My old pusscat died today

She was sixteen years old and had a bowel tumour.

Scrapped like hell against the vet's needle, and bit the nurse.

I buried her deep in the garden, so the foxes wouldn't get at her.

My commiserations.

That's sad, we have three cats and two of them are older than yours - not looking forward to the day when they become ill and we have to do the decent thing.

Aah, very sorry to hear that Rob. They become part of the family.

Aww, that's sad. We've got three cats too, and have buried others in the past.

Hurts a lot when they go.

Our old family cat died a couple of months ago. His name was Freddy (not named after the bits & pieces England all-rounder) and he was a legend.

Has since been replaced by a kitten called Sabre. Freddy was the sixth cat I've said goodbye to during my life but the feline circle of life goes on...

Eric Air Emu wrote:Freddy was the sixth cat I've said goodbye to during my life but the feline circle of life goes on...

I'm reminded of a conversation I heard where one person commented that it was tragic they lived such relatively short lives, and another on the table pointed out how devastated you'd be to lose the cat if they lived to 60 instead. True.

That's sad news Rob.
It's amazing how quickly pets become members of the family and their loss is really felt.
Sixteen years - a good life.

Yeah sad news, I lost one of 17 years a couple years back and I was mortified. It sort of gets undervalued as a loss, but they can be great company and there can be a proper bond between one another.

Sorry to hear that Rob I. Pets can really grow on you.

Brass Monkey wrote:Yeah sad news, I lost one of 17 years a couple years back and I was mortified. It sort of gets undervalued as a loss, but they can be great company and there can be a proper bond between one another.

Because a cat becomes a close friend. They're so independent minded, that the bond is one of friendship, which is precious; so it hurts so much when they go.

Shoeshine wrote:They're so independent minded, that the bond is one of friendship, which is precious; so it hurts so much when they go.

Exactly right, Shooey.

Glad I don't keep pets.....

One of our cats (called Basil funnily enough) actually chose me! We were at an RSPCA cat rescue centre, his cage was opened up, and he walked out and settled himself around my neck!

Aye, sad news RobI ... cats really do become part of the family and when they go it really does leave a massive void.

We've had 8 in total over the years, in pairs mainly. Of the 8, two got run over, one went walkabout and never returned, and the other four lived to ripe old ages before humanely going to meet the Cat Almighty!
Old Max (a rescue cat, now 15) tolerated my crazy black Lab bitch for 11 years before peace finally reigned when she died 2 years ago ... but the old chap's now thinning out as a liver ailment slows him down, though he still gives the neighbour's 5 year old tom a decent sparring match when they meet!
Funnily enough, the vet gave him 6 months to live when he was first diagnosed with the liver problem ... and that was 14 months ago!!
Go Max!

Batman wrote:Glad I don't keep pets.....

I can understand why you say that, but the pleasure it gives you during their lives outweighs the pain of when they die. What was the wonderful comment made a British ambassador? "Grief is the price we pay for love".

Sad to hear that, Rob.

They do in a sense live on, as long as you remember them. (Though I know that sounds trite!)

The immsdiate answer might be to get another. Not to supplant, but renew. ...

My cat was 17 when he was put down, last month

16 years is a bloody huge slice of your life.

That's the thing, they're with you day in day out for that amount of time. You have to look after them, they give you attention and vice versa and the mateship is quality. Captain (as mine was known) used to chat when you chatted to him and then some, it's almost like you can understand each other.

Sad news man, sorry to hear that.

Had a cat die last year from cancer that was only with us for a year, the worst thing is that he was by a country mile the greatest cat that we have ever had, and we've had a shitload of cats. He made it his mission to follow you around on a 24 hour basis and purr as loud as he could, if I left the door open when going for a piss then he would come in and purr. Bless the little qunt.

Anyway yeah, RIP.

Brass Monkey wrote:it's almost like you can understand each other.

You can do to a fair extent if you "speak cat" to them. It always amazes me that people can keep a pet of inferior intelligence to a human, and then expect the animal to understand us. But learning how cats communicate with each other is so rewarding - understanding the position of the tail, what the different facial movements mean and so on. I've had lovely "conversations" with slow blinks with my cats.

Mostly cat people here, eh? Me, I prefer dogs any time.

furriner wrote:Mostly cat people here, eh? Me, I prefer dogs any time.

It's just the way it's worked out for me. I grew up with dogs, but I'm working away a lot, and keeping a dog would be unfair on it, hence having cats now. I like both.