Losing my first fur baby.

Last week was a rough one....After 15 years of companionship, I made the difficult choice to have my cat, Cleopatra put to rest. She had been degrading for some time and I was in denial to the extent of her quality of life. The week before her passing, there were too many signs to ignore. I made the call to the vet and scheduled what I feared would be her final visit.

Though hard for me, explaining this to my 4 year old was a challenge. So, off to Facebook I went to my incredible mommy group. I posted asking for advice and an angel from Louisiana responded. She is a grief counselor at a hospice center. Even though this was not a human family member, it was a member of our family nonetheless. This is what she told me I should tell him, "Jesus took kitty home today n kitty is no longer sick. Mommy is sad because I loved her w all my heart and wished she could have stayed but God made her well in heaven. Keep it real. Keep it honest". That is almost verbatim what I told him, adding in that we still have 2 other wonderful kitties who need our love. He got this gigantic smile on his face! He just understood she was in a better place.

The next morning, Myles made the point to explain to our other cat, Voodoo that Cleo had gone to heaven. That he would join her there some day, we all would. But for now, she can eat anything she wants without being sick, sleep on any bed without having to move, and talk to Jesus whenever she wants. He further explained, "you still have me, Mommy, Daddy, Joel and Moose (other cat). We love you." Tears flooded my eyes and I looked at my amazing little boy whose faith was so strong that he never doubted for a second. I am so blessed!

Needless to say, my eating was a little rough for a couple days. I am still feeling sad and a little lost without her. A little fur baby who fit into the palm of my hand is November 1998 is now gone. I'll miss her snuggles and meow. Thankful to have had her for the 15 years I did.

Promise next week's blog will be more uplifting, but my blog is real. Reality is, we lose our loved ones. Even our fur babies....