I'm so sorry about your cat! I feel terrible for you. Pain of a lost pet never heals.


- How old were you when your pet died?
I've had quite a few, but my recent (and probably most tragic one), was a couple of months back, so I was nineteen at the time.

- Were you with your pet when it died?
I didn't know he was dying. He died from old age so I couldn't have expected anything was wrong. We suspect he died during the night time and I always slept with his cage very nearby, so in a way, yeah, I was with him.

- What helped you ease the pain when your pet died?
Nothing did. I guess, crying. A lot. My parents came home early for me, I buried him in a box along with all his favourite food, toys and some notes and stuff. The box would literally take you about twenty minutes to get into, and it was an airtight one, so I know he's safe.
It helped that my parents cared enough to give me a box and to help me bury him. Dad dug a hole and made a cross for him. He even dug the hole near the door when I asked.
So yeah, the kindness of family helped a little. And crying non-stop for weeks. In the end, I was so exhausted that I couldn't even cry anymore. I still cry for him now and again. He is in my avatar, by the way, and his name was Jari.

- How long does it take you to get over your pet dying?
Hasn't gotten a lot better.

- How long do you wait after your old pet died until you get another one?
I got hamsters about three weeks after Jari passed away because I heard that it would help with the pain. It wasn't like replacing him, but kind of like filling the void of sadness with something that would make me happy. I never forget Jari, or Sari. But my new hamsters keep me busy and keep the memory of my other pets living on.

- If your pet died, would you cremate it to have his ashes all the time, or bury it to visit his grave?
We have a big garden, so we've buried him. I never want to move away now because of him, but I think as long as I continue to adopt and rescue hamsters, he'll always be with me.

I'm not usually sensitive to death, but in the case of a pet dying, I become extremely depressed and withdrawn.