Anticipatory grief

[LisaD537]

I have just learned my first cat and my heart has terminal cancer.   We don’t know what type yet but based on how many places the masses are located it is something aggressive.   We have been treating him for bladder cancer and this finding was totally unexpected.     I was so hopeful we had much more time but it may not be only weeks.       I am devastated and inconsolable.   Eating is so hard.      I just lost our other cat in August unexpectedly.    We had to make a decision at the ER vet on the spot.     I have just been reeling from his loss. His name was Tanner.    My remaining cat is named Junebug .   We so so bonded and I cannot imagine life without him.       Finding people who get it has been very helpful.      Thanks for listening. 

[MartyT]

I'm so sorry, Lisa, to learn that your heart cat has a serious illness that may be terminal, and I hope it brings you comfort to know that here you are among fellow animal lovers, each of whom do "get it" as we have been where you are now.

I hope this article will speak to you in a helpful way: Anticipating the Death of A Cherished Pet ~ and note the links to related articles at the base. ❤️

[kayc]

Lisa, I am so sorry about Tanner.  6/6/19 I took my soulmate in a dog, Arlie to the vet for a routine teeth cleaning so they ordered blood tests.  6/7/19 we got the news he had inoperable cancer, spread throughout and his liver was shut down.  It was the shock of a lifetime.   We want to be here for you, I know your journey will be unique but you don't have to go it alone.  Everything you are feeling is valid, this and the loss of my husband were the hardest things I've been through, and following my loss of Arlie, I lost 25 year old Kitty a few months later; I also have her memories here.  One day at a time!

Here is tthe story of our cancer journey:

And here is my memorial of him: