Cat Megathread!

[whiskers]

 

[whitetaildeer]

 

[BeyondOver]

 

[music]

 

[ApparentlyNot]

check out my boi
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I don't know where to put this, so I'm just going to put it here. I am just venting so I don't clog up the chat.

Yesterday Bean was given pentobarbital and died. He was diagnosed with osteosarcoma (bone cancer) just last week. I cannot stop crying. My face hurts from crying. My jaw aches from the tension I feel. I feel so hopeless and empty without my baby boy. I keep going outside to sit with him. Where I buried him. I feel like I killed him. I feel like he wasn't ready to die and he wanted to stay with me but I was influenced by the vet and my family to end his life early. He was still happy.

I keep feeling so horrible about how he died. He was given a shot of ketamine before the pentobarbital. The vet told me the first shot would make him "very sleepy" but that's not what ketamine does. I am terrified that he was scared but couldn't move. I am terrified he was afraid of the loud noise when they shaved his leg but he couldn't move. I am afraid he couldn't feel me touching him anymore when he died.

He was so special. He followed me everywhere. Before I moved to this weird town and stopped being a NEET, I used to go to the park every single day with him for hours and we would explore together and cuddle in the sunshine. That's how we spent his last day. I always thought that one day I would hike the Appalachian trail with him.

I hate that I did this so early. He was not suffering. He loved life. The weather just got nice. I should have given him a few more weeks of joy. I just want to hold him. My baby. My little baby Bean I miss you.

I feel disgusting because I wasn't a good cat mom to him. I found myself, in my depression and rage at myself and life, looking at him with annoyance and avoidance. I would do anything to take it back. I hate that I couldn't make it better for him. I couldn't cure his cancer. I just want my baby. I don't like thinking about him in the ground. I feel like he is suffocating. But I know he is gone. But I can't help thinking that. I want to dig him out. I want to sleep outside where I buried him.

 

[Pluto]

He was so special. He followed me everywhere. Before I moved to this weird town and stopped being a NEET, I used to go to the park every single day with him for hours and we would explore together and cuddle in the sunshine. That's how we spent his last day. I always thought that one day I would hike the Appalachian trail with him.

Sorry to learn of your loss of Bean. What a beautiful kitty he was!

In this world, there is no way for us to avoid sickness, age, and having to feel the pain of loss. And when it comes to truly loving another being, it is part of the deal to experience the full gamut of emotion. The love, the frustration, the laughter and the grief. It comes as one package.

I've mentioned my cat before. Regrettably, I didn't truly appreciate her until after she was gone. I came to realise that she was there for me as an unconditionally loving friend when I was otherwise surrounded by abusive people, as if a literal godsend. (And yes, this is also how I became a 'cat extremist'!)

Of all the being I would like to be reunited with in the afterlife, she is #1. If I could catnap with her again, I'd never need anything more. Speaking of which, if you're very open-minded, there have been numerous NDE reports involving people being reunited with pets. So I believe the story does have the happiest possible ending down the line. But for now, the grieving process must continue. Know that you are not alone.

 

[Pluto]

 

[bankai]

Are you really a dog lover in disguise OP. I can see your handle is that of a famous dog @Pluto

 

[whitetaildeer]

 

[L9 CHOCOIRL]

i wish ts was me :heart_break:

 

[CatLvr]

If I put Brad or Janet (my guinea pigs) with ANY of my cats or dogs (except maybe Harvey) they would be on the buffet forthwith. Lol Same thing with Larry (my red conure). He would be an appetizer so quick heads would spin.

 

[psp3000]

If I put Brad or Janet (my guinea pigs) with ANY of my cats or dogs (except maybe Harvey) they would be on the buffet forthwith. Lol Same thing with Larry (my red conure). He would be an appetizer so quick heads would spin.

I like that you give your pets human names

whenever people talk about them by name without disclosing they are animals it's always shocking/funny what is said next because they assumed they were human

 

[CatLvr]

I like that you give your pets human names

whenever people talk about them by name without disclosing they are animals it's always shocking/funny what is said next because they assumed they were human

Well, some of them have weird names but that is because personality traits just SCREAMED their names at me.

The Cats:
Harvey - A Tuxedo I rescued from under a gal's porch when he was a kitten
MissPriss - A Siamese. She was under the porch with Harvey.
Garfield - One of 4 feral kittens the dogs found in my compost pile in the backyard.
FatBastard - Because he's fat. And he's a bastard. Lol He is one of Garfield's littermates.
BatCat - She used to hang upside down on the wire of the rabbit pen she and her brothers were in when I first brought them in the house.

The fourth kitten didn't make it.

BabyGirl - An outside feral cat I feed. She actually belongs to a neighbor who threw her outside a short time after they got her and just basically abandoned her. I hate people.
Violet - She belonged to a guy, his wife and 2 little girls down the street. They gave her to FIL/Dad and his wife when life got a little too overwhelming. Because she was basically the little girls' baby doll she doesn't know how to jump and expects to be picked up and carried like a baby EVERYWHERE. Plus she likes to give "kisses" and it was driving my friend NUTS because she wanted to rub her face in his beard ALL the time and would get cat hair and slobber all over his face! Lol

The Dogs:
Dawg - A rescue. Kinda. Haha! He followed Nero (RIP baby) and me home from the lake we live near. He was guarding a picnic table. And wouldn't let us go past it. Lol Have no idea why he decided it was a good idea to follow the crazy lady who was threatening to shoot him and her 95 pound German Shepherd home.
Snoop - Another rescue. A friend found him, starving, in the back of his acreage. Someone had dumped him. Another friend suggested we name him "Snoop" so when the dogs got out we could holler "Snoop Dawg!!" to get them to come back. Haha!

The Guinea Pigs:

Brad and Janet - The little girls next door wanted a capybara. Apparently grandma has a herd of them on her land in Mexico. Mom So they decided they wanted a guinea pig. Mom said no. Their cousin had a guinea pig he didn't want anymore. So I am just the surrogate mom (yeah, right, lol). Guinea pigs are like most animals and actually do a lot better if they have a buddy. And Rocky Horror Picture Show is a MUST watch around here ... So ... Brad and Janet are named after Brad and Janet in the movie.

The Birds:

MommaBird - One of three chickens I keep for eggs. She is the biggest and most protective.
Lisa and Harriett - the other two chickens. I have had these three girls about 5-6 years now.
Donald, Daisy, Duke, and Mary - the ducklings I got so the neighbor kids could learn a little bit about farm life.
Larry (Bird) - a Red Conure parrot. He's kinda a rescue. Guy got him and due to life changes needed to find a home for him.

The Plants:

OMG, you guys don't even want to know. I counted the other day and I have over 200 species of plants -- in the living room, in the kitchen, in the bathroom. Oh my word, like EVERYWHERE. I'm not even gonna talk about the propagation I have going here and there -- little branches that accidently broke off now sticking in water so roots can grow. Little corms I found when repotting some alocasia. Things I deliberately separated so I could get more plants.

Needless to say, my husband "might" be beside himself. Lol But you know what?? ALL these guys are good for both my physical and mental health. No matter how bad I feel, I HAVE to take care of my "kids". Because of the diversity of my ... Ahem ... Children ... Lol ... I have to regularly do movements that are important to my physical health (stretching, reaching, lifting, etc.) whether I feel like it or not.

And finally they make me happy!! I have always enjoyed the company of nature more than the company of people. And every single day I get closer to my "time". I have spent my entire life doing other peoples' bidding. First my parents, then my kids (which I do not begrudge for ONE SECOND. They were such a blessing!), then my husband.

It is MY turn now. And the more I step out of the roles everyone else seems to think I have to fill so THEY can be happy, the closer I get to what I am supposed to be. And the happier and happier I get. Imagine that!!

I will NEVER be able to return the favor to SaSu, it's members and moderators. This site gave me my life back.

 

[darksouls]

the happy cat

 

[The Actual Devil]

Here's something I've never done before.

This little girl was my cat. She had the softest, silkiest fur imaginable. She would meow to come in, then she'd come and jump up on the desk to sit beside me. There was also a chair so she could sleep next to me. While the rest of the family was endlessly belittling me, she was the only one who felt love for me. She passed away about a decade ago but I still think about her.

I know you made this a couple of years ago, and I hope you don't mind me quoting it. I felt this beautiful, perfect epitaph in my bones. My kitty survived the worst part of my life with me, and it meant so much that he was there. Such a precious thing, the unconditional love of a little furry best friend. So in tune when we are suffering, and so willing to help share the burden of every pain.

I was starting to move on in my life and do a little better when I got his cancer diagnosis. Incurable. He hung on for a little longer than expected, but it was still a tragedy. He was so very young, and he loved life. I tried my best to give him all I could for his remaining time. It was my fault he got cancer, though, and between the guilt and mourning, it was so difficult. I begged the universe to let me trade places with him. And all throughout, the only thing he did was love. Love naps, love food, love pats, love walks, love everyone, love me...

When I lost nearly everything a few years ago, I still had him.
But when I lost him, I lost everything.
It.
Sucked.
And like you, the weight of it all wasn't felt until he was gone.

Rest In Peace, Samael.

---

On a lighter note, Pluto (and whoever else may read this), I want to share something uplifting with you. There's been a small trend on YouTube for a little while, where people strap a GoPro to their kitty's collar and make slice-of-life videos of their cat's outdoor adventures. Maybe the trend is bigger than I realized, and you've already seen it, but I can't sleep not knowing if anyone has shared this with you.

The illustrious Mr. Kitters is possibly leading the pack in this genre:



But Snowys_life0 is a rising star in my eyes:



And finally, this is how I feel pretty much all of the time:



Thank you for all the cat memes, friend.
I wish you all the happiness in the world, and then some.

 

[psp3000]

 

[Pluto]