He passed away this morning, suddenly collapsing. The vet thinks it was either a blood clot or something previously undetected, cardiac in nature.
He was born in February of 2022. We had him since August 9th.
It was just a short while with him here, but we immediately fell in love with the little guy.
He loved to play. Any moment he was awake he wanted to play and that’s also why we got him a little brother just last weekend.
They immediately became friends. He hopped the gate we had to allow for an adjustment period, just to play with him. They shared everything with no problems too.
He was super sweet, very well loved and was otherwise very healthy.
Sorry to hear that, I feel your pain… ours just passed 2 weeks back. She was 19. The house feels really empty now, like all the life has gone out of it. They really are part of the family.
Very sorry to hear of your loss. We got our first cat (as a married couple with my wife) back in 2021 and he was 9 months old when we got him. He was sadly killed (likely hit by a vehicle in the middle of the night) after only 6 months. They can be life-changing and it’s very sad when it happens so suddenly.
The only advice I would offer is to try be accepting that you’ll be upset for a while but that you’ll eventually have 99% positive memories. Also, don’t be put off getting other cats if you want them. We subsequently got 2 more rescue cats (older ones that nobody else wanted) and they’re amazing. Giving pets a loving home (especially if they’re rescue animals) is always worthwhile.
I’ve got a question for really everyone in the cat loving community.
We’re still hurting but I assume healing focusing on the positives…
But we have our loving Ziggy here who needs a friend.
Is it crazy to consider adopting another one so soon?
Thinking practically it does makes sense because Ziggy hasn’t claimed anything as territory. The place is still new to him.
I know we’re all different with emotions. We’ve been a wreck at times (most of the time) but we love to see these guys happy, healthy, and playing as much as possible.
Ziggy has given me some of those same sad looks Tango gave when it was just him here, wanting to play. I’m afraid waiting longer could make it more difficult.
This year i was in Finland, I saw people walking with their cat one a line, like I see people in the Netherlands walking with a dog
I was told that In Finland cats are indoor cats
In the Netherlands I have never seen an indoor cat. They just treat their boss as a hotel with free food
The important thing is to introduce any new cat properly to reduce stress for all involved. It may or may not go smoothly but do it sensibly and you’ll have a better chance!
We got the new cats within less than a month of losing the previous cat. At the time it felt hasty once they were home but after some teething issues (perfectly normal stuff with old rescue cats, took a few months to settle) they’re absolutely fine.
Just follow the right advice and you’ll probably be fine. You won’t forget the old one in a hurry but I don’t think that’s the point. You’ll still be giving another cat a good home and they’ll both have company.
You bring up the other practical part of it, that we’re still setup for the slow introduction after Ziggy, or at least we tried to. Tango wouldn’t wait any longer and they were running around together on day 4!
I don’t expect it to go that smoothly this time… we were prepared for 2 weeks introduction time and have everything to make that happen.
I truly appreciate you sharing your experience here. It really does help.
Nope. And it’s not being insensitive. Ziggy needs a buddy. I always feel bad for the solo cat. But some do prefer to be the lone cat. One of ours definitely is looking forward to the other being gone. She’d be happy to be the only one.
But, do find another. The only time I’d advise against is if you want a break from pets. If you’re intending to get another…why not now. I’m sure Ziggy would welcome a new friend
Absolutely! Tango definitely picked us. Notoriously shy, but came up to us immediately for pets.
Ziggy hilariously picked us. He was running from everyone (they had an adoption event) but I pet him just once and he melted. He was on an elevated platform and almost fell off.
All he wanted was pets and more pets with no regard for his safety.
The advice here is really good. I think if you are in the right headspace then you’ll know whether it’s the right choice - in practical terms it sounds like the right thing to do for your Ziggy and family but only you can work that part out regarding the emotional side of things. For us, I don’t think we are ready yet (we have been looking at senior rescues almost as a way of discussing rather than committing) but your situation is a bit different. We’ve also got a digital picture frame going with loads of pics of her on, and that has helped a lot over the past few weeks. We even got someone to paint a fridge magnet in memory
