It got me to thinking about pets in general. I know this will sound gross, but one “set” of the best pets I ever had were two rats. I just called them “mama” and “baby” as of course, one was the mother and the other a baby. I could take them out of the cage and they would literally follow me around the yard. These two did die though, because I made a huge mistake in buying two other rats and putting them in the same cage. The “mama” killed both of them, and then the next day killed her own baby. She died not too long afterwards.

I was little at the time (around 8 years old), but I cried for days over the death of two rats! :>)

I was curious if anyone else had any unusual pets that they grew attached to? This thread is kind of a breath of fresh air in a sense as I think everyone can agree that you can get attached to pets almost as closely as you can to humans.

Whenever he did something bad (crapping on the floor, chewing on shoes, etc.) he knew it. He would see me coming and literally run outside just out of view of the door and peek around the corner to see my reaction. It was hilarious.

He also had a habit of running in circles around little kids, and then nipping at their heels. The Vet told me this was a good sign actually, as it was in his blood to “herd” things. He told me I just needed to train him, but not to scold him about his running or nipping as they were hereditary traits.

I have not had a dog since—but always remember that dog–in many ways he was one of the best friends I have ever had in my life.

Hope you do have your Bastet for years to come.

Losing them is so hard. I had to put my childhood dog companion to sleep before I went off to the university. Chip made the third cat to die since our marriage. It never gets any easier. But for all that, I’m completely grateful for the love and memories our critters have given us.

Samantha. We buy urinary health cat food too. We also found that some wet food is good to feed them. A vet suggested that actually putting water in with their dry food is good too. Basically increase the critter’s water intake. Makes sense.

I remember, when I was little and went to church all the time, that there was some debate regarding whether animals went to heaven or not.. if they had “souls” or not. I remember thinking how ridiculous that was. I didn’t think it was fair and wanted my pets to be in heaven too.

You are right when you wrote:
“A desire for something permanent that you can rely on, no matter what happens in this life. It’s part of why religions have always been, and always will be, part of human life.”

I think it IS human nature. We DO want to think we go on… or our loved ones go on…. and that we will see them again. Oddly enough, it was this same sense of “permanence” that led me to not believe in heaven. I couldn’t fathom how anyone who didn’t make the cut, would have to suffer in hell for all eternity.

~smj

PS – 1 of my cats died from Urinary tract blockage – and I heard that was fairly common with male cats especially. Since then, I always buy the cat food that says it “helps maintain urinary tract health by reducing urinary pH.”

We shed many tears. The digging was a good thing to do. Somehow the hard work just helps. We also had a nice dinner and some wine with which we drank a toast in her memory.

My daughter is working on an online album of Chip’s life. Lots of pictures.

Eve is so right. We know our hearts will be broken again. But death is a part of life and so we go on.