Rest in peace my precious little one...

[Omega Weapon]

Some of you may remember me getting a new cat a few weeks back.
Sadly, he died tonight of an unknown illness.

It all began when he started to eat less. I knew there was something wrong with him so I decided to take him to the vet. Unfortunately, the vet couldn't do anything but he told me to keep my cat in a worm place.

Tonight and all of a sudden, he started gasping for air, and squeaking with every breath he takes. He did that for about a minute, and then went silent. He died in my hands, I am still thankful though, at least he did not die alone.

I decided to bury him in my garden so this should keep him with me always. Putting him down has been the one of the most tragic thing I've ever gone through in my entire life though. He was by far the best kitty I've ever had, I just can't find the words to describe how cute and lovely he was. Rest in peace my precious little one. You will never be forgotten...
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Anyway, I want to ask you guys a few questions regarding this:

• Have you ever lost a pet before? If your answer is yes:

- How old were you when your pet died?

- Were you with your pet when it died?

- What helped you ease the pain when your pet died?

- How long does it take you to get over your pet dying?

- How long do you wait after your old pet died until you get another one?

- If your pet died, would you cremate it to have his ashes all the time, or bury it to visit his grave?

Looking for your experiences/opinions. And sorry for ruining your day btw.

[Chez Daja]

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.

[Clint]

That really sucks about your cat. Unfortunately, things like that just happen sometimes.

How old were you when your pet died?

I've had quite a few dogs over the years. The most recent one died back in December. I had to have her put down, because the tumor on her back got excessively large, causing her a great deal of pain. (just in case you didn't check my birth date, it's July 8, 1989, meaning that in December, I was 18)

Were you with your pet when it died?

Yeah, I stayed with her in the room until the drug took effect.

What helped you ease the pain when your pet died?

I felt bad that my dog had to be put down, but it was sort of a relief, because seeing her with that tumor, and seeing her in that much pain, believe it or not, is not a stress reliever. It's very difficult to see somebody that you love like that. What eased the pain for me was the thought that she wasn't in pain anymore.

How long does it take you to get over your pet dying?

I don't dwell on the past. I know that sounds a bit cold, but that's the way that I've always been. Whenever somebody that I love dies, I'm down for a few days, and then I'm back with my overly optimistic attitude again. It took me no time to get over it, because how I figure, what's done is done, and I have to move on. Just because I don't grieve for very long for my dog doesn't mean that I didn't love her.

How long do you wait after your old pet died until you get another one?

I got a Boxer in March, so that was three months later. I actually had to get another dog, because my Jack Russell was lonely and needed another companion.

If your pet died, would you cremate it to have his ashes all the time, or bury it to visit his grave?

I've never done any of those. I wouldn't want the ashes of my dog around, because that's just sick, and quite frankly, a little barbaric. It's like having the dog stuffed. It doesn't help with the grieving process; it just makes it worse. I've never buried any dogs, because seeing a headstone every day when I go outside doesn't help either. It's not as if if you don't cremate your pet, that you're going to forget about it. As far as I'm concerned, you don't need anything to remember anybody by, except to merely remember them. If you have their memory, they will live always in your heart.

[Meier Link]

Sorry to hear that bro, it is never easy but like you said atleast he wasn't alone

- Have you ever lost a pet before? If your answer is yes:


- How old were you when your pet died?
Which one?
My first dog: 9
first dog I cared for:12
One of my many cats: 13

- Were you with your pet when it died?
I was with one, it was good friday, I was 12 and we (my step brother and my bilogical sister) where out of school for the day. We decided to ride our bikes to the store to get some candy. We made it about half way there when we realized my dog was following us. this is going to get sad so I going to do this....

SPOILER!!:

We let her come with us instead of taking her back. On the return trip home we where ridding along when a truck came flying past us. I looked over just in time to see my Yorkie get hit by both the front and rear wheels, I was in shock. I fell of my bike and ran into the middle of the street and picked her up, she too died in my arms.

The guy that hit her turned around and came back. He was devistated that he did it, so he loaded me and her into his truck and took us both back to my moms house. Like Omega, I barried her in my moms flower garden, it was the second most painful animal barial I have ever had to do....


- What helped you ease the pain when your pet died?
It took a long time for the wounds of seeing that and going through it to get over it. I thnk that time and knowing she was in a better place helped me get over it. Eventually I got another dog a few years down the line that brought back alot of good memories (I was 20 then)

- How long does it take you to get over your pet dying?
Depends it I have had alot of pets die, only a few I was realy close to. the ones I didn't care for didn't take that long the others took a long time.

- How long do you wait after your old pet died until you get another one?
I have not owned another pet since my last dog passed. I probably would but I have no where to keep one.

- If your pet died, would you cremate it to have his ashes all the time, or bury it to visit his grave?
We have always barried them. With the exception of one.

The hardest lost animal I had to ever bury was my moms cat, it was the cat she had before her devorce and she had it for a few years afterwards and it was my moms best friend. That cat was stronger then any person I have ever known, he was hit by a car and it crusehed him from his mid back to his tail. you coulddn't tell by looking at him though. He made it home from where he got hit and crawled over a fence with out the use of his back legs to make it around to the back of the house and in trough the doggie door to his normal spot in my moms bath room where he always waited for us to come home and find him. He lived for another 23 hours even though his insides where mush. My mom had to make the call to put him to sleep knowing he wouldn't survive. I went to the vet and picked up his body and had to come home and bury him... All while my mom was standing behind me crying her eyes out... It was horrible.

[loaf]

* Have you ever lost a pet before? If your answer is yes:

- How old were you when your pet died? 14?

- Were you with your pet when it died? No, my dad took him to the vet without us.

- What helped you ease the pain when your pet died? I didn't have much pain. The dog was a pain in general but I was sad to see him go.

- How long does it take you to get over your pet dying? I still miss the little guy.

- How long do you wait after your old pet died until you get another one? Well we just got another dog a couple months ago.

- If your pet died, would you cremate it to have his ashes all the time, or bury it to visit his grave? We buried him in our backyard, we moved and rent that house out so the new people living there have the grave in the backyard.

He was a Miniature Doberman Pincher

[winterborn86]

- How old were you when your pet died?

I was about 10 (not 100% sure) when the family dog had to be put down, he had some kind of cancer in the bones, i dont really know much about it cos my parents wouldnt talk to me about it. I was 19 when my hampster died, dont know what caused it tho, I just woke up one morning and it was limping around its cage, it wasnt eating either, it mainly just layed in the same spot all day, then it died the next day.

- Were you with your pet when it died?

I was with my hampster until it died, i sat on the floor by its cage for nearly two days with it, but my dog was taking to the vets to be put down whilst i was at school so i couldnt be there.

- What helped you ease the pain when your pet died?

I didn't really have any thing to ease the pain of losing a pet, I just cried alot.

- How long does it take you to get over your pet dying?

It didint take very long to get over it, i was just a kid when my dog died and didn't really understand it , but it was only a few days for me to get over my hampster. No im not heartless and didn't care, Ive just always been that way, it doesnt take me long to get over sad things for some reason.

- How long do you wait after your old pet died until you get another one?
I didnt get a choice with the dog, it was my parnts decision, but they completly refused to get another dog up until 3 years ago. I decied not to get another pet after i hampster died, i wasnt in a good financial position to own a pet at the time.

- If your pet died, would you cremate it to have his ashes all the time, or bury it to visit his grave?

I dont have a pet anymore, but my dad buried our dog in the back garden and planted a pink rose buch on top and made a wooden cross with a picture of our dog on it, it was a few years later until my dad turned it into a sand pit, i felt a bit freaked out about that, i dont know what happened to our dog tho, duno if the sand pit was built on top or wether the body was removed.

[Unknown Entity]

I'm sorry to hear about your loss Omega... I believe your cat has gone to a better place though.

I've never lost a pet before. I can't possibly imagine the pain you'd go through, but I have an idea. If I think of life without my Rolo, tears come to my eyes. Rolo... ha, what can I say? He has a great scence of humor, and cheers me up when I'm down. He's the best friend I'll never have again if he passes on.

I have heard that getting another pet a few weeks or months after can help - not to replace your previous pet, but something to take your mind off everything.

If Rolo did die, I think we would all agree to have him cremated. I don't think there is anything sick about keeping ashes in your home. When you bury a dead person or pet, they slowly start to... decay, and... its gross. Even more gross when a fox digs up the grave, and eats the remains. Ashes are ashes at the end of the day, and I don't know a fox willing to eat ashes. Lol.

So yeah. Omega, I hope you are as best as can be expected.

[Halie]

Omega, that sucks! You only got him a few weeks ago, too... Well, you know, he is in a better place now. And you still have the memory of having him in the first place, right? Hope you're okay soon.

Have you ever lost a pet before?

Well, I've only ever lost Fish to death, but I did have a dog that was stolen. His name was Pepper, he was a Yorkshire Terrior. I was only about five when he was taken. The worst thing about it was that he'd been run over by a car a few weeks before and had survived, so even after we were so happy that he'd lived, he got stolen anyway. He was a lovely dog... I miss him a lot. I may have only been young, but still... I do remember him. My very first dog >.<.

- If your pet died, would you cremate it to have his ashes all the time, or bury it to visit his grave?

I would bury my dog. I dunno... there's something about burning my dogs' remains that I find disturbing. I know letting them rot away in the ground isn't much different, but at least that's nature taking its course.