Grief: Overcoming the loss of a pet.

My heart goes out to you! I have not recently lost a pet, but I dread the day it may come.

For the last 4-5 years, I've had one cat and also poured all my love an attention on him, almost to the point of embarrassment if anyone really knew -- and I'd actually feel anxious when away from home for more than a few hours. I work at home, so that made being away more unusual.

But the good news (and point I want to make) is, we DO have such a huge capacity to love, and loving another pet will never take away from the first....

Last fall, so unexpectedly, I had a little stray cat that had been outside our apartment crying every night for over a week, and I thought it belonged to the people in the apartment below me. I finally knocked on their door and found out it was not theirs, and they told me they had given him a bit of food, but they already had 2 cats of their own. They had gotten close enough to realize he was declawed on all four feet, so his chances of survival outside were terrible. I was able to lure him in with food, and my cat accepted him very well because he'd been seeing him from our balcony every day and saw me trying to make friends with him...

So my heart expanded to love the new kitty, and I was delighted to learn all his little ways and how adorable he was in his own way. He won't let me hold him, though, which is frustrating -- but slowly we are making progress where he lets me pet him more and more, and last night he even slept close to my head on my bed. He usually never sleeps on my bed!

Well, now our story gets really crazy, because my son moved back home about two weeks after I took in the stray last fall and brought two more cats with him, because their owner (the landlord of the house he'd been renting a room at) never ever cleaned their litter box and was never home more than a few hours a month... no way could I agree to him leaving them in that pig pen!

But THEN, his girlfriend also moved in with us, and after a few weeks she brought THREE more cats from her apartment that she was in the process of giving up -- one her own, and two that she'd been taking care of for a friend who decided to move out of state and not take them back! They'd been staying there pretty much on their own except for her stopping in to give them food, water, and a little attention every few days, but never sleeping there since she and my son got together last spring.

Well, how in the world could we take them to the Humane Society without at least giving it a try to see how they'd all get along?

Long story short, now it's a few months later, and after some rocky times of adjustment, they have all settled in.... I've gotten to know and love each cat! My dear original cat has been pretty good about it, though I fear he has a true right to feel REALLY DISGRUNTLED, but I try to make him understand he is still my #1!

They are each so individual and so special in their own little ways, and my heart has expanded and expanded.... now, I am thinking that when my son and his girlfriend move out again, my own two cats (I call them "my forever cats") will seem like a very small crowd, and I may be very tempted to take in at least one or two more of my own.

The point of all this is.... I understand the feeling of putting all my love into one special pet, and also that I discovered that I am able to expand my heart to more and it doesn't take away from my first...

And I think you will love your new little Prissi just as much for her own qualities as you loved your Penny. I truly hope so!

Best wishes! ~ Laurie

My Personal Home Page: http://www.LaurieKristensen.com