Re: UPDATE to Prayers for Jenny - She's gone

I was hoping for a better ending

You did the right thing It's so hard. She's not suffering anymore and she got to spend the last years of her life with you! You and DH made her life wonderful!

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...

Message edited 9/17/2008 8:23:49 PM.

Re: UPDATE to Prayers for Jenny - She's gone

i'm so sorry for your loss. you are so brave to have stayed with her. i'm sure that made her more comfortable.

Re: UPDATE to Prayers for Jenny - She's gone

Posted by LittleBlueBug



I was hoping for a better ending

You did the right thing It's so hard. She's not suffering anymore and she got to spend the last years of her life with you! You and DH made her life wonderful!

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...

Re: UPDATE to Prayers for Jenny - She's gone

I am so, so sorry. I am a fellow black cat owner (have had 3 in my lifetime), and it really hurts. I know how badly it hurts.

In time, you'll be relieved with the decision you made to have her put to sleep. My Smudge was a black cat as well, and she started losing massive amounts of weight. When we had her put to sleep, she was just under 5 lbs. Most likely kidney failure as well. But we chose to have her put to sleep for the same reasons you did--to make sure that her last moments were peaceful ones surrounded by the people that she loved.

I am so sorry...lots of and coming your way.

Re: UPDATE to Prayers for Jenny - She's gone

She definitely left an impact. I cried the second I woke up this morning... didn't even want to get out of bed, knowing that the cat that greeted me every morning was not going to be here. I'm frantically searching for pictures of her to hold on to her memory. I'm realizing, only too late... how preoccupied I've been, not just now with the baby, but in general over the course of Jenny's short time with us. I have to somehow slow down and take a look around me every so often, before it's too late again. I know I had some great pics of her on old camera phones, but my pix place thing isn't working and I'm not sure where one of my old cell phones is anyway. I have a lot of pictures of the more "outgoing" cats in my house - I guess b/c they had a tendancy to catch our attention more readily. I just wish I spent more time with all of them... especially Jenny. As I sit on my couch waiting for her to jump up for a rub on the head or scratch under the chin... yet - nothing... no Jenny.

Anyway sorry to ramble. Jenny's absence is clear everywhere I turn and it's so hard. I hear it gets easier, but I can't help but think about her and her life with us. She was a very smart cat, as timid as she was. We were the only 2 people she trusted, I couldn't let her die alone in a cage, but I can't get over how she ended up with kidney failure either. We don't know her exact age - somewhere between 6 and 8 we think. That's so young for a cat. I will admit I didn't think she'd last 20 years, but I didn't think that she'd go this soon either. I know that some believe in heaven, I wish I did right now, it'd probably bring me peace. I tend to believe this is it... and this is the chance we get to choose to be happy or miserable and to spend time with those we love. So it hurts even more to know in my mind that she's gone from my life forever. I hope I'm so wrong and that there is a Rainbow Bridge. Regardless though a huge presence is missing and the balance of my home is so off. I wish I had more photos and I wish I didn't waist time focusing (stressing is more like it) on things that worked out in the end anyway. Again sorry to ramble. All I am grateful for is that I coincidentally got sick on Monday and have been too ill to work the last few days - I could not imagine having to work amidst all this right now. I'm debating milking it today and taking a day to try to relax. All the crying has not helped my congestion and now I'm not sleeping.

Re: UPDATE to Prayers for Jenny - She's gone

Re: UPDATE to Prayers for Jenny - She's gone

I'm so sorry for your loss...

Re: UPDATE to Prayers for Jenny - She's gone

I'm so, so sorry

Re: UPDATE to Prayers for Jenny - She's gone

So sorry :(

Re: UPDATE to Prayers for Jenny - She's gone

You have FM

Re: UPDATE to Prayers for Jenny - She's gone

Thank you all for your sympathy.

We got her ashes back yesterday. I've never had a pet's ashes returned - this is the first pet I've lost as an adult and my parent's never kept the ashes of the dogs we lost. When asked by the Vet if we wanted them DH didn't hesitate so of course I wasn't going to say no. We all deal with grief differently... he needed them for closure, but for me getting her ashes back just re-opened pain that wasn't closed yet anyway and it was SO wierd to see the "bag of dust" in a box... I would have probably prefered to remember her "intact" and running around the house meowing with a toy in her mouth. By Monday I was crying a lot less although she was on my mind of course. But once we got the call the ashes were in - I started all over again. I can't help but be drawn to the cedar box in my living room cabinet behind the glass door.

Do people just display pet's ashes indefinitely? Do you bury them at some point? I'm just thinking that since we have 4 other cats, we'll need a "memorial room" at some point. And another thought is that some day (hopefull long time from now) when DH and I are gone I'm not sure our kids will care to hold onto the ashes of all the pets. We were possibly thinking of burying the ashes in the box once we find a house we want to live in for most of the rest of our lives. Maybe we'd make a garden or something as memorial. I don't know - I'm still all over the place missing my kitty-girl.

Re: UPDATE to Prayers for Jenny - She's gone

Re: UPDATE to Prayers for Jenny - She's gone

Posted by greenfreak

Posted by clwp

I would have probably prefered to remember her "intact" and running around the house meowing with a toy in her mouth.

You can.

This is all still too new to you, you have to give it time for the painful loss to mellow and subside, and for the powerful happy memories to come back strong.

Just as you and your husband are different in how you want to grieve, I'm sure everyone's responses on what they have done with their pet's ashes will differ too.

I've never lost a pet in that way so I don't honestly know what I would do. But I think, eventually, I would want to spread the ashes in places that would make my pet happy. Whether that means my own backyard, a beach, a pretty garden.

For right now, maybe you should put a pretty picture of Jenny in front of the box of ashes so you can remember her vibrant and full of life. Give yourselves some time to make a decision.

Message edited 9/24/2008 9:49:24 PM.