in memory of Pixie
‘Although grief in
animals is not well understood currently, you may recognise changes in
behaviour in your cats, which may be attributed to grief.’
Cats
Protection
So a little
while ago, my cat’s best-friend, my lop-eared Lionhead bunny; Pixie, was put to
sleep (you can read about her death here).
Since losing her, Emmy – my cat – has become more and more upset and distressed.
I wanted to take this horribly painful situation and somehow turn it into
something that was – in some way – positive. So, I thought that talking about
what happened might help others to feel less alone and that collaborating with
Cats Protection, could provide professional advice for anyone confronted with a
similar instance…
A taste of life without Pixie…
It started almost as soon as Pixie was first admitted to Critical Care
on the weekend; at night-time Emmy sat outside the door to the room (the
Kitchen) Pixie slept in, meowing over and over again until I called on her to
come lay with me in bed.
When Pixie was allowed home, the Vet recommended keeping her and
Emmy apart, but I explained how upset Emmy had gotten and voiced my belief that
if anything, it would distress each of them further if they hadn’t seen one
another. The Vet agreed it would be ok to just show them one another so that
they knew they were sort of together again. So, I put Pixie in her carrier onto
the bed where Emmy was lying, and they sniffed each other before I quickly put
Pixie back into the Kitchen.
It ended up being quite challenging to get into the Kitchen without
Emmy either already being sat there meowing at the door or her hearing me open
the Kitchen door and coming running to it! There was one time where I’d gone in
and hadn’t shut the door behind me, so I had turned around to see Emmy edging gradually
and gently toward Pixie who was huddled in a corner under the dining table. I
got the immediate impression that Emmy wanted to say ‘hi,’ but that she also knew
that Pixie was poorly, so she was being cautious.
The absence of goodbye…
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