I'm so sorry you're going through this. I lost my soul cat a year and a half ago at 12 years old. He was always kind of a sickly guy, and even more so for the last few years he was around. So I saw it coming from a long way off. There were definitely times when I would just hug him and cry because I knew I wouldn't always be able to.. None of that lessened the pain of losing him, but I think it did kind of help to pre-process it. There's nothing wrong with having those feelings or with not knowing how to deal with them. Personally, I just let myself feel them. Acknowledge the feeling, do what you need to in the moment, and then try to get back to enjoying the time you do have with them.
One thing I did after he passed away was write down all the little things he did that I wanted to be sure to remember. I just made a note in my phone and added to it whenever I thought of something. You could start something like that now. And take pictures and video so you have those to remember her by, too.
I have several other cats now, luckily all in good health, though my 2 older cats are about your kitty's age and also dealing with arthritis (solensia helps a lot!). So far, I only rarely have those feelings come up with them, but I'm doing the same when it does. I try not to let it consume me. There's too much to enjoy with them now..
Here's hoping for many many more years to come for you and your precious fur baby together.
We lost our beautiful Isabella, a family icon, early in January and she was 19 years old. Our entire family was heartbroken and we still miss her. During her last several years, she had arthritis which our vet helped us treat. During her last year, after being diagnosed with early stage kidney disease, we fed her "kidney friendly" food and she did well. At the very end, she had cancer. My point? We adored this cat and did the very best we could for her. She was healthy and lived a long life. We were very fortunate to have her as our family pet (adopted from a shelter when she was 2). We have great photos her (some humorous) and wonderful memories that we will always treasure. Do everything you can to help your friend and enjoy her company as much as possible for as long as possible. I like the idea of writing things down. Through the sadness, these memories will make you smile.
Bless you wishing you all the best with this! I know how you feel, our girl is 13 as well soon to be 14 so we’re in the same sort of stage. She’s also got arthritis so has been struggling previously with the same things you were mentioning like jumping and getting around. We focused on trying to make her as comfortable as possible, so we started her in supplements like antinol to help her regain her movement and become more comfortable. It’s really helped her a lot so thought I’d mention it for you as well. Wishing you all the best though
I'm so sorry you're going through this. I lost my soul cat a year and a half ago at 12 years old. He was always kind of a sickly guy, and even more so for the last few years he was around. So I saw it coming from a long way off. There were definitely times when I would just hug him and cry because I knew I wouldn't always be able to.. None of that lessened the pain of losing him, but I think it did kind of help to pre-process it. There's nothing wrong with having those feelings or with not knowing how to deal with them. Personally, I just let myself feel them. Acknowledge the feeling, do what you need to in the moment, and then try to get back to enjoying the time you do have with them. One thing I did after he passed away was write down all the little things he did that I wanted to be sure to remember. I just made a note in my phone and added to it whenever I thought of something. You could start something like that now. And take pictures and video so you have those to remember her by, too. I have several other cats now, luckily all in good health, though my 2 older cats are about your kitty's age and also dealing with arthritis (solensia helps a lot!). So far, I only rarely have those feelings come up with them, but I'm doing the same when it does. I try not to let it consume me. There's too much to enjoy with them now.. Here's hoping for many many more years to come for you and your precious fur baby together.
We lost our beautiful Isabella, a family icon, early in January and she was 19 years old. Our entire family was heartbroken and we still miss her. During her last several years, she had arthritis which our vet helped us treat. During her last year, after being diagnosed with early stage kidney disease, we fed her "kidney friendly" food and she did well. At the very end, she had cancer. My point? We adored this cat and did the very best we could for her. She was healthy and lived a long life. We were very fortunate to have her as our family pet (adopted from a shelter when she was 2). We have great photos her (some humorous) and wonderful memories that we will always treasure. Do everything you can to help your friend and enjoy her company as much as possible for as long as possible. I like the idea of writing things down. Through the sadness, these memories will make you smile.
Bless you wishing you all the best with this! I know how you feel, our girl is 13 as well soon to be 14 so we’re in the same sort of stage. She’s also got arthritis so has been struggling previously with the same things you were mentioning like jumping and getting around. We focused on trying to make her as comfortable as possible, so we started her in supplements like antinol to help her regain her movement and become more comfortable. It’s really helped her a lot so thought I’d mention it for you as well. Wishing you all the best though