My cat howling like he was hurt downstairs, he was just offended that he could see the bottom of his bowl. Fed him and sat next to him crying as he paid me no mind and chomped away.
Somehow thinking about my cat hits me harder than thinking about my parents. They're great people, I have no reason for this preference, but like, I couldn't make my cat understand what happened to me. Aw fuck I'm tearing up.
Up until 3 years ago, I had had dogs for most of my life until i had to have my last one put to sleep.
Then she showed up as a 6 month old skinny kitten in the garden - meowing outside at me when i came home. I fed her and that was it. Now I would live for her
Black and white cat in pictures is my housemates cat
I’m convinced nobody intends on getting a cat. the universe just decides you have one. I found my fur savior as a kitten chasing a rat twice his size behind a job I hated lol
no literally, i had something happen to me. when my grandma was dying in hospital around 2 years ago, there was this cat who we saw around quite a lot but only really noticed around that time. my family are cat people (nothing against dogs, we love them, just prefer cats) but have never owned one due to cost (no longer an issue, hoping on getting a cat soon). cats seem to get drawn to me in particular for whatever reason, so we tried to get this cat to trust us because he was so skinny you could see his ribs. so it ended up with us feeding him for the next two years and he basically adopted us. he never stayed, he was very content being outside but he did come and see my household for food and affection. he died (we think) the same week i got my final exam results back. he came and went in my biggest times of support
I believe this. My family used to proclaim ourselves as dog people until my mom’s friend needed to rehome her cat and that was it for us. Cat people ever since. I miss that old dude but the rescues since have him to thank for their spoiled lives.
So true. I somehow have 4 and I never intended on getting any lol they all were rescues and now they’re my little family. Plus my doggo and my boyfriend also has 2 cats that we saved and his dog. Together we have a veritable zoo
They choose us. I went to the Humane society specifically to adopt a cute grey kitty and a little slip of a black kitty pushed her right off my lap. That was it for me. I had my little panther for 14 years.
Katya ran up to me and my mom as we arrived home from my mom's birthday party. She was less than a year old and must have been a runaway, as she saw already spayed and trained to use the litterbox. Got her in 2015.
Scooter came to us in 2021. His previous owner, my neighbor's daughter, was unfortunately killed by her psycho BF (yes, big left turn). Scooter could not be found a home, since everyone was allergic. My mom found out, and said that she would take Scooter in.
The cat distribution system worked as intended. They pick you when you’re most in need of being rescued, and they make you think you’re the one doing the rescuing. As time goes on, you eventually realize the truth, it’s you who’s been rescued.
Beautiful floof, oh how I miss having cats - had them all my adult life until the last one passed and we realized neither of us could continue with the physical cleaning even of the litter box. We watch tons of kitty vids, but I miss that purring mass of love! 🐾
I did not expect that huge photo album of your cat to be there ! That view outside the window is beautiful as heck 😌
We clearly can tell you love that fur baby of yours. Really nice photos taken. The video of the cat slinking along the top of the fence is really nice’
It was the same for me. In the worst depth of depression, even my love for my Mom and worries of how she would cope weren’t getting through to me. But my cat did. He needed me to care for him, and he was always there through the worst life had thrown at me, just quietly there, and I never felt truly alone because of him. I had him for 18 and a half years. Got him when I was 12. He saw me through years of severe bullying that pushed me to the brink, he saw me through the death of my Dad, through a horrible abusive relationship, a diagnosis of MS, a move across country, and always he was there. As a young teen, I would spill my soul to that cat, like a living journal that no one else could ever “read”. I told him all my secrets, all my pain, and sobbed until his wee head was soaked in tears so many times, and always he was there. Quietly offering his love, and his judgment lol. How could I disappoint this small being who seemed to believe in my ability to care for him, even when I couldn’t care for myself?
Losing him was almost as hard as losing my Dad. That cat was my soulmate. I thought I could never have another connection like that again. But 8 months later, I was picking up some pet food for my roommate when a small black paw reached out of a cage and grabbed my arm. He was the last left of a litter that had all been adopted except him. He had a weird and goofy personality, totally the opposite of my other cat with his wide old soul personality. And now here I am, living for another cat that’s stolen my heart as well.
Beautifully written, and I relate. My old soulcat kept me alive for years. Losing her still hurts, six years later, but I have a new cat to live for that I would die for. But I will never stop missing her, I feel our souls were connected on a deep level.
I remember awhile back meeting her in one of my dreams, and I remember that feeling of my life just feeling complete again, in a way it only did when she was alive.
Exactly except for me it’s my dog thinking about him just laying next to me as I’m dead thinking “I wonder when my owner will wake up and play” is actually so sad
Okay… I don’t know if this makes it better or worse but read at your own risk…
I’ve heard animals can smell death. They know when you’re dead. I have heard people write in their will or tell a loved one that if they pass before their pet, to let them see and smell their body somehow so they know they’ve passed on and didn’t abandon them.
That said, my cat is my whole world and number one reason for being and I can’t fathom leaving her. Even if she realizes I didn’t abandon her. So regardless of the above is true or not, I get it.
I'm here to say that animals go into a deep depression when this happens. My brother took his own life and when my step dad found him his dog was right there next to him. I found out the next night that dogs can actually cry. It's been almsot 5 years since I lost my brother and if the dog sees a picture of him you can see the sadness in her eyes. Not sure if it's because she remembers or if she is feeding off of my sadness. Either way animals do feel sad and lost for awhile when their owners die. Just wanted everyone to know. And I am so happy that ya'll pets keep you here because I promise the saying is true that the world is a better place with you in it.
For me, it's because I'm responsible for them, they depend on me, I've been there for them their entire lives, and I know I'm the most important thing to them in the whole world. I can't just leave them to fend for themselves or have to start all over with an new person.
This. My cat waits me up every day when I get home from school. She’d be so confused if I didn’t come back to cuddle one day. I can’t do that to my baby
When my dad died his dogs got out and when we went to get his stuff they were both waiting on the driveway 💔
They lived there without him for a couple weeks and would only see one person a day for food.
They never got an explanation, just one day, the light of their whole world went out, and they just kept WAITING, hoping he would come back😔
Eventually they got separated due to rehoming.
I didn't even cry right when I found out that he had passed, but pulling up on his dogs really hit me
Second this, what if they end up in a shelter, or with people who won't treat them as good or spoil them as I do (said by my therapist)? They seem to love me so much and I couldn't do that to them...
My cat (my soulmate cat) died in September. My dad died in December. I cried one whole month non stop for my cat. I still do from time to time. I cried for my father as well. A lot. But not as much. I’ve thought about it. Even felt bad about it. But I realized why it feels so different. I am the one who misses my cat. No-one else. I am the one who truly loved(loves) her. No-one else. My father is missed and loved and mourned by many. His memory stays alive through many others. I am the only living veil that holds the memory of my cat. I need to make up for the billions who never met her. I am the only one.
This is how I felt moving out of my parents house. I love my parents, and they know where I am... But the dogs, the dogs only know that I'm gone and there's no way to explain that I'm not far away but it still makes me sad. It makes me wonder if they wonder.
God that had me in tears when I moved to college, not that I’d be away from my parents and siblings, I can text/call/FaceTime whenever I want.
But to my dogs I was just gone, they were always so excited when I’d come home to visit or over holiday break.
My lowest point during covid was when I was at school and they had to put our old dog down and I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye, I thought he had more time… I still miss him, he was the best at snuggles…
When I'm away from home, my boy goes and sits in front of my door and miaus for me to come out. Thinking of him miauing for someone who will never come back is sometimes the only thing that stops me.
For me it's because they're dependent on us. Like a friend, parents, sibling, any person can sustain themselves, can communicate with others more effectively, but a pet we take ownership of to care for and as result we're responsible for them. We have a greater stake in their life outcomes as a result.
Same. I have people who would take my cats and give them a loving home but anyone who meets my cats can tell that they know who their mom is. I couldn’t forgive myself if I left them thinking I had just abandoned them.
Thinking about the people who birthed fed and housed me my entire life matters less to me than a random animal I've known for less than a year. Amazing child. Your parents are so lucky to have had you.
This is why I don't really like taking trips. I'm glad he finally has a spare human he enjoys in my bonus daughter. But still, that little shit and me have a bond that some just don't understand.
I just adopted my cats a few months before and it was a rough for one. But I came home and started really ugly crying and they both came. They did circles around me and brushed up against me. This cat who could barely tolerate me being in the same room was comforting me. I'll always be grateful.
I've got one worse. One of my cats has a chronic nasal condition so he has no sense of smell so the only way he trusts that food is really food is if he hears us opening a can and sees us putting it on the plate. Once he walks away and comes back, the food on the plate no longer seems like food to him so he starts yelling for more food.
my just cuddles me and licks me and wont let me do anything but pat her then when its 5pm and she is waiting for her food then as soon as the food comes out i dont exist and she goes and washs and takes a nap like i still dont exist
Oh, i know this! That's not what your cat is saying. Cats' whiskers are very sensitive, and when they have to brush their face against the inside of their food dish, it's unmonfortable. Think about it, there's always an empty spot right in the middle. That's where their whiskers make the least contact. Maybe see a shallower food dish helps.
While I still suffer with intense ideation, my dog is my sole reason for living now. He is worth it. He needs me. Just like your kitty needs you. You are needed and valued xxxx
Everyone would be okay without me, but my parrot is hard to take care of. She loves my dad a little more and she’s only a biter with me, but who is going to make her exotic vet appointments and make sure her diet is perfectly balanced and moisturize her feet? Her life is my life, and I want her life to be as happy as possible.
Pay more attention, your cat probably appreciates you more than you think. They just don't show it as overtly as a dog. They're not a tiny tiger trapped in your house or whatever bullshit people claim, they're a domesticated pet that's evolved to live closely with humans over thousands of years. For instance, a fairly common and easy to misinterpret behavior. Does your cat sit near you facing the other way like it's ignoring you? It's actually guarding you, making sure nothing sneaks up on you.
Just the fact that it knows your its source of food and to bug you when it's hungry means it trusts you to at least feed it.
Also my cat. He's been with me almost his whole life. He's pretty friendly, but he has a clear preference for me and I don't think anyone could replace me.
And now I'm crying. I just love the little bastard, ok?
the other day I was really having a time and then my cat shit all over the bath mat.
And for some reason it could have made me more upset, it should have made me feel worse but it was like something in me snapped and I was like “I need to get a new bath mat.”
It was like having that distraction/that purpose for a couple hours was enough to pull me out a bad spiral.
This is me too…my wife would surrender my cats to a shelter. If there wasn’t room at a no-kill shelter then they’d go to a shelter that euthanizes for space, and I couldn’t stand knowing that I might be the cause of my friends’ demise.
I’m so afraid of this. My boy is getting old, and even though he’s healthy, I’m worried at all times. I don’t know how I’ll get through his passing someday. He keeps me here, and I don’t know what I could ever do without him
At the lowest point in my life, I lost my old boy in a horrific way when someone fucking stupid let him out at night, and it’s been 12 years and still not a day goes by where I don’t miss him.
The first six months I was inconsolable about the violence of his passing, and finally I could only comfort myself that his death was brief and he’s not hurting anymore; his pain is over and it’s my job to carry the pain of loving him without holding him or seeing him ever again. Time passed. A lot of time. Then one morning I realized I hadn’t thought about him for like six minutes. And so it went. Just putting longer gaps between the grief stricken moments, and then I was slowly able to be grateful to have had him at all. It was such a precious time of my life that I am grateful to have had.
It won’t help the grief when the time comes for your dear friend, but, when the time has passed enough to pass moments without aching for him, you could still be here for a purpose; you can do it again with another pet who really needs someone like you with your compassion and kindness. If that’s too rough, you could always perpetually help other animals stay alive as long as you can tolerate to stay here.
There are dozens of wild birds that now come to my place for food, (because all of their usual feeding grounds got turned into concrete jungles overnight), so even though they aren’t even in my home and I’ll never pet them, it makes me feel like I’m doing something that’s important at least for them. Every morning I look out of my kitchen window and see them doing their innocent animal errands, and I feel good knowing my help matters to them.
It will always be important to help ease the suffering of the tiny creatures that share this oft-times heartbreaking world; there will always be one who needs you. I hope you can always find a reason to stay. 🖤
I laughed out loud at this. I don’t know how to describe it…maybe that animals are kinder, or that they’re just simple in their motives…But my pets are a big motivator for me. Since they show love in their own way to me, I want to do my best to care for them.
I drove to the coast and do a half marathon and then end things on the beach after. On my way there I stopped at a coffee shop to see my friend. I heard a kitten crying and tore apart a pile of wood and garbage behind the coffee shop until I pulled out one tiny, sick newborn kitten. As soon as I had him in my hand my brain shifted into “help the baby” mode. I ended up walking the half marathon with the tiny kitten and a bottle of formula in my shirt. I told him “I don’t know what we’re going to do, little guy, but we’ll figure it out together.”
He’s 8 years old now and spoiled as hell. He has to be little spoon at bedtime or he screams. When I get home from work he sits up for his hug. When I work from home he sleeps in a baby sling and if I don’t put him in it, he screams. He gives kisses and walks on a leash. If I stay up past what he has decided is bedtime, he screams. I love that furry little tyrant.
This breaks my heart. I just lost my cat of several years. I still cry about her. I always thought on those worst, loneliest nights where I felt close to wanting to do it, I always thought of her and how I couldn’t leave her. :(
My Cat stopped me!! thought I had it all planned out and was going to OD on bunch of meds - as I was going thru my bottles and sobbing simultaneously thinking about what my loved ones will be going thru and how I am not deserving of any of that, my fur baby came yowling and climbed up by leg on to the counter which she has never done before. She showed me so much love and affection suddenly and I broke down and stopped. Pivoted my plan, called 911 and got taken to the hospital.
I am here still because of her!!
That's how they found Layne Staley after he OD'd. His mom knocked on his door, heard his cat screaming, and got no answer. She called the police for a wellness check, they kicked the door down and there he was dead on the couch.
Yep. My oldest cat lives with my youngest son now. Our precious middle kitty (who found in our backyard almost dead at 3 wks old) chose my husband. My youngest kitty is my buddy. She is always with me
My pit bull thinks I’m his mommy dog for some reason. I could never leave him. When I had a compound fracture of my left leg two years ago and was in the hospital for 6 days he was completely lost without me. It really took a toll on him. I also have seizures and I always come around to him frantically licking my face to make me wake up. Just the thought of him licking my face and me not waking up makes me beyond sad.
Meanwhile when I was feeling extremely low, crying in bed, my cat hopped up and pulled my face into licks. Pawing at my cheeks, etc. part of me thinks he was just being attention seeking, but the other part of me thinks he knew and was talking me out of it. It worked either way.
Bro my cat always rubs her head on my legs whenever I'm sad or sick especially when I'm crying she just waits for me and wants me to pet her lmao it's like she understands
I was standing by the cold and deep waters. I was so ready to go, as I didn’t know how to swim.
But then I remembered I had promised to my shelter kitty that she will never have to suffer under hunger or cold streets again. And when I am gone, I have clearly broken my promises to this furball, who has caught so many tears of mine and made me so happy. I put my shoes and coat back on and went to my nugget. She spent the whole night snuggling with me.
My dad died suddenly 15 years ago aged 52. My mother was/is severely depressed and not seeking treatment. Whilst she's in a much better headspace now, about 5 years ago she admitted the only reason she didnt kill herself in the first 2 years after he passed was because of the dog. I believe her 100%
There’s too many people I know that would never be the same if I killed myself. I just tell myself to do it the next day, but most of the time the though is gone then
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u/Xbox_truth101 1d ago edited 1d ago
My cat howling like he was hurt downstairs, he was just offended that he could see the bottom of his bowl. Fed him and sat next to him crying as he paid me no mind and chomped away.