Accidently killed my kitten.

[Motherofcats]

I had a litter of four kittens. One I planned to keep because he immediately became best friends with my four year old son. I was cleaning under my settee, which is a large corner cloth with wood inside. I tipped it up with some force to clean under it and only when Iput it down again I realised I'd tragically squashed our kittens skull with the settee. I am so heartbroken I had to take antidepressants again and I'm crying writing this I feel so guilty. He was such a darling little cat. I'd really bonded with it so much in the 8 weeks it was alive. My son doesnt fully understand death but he saw it and yesterday said "it's gone because of you". I hate myself for this 😭

[kayc]

I am so sorry for this tragic accident.  I assume your son is very young and doesn't understand what he's saying to you.  YIou are not alone in feeling responsible for your pet's death.  My sweet dog Fluffy died many years ago because I'd left the van door open and hadn't noticed he'd gotten inside, he was quiet all the way to work because he knew he wasn't supposed to be there.  I locked up my van, a hot summer's day and worked all day, came out at night, opened the door and he fell out into my arms, stiff as a board.  The vet said it would have gotten over 140 in there and his brain would have exploded.  I don't know why he chose to impart such graphic information, I was in shock and devastated!  

When we do something like this, we feel horrible.  We berate ourselves with all of the "if onlys" trying to come up with a different ending, but there is only one ending and that's what happened.  We would love to go back and undo what happened, if only we could.

I hope you will read these articles, they express it better than I could put it into words, but say what I'd want to say to you.  Please try to go easy on yourself, you didn't know it was there, you never would have harmed this little kitty.

http://media.wix.com/ugd/0dd4a5_e934e7f92d104d31bcb334d6c6d63974.pdf

http://www.pet-loss.net/guilt.shtml

[MartyT]

I'm so sorry to learn of the tragic accident that took the life of your darling little kitty, and my heart hurts for you and your boy.

Your story reminds me so much of two other experiences that are similar to yours. I hope you will read these articles and find them helpful:

Children and Pet Loss: A Family Deals With An Accidental Death

Guilt In the Wake of A Kitten’s Accidental Death