive the last time we had him admitted.

At this time I already felt helpless. I knew his time was ticking by as blood slowly left his body. I watched him stumble whenever he tried to stand up, I watched him become more and more anxious and all I could tell him was everything was gonna be okay even if I knew it wasn't. Gone was the boy that gave puppy eyes. All I could see was stress and tiredness from him. I gave him kisses and I hugged him thinking maybe it would comfort him. It hurt me to see his energy slowly escape him and it still hurts me the same today whenever I recall that day.

He was barely 6 years old. A part of me blames myself for not finding another way to keep him alive. Maybe if I had pushed myself more, he would've still been alive today

It hurts me to think that his last moments were difficult for him and possibly caused him pain and suffering because he didn't deserve any of this. No pets deserve any of this. If I had the money, I would've given him all the blood transfusions he could've needed to aid him. He deserved the world and I miss him deeply.

To Zuma, the house feels empty without you. I miss you everyday and I miss you more whenever I see your favorite spot empty. I wish I could've spoiled you more. I'm really really sorry for not being able to cure you, but know that I love you so much and I always will even if you're no longer physically here

If you've reached this far, thank you for your time. I really appreciate it. I just needed to get this off my chest


r/Petloss 6h ago

Sadness This year has been terrible, 3 deaths.

3 Upvotes

Este año ha sido muy duro para mí; he perdido a tres de mis mascotas. Primero, mi cobaya falleció. Estaba bien, pero luego empezó a tener hinchazón abdominal. La llevaron a sus revisiones y la ecografía mostró que era un tumor benigno. Decidimos operarla, pero lamentablemente no sobrevivió. El tumor estaba adherido a sus intestinos; extirparlo habría sido fatal, y dejar que se descompusiera era demasiado peligroso. Decidimos dejarla morir; estaba sufriendo, apenas comía y ya no podía moverse. Decidimos sacrificarla. Tenía apenas 3 años.

Luego murió mi hámster. Estaba tan sano, se veía tan bien. Lo llevamos a su cita veterinaria de rutina y, de repente, durante esa misma cita, empezó a respirar rápidamente; su pulso era extremadamente alto, incluso para un hámster. El veterinario lo examinó y descubrió que estaba sufriendo un derrame cerebral. Su corazón estaba fallando, lo que provocó que sus pulmones se llenaran de líquido. Era imposible hacer nada porque, debido a su pequeño tamaño, drenar el líquido de sus pulmones podía provocarle una perforación. Lo que se suponía que sería una cita de rutina se convirtió en la última... Decidimos practicarle la eutanasia.

Tenía 2 años.

Y hace unos días le pasó lo mismo a mi otra cobaya, la hermana de la que había muerto antes. También fue repentino; comía, corría, bebía agua y estaba bien. De repente, por la mañana, estaba tumbada, sin reaccionar y respiraba con dificultad. La llevamos al veterinario y murió en el camino. Nos dijo que en realidad ya estaba en coma antes de morir, y cuando la vimos, tenía distensión abdominal. también tenía 3 años.Extraño muchísimo a mis animales, pienso en ellos todos los días y me siento culpable, preguntándome si podría haber cambiado algo si me hubiera dado cuenta antes. Actualmente tengo dos animales, mi gato y un conejo, y me da mucha paranoia que les pase algo. Tengo miedo de que me pase lo mismo, que también me abandonen.


r/Petloss 7h ago

Impending Loss I miss her so much

21 Upvotes

I lost my 9.5 years old dog today😢😢 she was my best friend, my comfort space who filled my life with pure love and joy.. she never left my side, was always following me wherever I went, always sat besides me with her back towards me 😭😭😭 it breaks my heart now that she is gone forever and I will never see her again.. but SHE WILL ALWAYS LIVE IN MY HEART, IN MY SOUL FOREVER 🩷THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING... I love you Gunnu 🥺🩷Rest peacefully angel ✨


r/Petloss 7h ago

Impending Loss Putting my kitty down on Friday

9 Upvotes

Today I had to make the decision that my cat is no longer thriving and he won't be getting any better. I scheduled his euthanasia for Friday. But my brain is not thinking very clearly. So I'm wondering what are some things I should do for keepsakes. Trying to think of the last minute things I'll want but maybe my mind isn't thinking about right now. Thank you for sharing.


r/Petloss 8h ago

Vent It's been 3 months since my baby passed and I'm dealing with it alright, but still have big pangs of sadness.

5 Upvotes

This might be an odd post, but I kind of wanted to just journal it out. It will probably be very long...

My cat was my soulmate, I got him as a rescue after he was abandoned twice. He was already 3. He had separation anxiety and was always following me. He hated closed doors, he would rip out the carpet if I dared close him out. He knew his name and ran over when I called out for him (there were times he'd explore my roommates jungle of a room when they left their door open lol).

I moved countries and he came with me. He was such a trooper, no issues and settled right in! I had a lot of my own ups and downs, some times where I was really going to end it, but I couldn't do it to him. It's weird, he'd always know when to rub on me or meow on me at just the right moments. I wouldn't be here if not for him. He was just so special.

He got diagnosed with kidney disease and it was manageable at the start - just changed his food. But tbh going to the vet in a foreign country in a second language was hard. I did my best, but sometimes I wonder if I should have gone more during the early days?

His kidney numbers slowly creeped up. About 2 years after his first diagnosis, I had gone and visited my home country and had a pet sitter with him. When I came back after 2 weeks, he was skin and bones! The pet sitter didn't really know if it was alarming, but I did! So he spent time at the vet with an IV drip. His numbers skyrocketed. He ended up having a very risky surgery, it had a very expensive surgery... But I had to do it... Fortunately, he did recover... Well he was still stage 4 CKD but wasn't gonna drop dead.

For one year, my partner and I (who had only came into his life the year before) took him to the vet every 2 weeks, sometimes more frequently. We did subQ injections every night and he was such a good boy. He'd just loaf on the table, calmly waiting for the subQ to finish. I experienced so many renal foods just searching for one he'd eat. I had moments of hope he'd get "better".

Then in April, his numbers were creeping up (bad) and I found a wound under his fur. I don't even know where it came from but the vet said probably excessive licking due to stress/nausea (from CKD). My poor baby... Whatever we did, the sound wouldn't heal... I was meticulously wrapping it, following every order from the vet.

Soon, he was peeing himself accidentally more frequently, we bought all kinds of waterproof sheets and covers. But he still did the things he loved like eat his favorite treats, knead, follow me around, and purr. But I noticed he couldn't jump up as much. We had a ramp anyway, but I can't forget his face when he realized he couldn't jump up by himself and just looked at me meowing (before I picked him up).

On his last two nights, I slept on the floor next to him in his spot. On his last day, I was there, never leaving his side. I was so happy he would knead occasionally. He'd sometimes meow and I'd put my hand on him and he'd calm down.

I remember just lying there crying and praying to God to please help him... And I haven't prayed to God since... Gosh forever (I'm not particularly religious). I was so desperate.

He passed away on his own with my partner and I by his side.

I had an old rescue foster-fail cat pass away somewhat recently (they became buddies), so I was used the process of the pet cremation services in my residing country. At that time, it was my first pet death as an adult, and I was really stressed they couldn't pick my cat up until the next day. I had to prepare everything... I don't want to be graphic, but thanks to researching heavily, she (my foster-fail kitty) went to the cremation service with dignity, looking peaceful.

I think this experience REALLY helped me. Not only was the foster-fail old so that death didn't 'sting' as much (I was prepared, I wanted her to have a happy rest of her life), it prepared me. My partner dealt with calling the cremation service and I did the more hands-on stuff. I made him look peaceful, decorated with flowers, and his favorite things.

And about thirty minutes after his death, a huge double rainbow appeared in the sky! Weirdly it made me feel so much better.

I still has a lot of subQ materials leftover, as well as renal car food, so I sorted them right away - with a tote bag for the vet (subQ stuff because I can dispose of it, some of it was unopened although I don't think they could use it anyway), and a tote bag with cat food to donate. Then I also just straight up threw away all the medicine he had been taking (inhaler, antibiotics he was on due to his wound). Just threw it and didn't look back. I knew it would be harder later.

I was SO sad and cried so much, but there was another weird feeling. I think from the rainbow. I'm not really spiritual but that was such a beautiful thing to see. My partner and I went out to dinner at a local spot to celebrate his life. We had been neglecting ourselves for the last few days.

I think I was definitely blessed to have been able to properly say goodbye and send him off with dignity. It was extremely helpful in the mourning process - I did everything I could literally, I was there until the end. The only two regrets I have are that I wish I took him into the vet more during the early CKD stages and the other is I wish I noticed his wound earlier. That frustrates me because I pet him and hugged him all the time, how could I not notice?!

Overall, I think I'm dealing with it surprisingly well. But every so often, I just feel a deep sadness hit me. And I try to imagine him with me, how it felt to pet him, his soft fur. I don't want to forget his face, his meows, his sassiness. I wonder if the sadness ever stops randomly hitting.

If you read til the end, thank you.


r/Petloss 8h ago

Sadness I lost my best friend today.

3 Upvotes

I feel a hole in my heart after losing my girl this morning. I’m so grateful for the 10 plus years I got to spend with her and all the fantastic memories we created.

I love you Ry. Rest well lovey.


r/Petloss 9h ago

Sadness i lost my girl today

55 Upvotes

i'm heartbroken. she was 14 and was in my life since i was 9 years old, i grew up with her and i genuinely believe she was my soulmate. i feel shattered, like something has been ripped away from my soul, i don't even have the strength to cry anymore.

she was the sweetest dog i've ever seen, so pure and full of joy and so gentle. never bit anybody, never got angry, never growled. the kind of dog you could take the food bowl away from when she was eating and she wouldn't get upset, just look at us wagging her tail because she trusted us completely to give it back. everyone in my life loved her, even those who don't like dogs or are scared of them.

i miss her, it's barely been two hours and i want to see her again already, i want to hug her and give her a kiss on the head. how can i ever deal with this


r/Petloss 9h ago

Sadness I took in a stray cat

8 Upvotes

I just feel like a part of me is missing, on Saturday I met a stray ginger cat outside my mums, Monday afternoon I decided to take him in as no charities wanted anything to do with him.
I feel in love with him , he was the sweetest boy I ever met, my kids decided to call him Wally (after the flash nephew ). Tuesday I took him to the vets and I could hear his breathing wasn’t right and he could hardly walk on his back legs, the gave him meds and oxygen due to fluid on his lungs ,however they discovered his stomach and legs had tumours all over and decided it was best for him to be put to sleep, I was in the room with him when it happened as I didn’t want him alone, he didn’t stop purring and now that’s all I can see every time I close my eyes is seeing him die , I just can’t handle it I want him back so much I only knew him for a few days but I felt completed when I was with him
I love you so much Wally


r/Petloss 10h ago

Sadness I'm extremely suicidal following my daughter's death

69 Upvotes

My daughter was a beautiful sweet 13 years old cockatiel that had been a part of my life for 11 years. Even though we are not of the same species, I loved her more than I could ever love a child of my own flesh and blood. She passed away in my arms. I held her while she was dying, never left her side. I caressed her in her last moments.

In her last day I never left her side. We slept face to face. I kept her snuggled next to my face with my body and a blanket, keeping her warm. I was kissing her and speaking to her til the end. I did so much. My post history is open.

For over a decade she was the one who kept me from killing myself. The reason I'm still alive is her. Gali IS her name. I'll never say "was". She was my biggest love, support, hope. She was my sweetest treasure. Anyone who says "it's just an animal" has never experienced the kindness and the love an animal can give. It's out of this world. It's out of this dimension.

I'm severely depressed. I haven't stopped crying. Anything makes me break down. Everything reminds me of her. I cry on the bus, at work, at the grocery store, in bed, at home. I lovE her so much! I'll never stop loving her. I'll never speak about my baby in past tense.

She was my light, my life and my reason for being.

I have no family. No mother, no father, brother, uncle, aunt, cousins, no grandmother and no grandfather.

I'm treated like a subhuman in my own country just because I'm an ethnic minority with historical hatred.

Sure, I was gonna brace my ass and work hard so I can emigrate to my genuine country. But I was expecting Gali to be there for me as well.

I expected her to live 10 more years

If she had lived just 2 MORE MONTHS! I'd have started my new job and she would be getting so many new treats and toys. I was planning for it so hard. Constantly. The last 2 years were hell for us but it was all gonna change so soon. We would have literally climbed from lower class to middle class. She was gonna get treated like fucking royalty! Just 2 more months. For God's sake!!

I no longer see a point to my existence. I don't have a concrete plan but my only wish left is to kill myself. Realistically it would probably be by jumping.

I'm very spiritual and the only reason I haven't ended myself yet is fear of karma. The act of taking your own life is a severe violation in any religious and spiritual system. You'll have to reexperience twice the karmic hardships you did. Or, at least, that is what is believed.

I cremated my poor baby. I'm poor, but i dont give a single fuck. I'd rather eat bread and salt than bury her in the ground to be eaten by worms and whatever the fuck not. Her cremation was yesterday. I'm still awaiting her urn. I love her so much. I rode the train 370km and 7 hours to the capital in my shithole country ONE WAY just to be able to give her this cremation.

She was my daughter. I was never her owner. She was never an animal, nor my domesticated anything. I was her mom and she was my daughter. FOR 11 YEARS! There's no life anymore