Thinking of Oreo

[Oreo1111]

One of our beloved girls, Oreo, passed away the night of Thanksgiving. She had only just turned 5 and it was a complete shock. We rushed to the emergency vet... even though I was holding her the whole time, I couldn't really accept that she was gone until the doctor confirmed it. We were told it was likely a hereditary heart or neurological condition. She had no signs and the vets never caught a heart murmur.

Life has been incredibly stressful since. Some days I feel okay. Most days I feel like I am hanging on by a thread. Because this family member was a cat, I feel like most people around me don't get why I'm still upset. I just can't catch a break. I find it hard to eat or sleep. I wake up in the night often and check that my other cats are still alive.

She was the first cat I ever adopted in my adult life and I loved her so much. I made so much art of her and my husband had a wonderful daily routine with her. He always wakes up about an hour before me. He would drink coffee in the dark living room, and she'd be right beside him. He tucked her into bed before work and turned on her heating pad. Same deal at night. She was so, so, so shy. And she really opened up in the few years we got with her. In the first year or so she just wasn't an audible purrer. In the last 2 years we figured out that she loved rough back massages & having a pencil run up & down her spine. She gave us the deepest purrs immediately

Even though this pain is immense, I'd do it all over again. I would always choose her. I'm grateful that I can say I have no regrets. I loved her and she loved me. She was happy.

 

[catloverfromwayback]

I am so, so sorry. What a horrible shock, and Oreo was so young.
You've come to the right place. Everyone here gets it, most of us have been through the pain of losing beloved cats, and all of us know how much we love them. (Did that sentence make sense?)

Oreo was a beautiful girl. Sounds like she had a wonderful life with you, and there's the mercy that her passing was quick.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Rest you gentle, Oreo, dream you deep. Your pawprints are on someone's heart forever.

What a beautiful girl she was, is, and always will be. And her love for you, translated and purified into Love, remains with you, to walk with you down through all of your days. But, OH, that sweet, warm physical presence is missed. And I know your loss hits you over and over again this season, as one celebration follows another. It will get easier with time, but the loss never leaves us.

"Once again, as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Will be near to us once more
Someday soon we all will be together
If the fates allow
Until then, we'll have to muddle through somehow"

 

[Oreo1111]

Thank you both so much for your kind and thoughtful words.

 

[di and bob]

I know how much this hurts, and to have friends that just don't get it. But just like someone else's pet passing away, we just don't feel as 'connected'. We feel sorry for them, we feel sad, but just like any love it is [ersonal to them, their love, their pain of loss. I know my own losses were just as deep, just as painful as any family member passing away, human or animal. Your own love with Oreao is so personal, just between you two, as unique as a snowflake. Noone in this whole world will feel the loss as you do.
the pain of loss is crushing, but the gain of love to our soul is so much greater. You said it all in that last sentence, "I loved her and she loved me, she was happy." That says it all........
Obe day yoru pain will turn to gratitude for having her in yoru life. The pain of loss is just so overwhelming, so painful, it can literally take yoru breath away. Try not to dwell on those should haves, could haves, they do nothing but bring more pain. Nothing can change the past no matter how much we want it. Right now it is best to live day by day, always in the present. Just as cats do.
Most sudden deaths in young cats are brought on by heart defects, most nondetectable because there are no real symptoms. Try to think of the happiness you brought her, you were her world, her everything. And she WAS happy, she had love and a family, everything she ever wanted. She is at peace because she carries the love of her family in her heart always. and you hers. This bond can never be broken, never taken from you. She will live on through you now, so send her thoughts of happiness, love, and thankfulness.
At times like these I like to use a quote many times, almost like a mantra, "Do not cry because it is over, smile because it happened."
I will keep you all in my thoughts and prayers. It is so much harder to lose someone you love at this blessed, happy time. It's so hard to put on a happy face. Remember that little girl is at peace now, she would like nothing more than for you to go forward into life and use and share the legacy she freely gave to you. The legacy of love.......RIP precious Oreo. You will never be forgotten, you will always have special places in loving hearts. may the good Lord bless and keep you, until you meet again!