Pepper`s gone

What an awful shame, number. It's always worrying when cats go off and you don't know where they are or what's happening to them. The death of a much loved pet is awful.

Thank you everyone, your messages mean such a lot right now. We were saying last night that now we`ll never know if he`d ever have learnt to open the door to the bottom of the stairs, he`d got as far as swinging on the handle, but not actually opened it.

number

number Another warm (hug) xxx

Oh number I do feel for you. It just seems so unfair and wasteful when they lose their lives like that. He was blessed to have all the love you gave him in his life - remember that.
My lovely ginger cat Dennis was killed right outside our house and I once lost a precious dog the same way. Years later it now makes me smile to remember storming into the police station, in my grief, to complain about speeding drivers. The poor constable on duty was somewhat confused by my tearful babbling.
Remember your Pepper with pride - that you loved and cared for him and gave him the kind of home not all cats are blessed with.

What a sad time for you numberplease

Don`t mean to prolong the misery, but can`t help thinking that I hope he died instantly, and didn`t lie there in agony, waiting for someone who loved him to make it better. Now I`m in tears again.

Oh, number it's only natural to have such thoughts, but you gave him a loving home and sadly he's gone now. Please don't give yourself a hard time thinking the worst. You will soon be able to remember how much you loved having him around

oh numberplease, that is so sad, can relate to it, years ago we had gorgeous little cat "Kitty" she got run over and dragged herself home, called vet out, enormous bill but I got phone call to say they could save her but she would be incontinent so had difficult decision to make and let her go but please try not to feel too upset as you gave the little cat a lovely life.

number It is most probable that Pepper knew little about being hit. He would have been stunned. I can feel your pain. Such thoughts are part and parcel of loving and losing. I wish that I could put a comforting arm around your shoulders. I'm sending my love.

Pet bereavement follows well trodden paths as does bereavement of other kinds. When I lost a beloved dog that had had one vet tell me she was going to die, then another one tell me the first vet was wrong [only to find that the first vet had been right] I went through times of hating one of the vets at each given moment. This, it apears, is quite normal. We also blame ourselves for whatever happens to our pets because we feel they are totally dependant upon us. That is true, up to a point, but not with cats who are their own masters. As I've said before I kept a cat in the house for 7 years even though he was desperate to go outside, and I wish more than anything that I'd've given him his freedom, even though he was a burmese and they have no road sense [or any sense of preservation] whatsoever. Freedom is everything to a cat but that freedom comes with risks. I don't know what happened but, had he not been killed intantly I think he would have dragged himself to somewhere, possibly where no one would have found him. I had a cat that broke it's leg after being hit by a car and somehow managed to get home and climb up a six foot fence to get back into our garden. I'm sure he didn't suffer, numberplease [another hug]....

Don't beat yourself up, number. You made Pepper a very contented cat for as long as you had him and you were happy knowing him. You are better off knowing what happened than waiting and waiting and not knowing which happened to me when my lovely and affectionate black cat disappeared without trace in Kenya. Was it a leopard or did he go off somewhere to die alone? I was ill with worry and missing him - used to catch a glimpse of a black cushion out of the corner of my eye and think fleetingly that it was Soppy come home, but it never was.

number, I know how you loved your wee cat - and he knew it too. He was loved so much and had a great life with you. He lived for his moments, and was happy. You made his life happy because you rescued him, fed him well and did everything that any responsible, caring person would do. I know how you're feeling. xx

I thought I`d posted on here earlier, but obviously not. You really are a lovely lot on here, I appreciate all your messages, thank you xx