ayrton88

Thanks. She's only a year old and has a lot of kitten still in her. Quite a handful.

I feel your pain. I wish I could say something to make things better. I still find myself almost tearing up when looking at old pictures of Joy. I also find myself inadvertently calling Emmie Joy. That's going to take a while. I think I got real lucky with Emmie because she is such a little sweetheart. So gentle and loves play. I still feel bad that losing Joy affected me more than my father. Dad was 96 and was begging for God to take him so it wasn't a surprise when he left us. Such a relief actually

Sorry to hear that. I guess there are some benefits to living alone. My girlfriend is a cat lover as well so we don't have a problem as far as that goes.

Even though I have my new cat Emmie, I still miss Joy terribly. That said, Emmie is quickly worming her way into my heart. I'm so glad I got her. Would a new pet be possible?

I'm so sorry. I thought going through this alone would be harder. I guess everyone has to grieve on their own no matter how many people surround them.

Yes, receiving Joy"s ashes made me cry again.

Oh, I'm so sorry. I felt like someone was kicking me in the gut. I tried everything I could to distract myself but nothing seemed to work. In my case adopting another really helped. I know that is an individual decision. You have to be ready. Being retired and living alone I just had to do something. Too much time on my hands and loneliness were more than I could take alone.

Yeah, she's a real cutie. I received Joy's ashes yesterday which made me sad. I was doubly glad Emmie was here.

OK trying it this way. I hate my phones

I'm tying to get pics from phone to computer but I'm kind of tech challenged and having no luck. Anyway she is a year old and kind of a grey tuxedo cat. Since she was abandoned and ended up a stray she is pretty skittish, but loves to cuddle. Gradually she is getting braver.

She is such a little darling I'm so glad I didn't wait. It was so lonely in this empty house. My girlfriend live 60 miles away and I usually visit every weekend but this midwest winter has been so bad I've only seen her once since Christmas. The cat have been my only companion.

Well, I did adopt a new kitty Friday. I'm so glad I did. Living alone the house just seemed so empty and I missed having something to take car of. My new cat was a stray and was really skittish the first day or so. Today she started exploring and that makes me feel better. She is extremely affectionate which is exactly what I need. I will say it is so nice to have a cat with , knock wood, no special needs. I didn't realize how much of my day was spent dealing with Joy's health issues. That said, if I could have done more to save her I would have. I still miss Joy but my new kitty Emmie is just what I needed.

I surely can relate having put my cat to sleep Monday. She had been experiencing kidney and thyroid issues for the last couple years. Don't beat yourself up about not doing anything sooner. They are both progressive diseases and will win eventually as they did with my cat. I was told the renal failure can last a long time or it can be very aggressive and not much can be done in that case, which might have been the case with Stinky. I live alone and the emptiness is killing me. In fact I am ready to go rescue another cat at my local shelter. I know it will never replace my Joy, but hopefully I can give it a loving home for his/her benefit and mine at the same time.

Thanks for your replies. I noticed in one of the articles you sent Marty, that nursing a pet through a serious illness gets you even closer to them and I think that is the case for me. So much of my day was given to treating her many illnesses. Thank God I was retired and had the time. Now, I don't know what to do with myself. I am feeling some relief though. I didn't realize how much Joy's illness was affecting my well being. The constant anxiety couldn't have been good for me. Still, the pain I'm feeling now is much worse.

I just had my little girl cat Joy put to sleep. I feel so alone. I am a 68 year old man and never had kids so Joy was very important to me to say the least. I can honestly say I don't know if I ever loved anything so much. I feel horrible saying it, but even my girlfriend. I know I'll feel different later, but living everyday for the last 12 years with just Joy for company, most days, the closeness was that special. I have a sister in a nearby town and a 96 year old mother but I don't interact with them everyday like I did with Joy. I do take some comfort in the fact that she was so sick. She has had renal failure and thyroid problems for a few years. She was on 4 or 5 different medications and I had to give her subcutaneous fluids every couple days. Recently she stopped eating so I had to force feed her . Over the weekend she stopped drinking so I knew the time was close. Yesterday she was so weak she could barely walk so I made the call I was dreading. Thank God for in home euthanasia. My heart is broken but mixed with some relief because I knew she was suffering. Now I kind of kick myself for maybe her suffering too long. I just couldn't let go. I'd like to rush right out and adopt another cat but feel like maybe I better wait a little. The house seems so empty.