Grieving Lost Pets

In the course of my 35 years, and especially in the last 5 years, I feel like I have gotten to know grief very well. My perception of it has changed drastically and most importantly I've realized that whether we like it or not we will live with grief for the rest of our lives. It's not something we "get over" or a phase that finally ends, rather it takes many forms, sometimes its a storm and sometimes the waves rush in around us warm and gentle. In navigating grief for the umpteenth time, I realized how helpful it was to connect with others who are grieving. In sharing the ways I honored my babies after they passed I recognized how much I could help others weather their storms.

Cat Fur Memorial Felt Kitty Pattern

Our pet's grieve too. Psyche really missed her brother after he passed, so I designed this little sleeping kitty pillow as a place to put some of his fur, so his little sister could snuggle and chomp him again.

You realize all you have left of them are memories...

Bright living room with modern inventory
Bright living room with modern inventory
Bright living room with modern inventory
Bright living room with modern inventory

I made this journal first and foremost for myself. After Mogget passed I scrolled through my entire picture gallery on my phone, a vast amount of pictures that went back to around 2016, but I had ZERO pictures of him as a kitten. He came home in 2007! I was 17, cell phones had cameras but those pictures were terrible quality at best and when you got a new phone you lost them all. For someone whose photo gallery is full of her cats, I was disappointed by how many pictures I had of him. There were hundreds of course, but when they're gone no amount of pictures is enough. The worst part, after spending half my life with my boy, I realized that I didn't have a lot of memories of him from his kitten days. Our first year together was my Senior year of high school, I was busy with both high school and college classes. I didn't realize how important those days were until I couldn't remember them. As I watched my new baby boy grow up week by week, I realized these were the days of Ugi's life I didn't have anymore. I wanted, no--I NEEDED, to make a guided journal for pet parents. Not only did I want a place to write down the stories of Luffy's kittenhood, I needed a place to preserve the memories I DID still have of Ugi (and Calypso, my black lab Keira and my childhood cat Sweetheart) before time could take any more of them from me.