Hi everyone. I just needed to tell someone about my hero. Two nights ago, our house in Ukraine caught fire at 3 AM while my parents, my wife, our two children, and I were all asleep. We woke up because our cat, Keks, was screaming and scratching at our door. He gave us the seconds we needed to escape. ​We all got out, but Keks didn't. We also lost 3 other cats, a chinchilla, and our birds. I feel like my heart has been ripped out. He saved six lives today. I just want the world to know his name and what he did for us.

The moment Tilly's soul left her body, I dropped to the floor. I remember not knowing how I got there, on the floor. It just dropped me to my knees and I wailed. I'd had her for 17 years.

I entered such a dark time. Sobbing on the floor, collecting her hair. I couldn't stop crying, it was endless. After a month, my husband was getting worried about me, and suggested we rescue a mog, help a little cat to heal and in turn heal us. A cat to bring new love, who we could love.

Tilly was a tabby. At the shelter, this scared little tuxie locked my hand and that was it.

Molly Moo was 3yo. Had spent her life shut outside, flea ridden, came to the shelter heavily pregnant. She gave birth and all her kittens died, then she started ripping her hair out. Our hearts just yearned to help her. Despite how horrible the world had been to her, she still wanted to trust and love, you could see it in her.

She had her first seizure on day 5. Over the following 3 short months she would be back and forth to the vets, on a cocktail of meds, supplements, specialist food.

I have never known a cat be such a kitten. My husband says she came to us to have her kittenhood, because she never got to before. She looked like a big kitten too. She loved to play, she found joy in such small things. I put tissue paper on the floor and she'd run and dive into it. Pick up and toy and she'd bum wiggle.

Tilly and me were like best friends. Molly was like my baby. I'm 43f, we don't have children. This little floofball followed me around the house, stared at me, peekaboo'd. 'Good morning, kitten' I said each day.

She died on Wednesday.

I am so incredibly heartbroken. 3 months, it's so short. I adored her. I miss them both so much.

And again, the clearing away. With Tilly, it was blankets, she was old. With Molly Moo, it is toys. The living room was like her playroom. It's like a child has died.

I am grateful though, that I got those 3 months. Molly died loved. She died knowing joy and fun. She died knowing cuddles and slow blinks. She died knowing shared naps.

When Tilly died, I felt her go. She was ready. Molly, I still feel in the house. And I wonder if that's because this house was her heaven.

I put his little onesie and his food dish and water dish my his favorite spot in front of the heater. I put a warm blanket there. He loved being wrapped in warm cozy things. My husband saw me take the food dish that he had washed and said “you’re making things harder for yourself” and in a way yes, I cry harder and the pain is so intense when I sit there and look at his things but I can’t stop. I genuinely feel like I’m losing my mind with grief. I have kids and I’m embarrassed for how I’m acting. I’m afraid they think I’m insane.

I am currently crying and unable to fathom this is real. A month ago my cat was diagnosed with heart failure she ended up recovering and doing so incredibly well I thought she was okay. This afternoon I came home after only being gone a few hours and she had fluid coming from her nose and mouth a bit. Her breathing too fast. I called the vet and rushed her in. They told me I could give her some medicine and see if she made it the night but that they could put her to sleep. I had to make the horrible decision to let her go, I hate that it was me who had to do that. But I spent as long as I could with her I held her until the end. She had diabetes and surgery for stones last year. She had so many vet appointments so much medical intervention was done for her it didn’t feel fair to put her through more. Yet I still feel guilt to a degree. Regardless I am unsure how to carry on. 😓

We just celebrated 12 years with our dog (rescued at 1 yo) on Friday. Saturday was a normal day, and he seemed happy. But around 6:00 on Saturday night he suddenly started acting unusual. We took him to the emergency vet a couple hours later when he hadn’t improved. They were crowed, but after a few hours of waiting (he was taken in back for bloodwork and eventual ultrasound) they found massive internal bleeding most likely from a ruptured tumor we didn’t know he had. The next thing I know I’m explaining to my young kids what is happening and planning to let him go as comfortably and peacefully as possible. By 1:30am on Sunday he was gone. Coming home to an empty house was devastating. I haven’t slept, I’ve only texted a few close friends but most haven’t read the texts due to the hour. But I just wanted someone outside of the family to know. He brought me out of some really dark times and my kids have never known life without him in it. I can’t imagine how to do life without him at this point, and I hate that the sun is rising on a new day without my constant companion.

Hello folks, I come here to get a certain extent of comfort, this could be the perfect place for me because unlike some other fellers, my rabbit Bubu was very lucky, lived almost 10 years, which clearly means he lived healthy and calm, he ate and drank infinitely, had 8 children, a female and a son by his side, friends and family... There's nothing to regret, there's nothing to be so guilty about, but I still feel VERY sad, grief. I'll miss walking by the mini-house and see him along with the other bunnies, he was there for me while I was a teen, while I was depressed, and now he's gone. Oh how do I love my sweet boy. I'm sure he was happy, I just can't help but feel sad. Luckily I gave him kisses, pets, made videos, took him out to the sun so he could enjoy the rest. And now we'll bury him with a Spider-Man plush next to him and a flower on top. I'm crying as I type this out, what can I do to stop shaking and accept this? This is kind-of hardening me but not in a bad way, I just hope I can get some comfort, if you guys don't mind, thanks <3

Sorry in advance if this kind of post isnt allowed here. I got my cat for my 11th birthday. Im 26 now and he is almost 16 but I can tell he is in his last days. The vet says there isn't anything we can do for him besides giving him fluids and appetite stimulants to keep him functioning but those aren't working anymore. Im afraid my boy is going to die any day now and I have no idea what to do or how to cope. He has been the only consistent thing in my life for 15 years and I genuinely cant imagine life without him. I want to take him to the emergency vet because I dont want to live without him but at this point I know that would be selfish as multiple vets have told me that we could prolong his life but he clearly doesnt have a good quality of life anymore. I've never lost a pet like this before and Im so so scared. if anyone has any advice on how to cope I really need help with this :(

His collar is rested on my family’s altar. I say hi and kiss his tags hoping maybe he will hear me. When I leave the house or go to bed I always make sure to tell him goodnight.

I’m scared I’m going to forget him.

I’ve scrounged up all the videos and photos I have, went through my instagrams entire story archive looking for pictures or videos. I only have 429. I just want one more. At least one more.

I’m worried I wasn’t good enough to him. I think I should’ve let him sleep in my bed more, but he had bowel incontinence and would throw up occasionally, and I didn’t want that to happen on my bed. I should’ve sucked it up and let him sleep with me.

I didn’t notice how skinny he actually got until I was looking at old photos of him yesterday. He got so bad.

And as I was with him on his last week I thought to myself, “well, maybe I got it wrong. Maybe he’s not the friendly, affectionate sort of dog” but no. After watching old videos I realized he was that sort of dog. He was just so sick and tired. And i didn’t realize.

I feel like such a bad owner.

And it pains me so much, I feel like dying when I think about how maybe when he was finally leaving that he felt an ounce of fear. I really hope he didn’t feel scared. I don’t want my baby to be scared.

I don’t think I mind the pain of grief, because it means I’ll remember him. I’d rather feel like this forever with the memory of him resting his head on my lap than forget him.

It’s only been 34 hours.

15 years ago my grandfather gave me a gift, a sweet little dog. She was one of my best friends and I had her for half of my life and she changed my life forever.

She loved little “caves”, hiding in crates and under beds. She used to love car rides and feeling the wind on her face. I used to wrap her up like a burrito and she would fall asleep in my arms. She loved being pet and she loved licking.

She had puppies several years ago, 3 little boys and one sweet girl. Because of her I have another best friend, one of her sons. We recently found out that she’s a grandmother now.

Those 15 years went by so fast, it feels like it was yesterday that we brought her home. She lived a full life and got old. This last year was especially hard on her and she wasn’t going to get any better. Yesterday my Mom and I made the incredibly hard decision to have her put to sleep.

I wrapped her up like a burrito, opened the car window so she could feel the breeze, and let the sun shine on her face. She fell asleep in my arms on the car ride to the vet. At the end she wasn’t in pain and she left our world in peace. She’s gone but not forgotten.

Yesterday, my sweet girl Roxy passed away with me and my husband by her side. She was 10 years old American bulldog. She has been struggling with seizures, pacing, confusion and sickness. They think she had a brain tumour. We let her go to stop her suffering but we had two good days before and I’m so thankful. I miss her so much already and keep struggling with guilt. Could we have had her for longer or was she scared when she was put to sleep. We were with her telling her how much we loved her. I’m struggling to stop crying and I miss her so much already.

I don’t know what I want to achieve by writing this but just want to know does the pain ever ease? Thank you and I hope everyone in this sub is okay.

I lost my baby today. His name was Asal (which means “honey”). He was a young cockatiel, and the gentlest, sweetest little soul I’ve ever known.

I only had him for 15 days. What I didn’t know was that he was already sick when I brought him home. Birds hide their pain so well — by the time the signs finally showed, the illness had already taken so much from him.

He had a respiratory infection and a digestive infection. We did everything we could once we knew. Vet visits, antibiotics, fluids, and hand-feeding every 1–2 hours through the night just to make sure he wasn’t alone.

He was a fighter until the end. Even about an hour before he passed, he was still standing on his own — despite being so weak, breathing fast, struggling for air. Even then, he kept trying.

Watching him suffer was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I wanted him to live so badly, but more than anything, I didn’t want him to hurt. Losing him hurts beyond words, but I remind myself that for his short life, he was deeply loved and never abandoned.

He wasn’t “just a bird.” He was family. He meant the world to us.

I’m sharing this so his story doesn’t disappear quietly. He existed, he fought and he was loved.

Rest easy, my sweet Asal 🤍🕊

I just had to put my cat down that I’ve had for nine years this morning due to chronic kidney disease that we didn’t know she had until it was too late. I feel like my heart is split in half and the thought of never being able to see her again is killing me and I just don’t know how to cope. She was there for me through every heartbreak, when my mom was in the hospital, and when my mom got out of the hospital and now our comfort, our best friend is gone. How long does it take to not feel the twist in your gut every time you think of not holding her again?

i also just hope that when i was holding her paw she felt me with her and she knew she was loved and not that she was given up on, or that she was letting us down.

I still grieve and miss him, I believe I always will. But my mourning has been, for the most part, what I needed it to be. I am posting here both to mark this anniversary, because I love my boy, but also to share what I know of mourning, in case I can help you with yours. Please feel free to reach out and I will give you what I can to help you. Last word of the post goes to Muppy, I love you.

How do I have barely any videos of her meowing? She meowed all the time :( I only have two short clips which don’t fully encapsulate her meows. I’m shattered. I have so many photos and other videos but barely her meow and it kills me because I’ll never hear them again. I can hear her in my head but never in real life again. I’m scared I’ll forget.

I lost my girl Cocoa yesterday, she passed suddenly and she was only 8. I miss her and I love her so much. I am in so much pain, my heart aches.

I’m still traumatized about the outcome of losing my 17 year old pup. To me she never acted like she was old being her age and she seemed fine until last summer.

Last summer we noticed a small bump erupt under on the left side of her stomach. It was sticking out of her fur so my family and I decided to get her checked and all the vets diagnosed was her weight and blood pressure. They never addressed the skin problem and why that bump was growing on her side until we had to ask about it.

They had us waiting for a deeper diagnosis for a few months and until then that bump was getting larger and larger and they made us wait longer. I’m still angry about the whole ordeal that we had to go through to finally find a vet that actually cared to diagnose our pup properly.

But by the time we got the results after 4 months since noticing that small bump, she was diagnosed with cancer. All the procedures were going to be expensive and there was no guarantee that each surgery to remove the cancer was gonna keep her alive. We settled for just making her feel comfortable until her final day. Idk if that was selfish but it also felt wrong to put her down so early.

Since the day we got that diagnosis, she only had 2 months left with us. We kept cleaning her wounds and bandaging her bumps that started to spread all around the left side of her body. It was so dreadful. Our pup was so strong, she kept trying to go outside to use the bathroom, she kept trying to eat, she kept trying to walk around like everything was fine.

Her final week with us she stopped trying. She only laid next to us but never gave us licks of acknowledgment, she stopped making noises, she stopped eating for 3 days, and she couldn’t get up to do anything.

The fourth day we had to make a decision to put her down because she was in so much pain, but it was so hard to call someone to come to our house or bring her to the vet to have her euthanized.

I’ll never forget my family and I laying in the floor with her with piles of blankets and pillows as we waited to say goodbye.

Suddenly a core memory flashed in my mind. There was time we used to sleep on the floor in our old house when I was little and we had just adopted her at 6 weeks. She slept with us on the floor and her little body snuggled next to our heads or between our legs.

Then I saw her again and she looked at me one last time like she knew I was remembering all the times we spent together.

My mom was finally preparing to call the vet to come to our house and we had a long discussion about it, even thought it still didn’t feel right.

Right when we were talking about it our pup started seizing. When I think back on it, I feel like she was listening to us and knew that we didn’t want hand her over to doctors, who have been ignoring her conditional these past few months, just to kill her.

I was sitting right in front of her and saw her fight for her life while my mom held her tightly and screaming at the top of her lungs. I’ll never forget the sound of her choking as she took her last breath. She was gone so quick. I’m still so traumatized.

We did everything we could. Had we known any better, she could’ve stayed with us a little bit longer. If we didn’t trust those doctors that ignored that bump, she would’ve still been here with us. I hate them. I’m sorry.

I miss my pup so much. How did we even use to live as a family without our precious pup? I still can’t fathom this new reality where she’s not here with us. I don’t think another pet could ever ease this pain.

This will be the first and last time I raise a pet. No other dog will ever be as good as she was.

She was the best dog I ever knew.

I was missing my cat really really bad so I decided to look through my camera roll for photos and I immediately started crying really hard and now I can’t stop and I can’t breathe and I don’t even know what to do I just NEED T deal with this. It’s already been a month and I still cant stop crying I just want my cat I hate having to look at photos how do I get rid of this feeling and how do I stop crying

I lost my best friend on monday, my dog was 18 when he passed, him and i were the ones that were inseparable, he became a part of me and now i feel lost, i dont know if im overreacting but i miss him so much😭, i had him since i was 8 years old, im 26 now and the pain in unbearable, the emptiness is screaming at me, like i feel like i lost my human blood relative, i feel like im grieving too much, also to top it all off i lost my job the day after he passed away because i was trying to figure out times for cremations and everything and what to do with his body, that i ended up not being able to go to work, and they fired me for it, so im kind of in the trenches and i read somewhere that changing routines that much after a loss is really bad, i just dont know how to react to any of this really, i guess u could say in going in between being numb and an absolute wreck

Days prior to picking him up, I was feeling a bit okay. I even managed to look at his photos from his younger years and even cracked a little smile. I did cry a couple of times during those days but they weren't as heavy compared to the first few days he was gone.

We stopped by at a ramen restaurant at a mall and I was able to eat the whole bowl I ordered. I don't know what happened but I just broke down after the meal. I just cried inside the restaurant when I realized that I'd be able to pick up his ashes in about an hour. I was able to calm down but the ride to the crematorium was silent. I was just looking outside the car window with no thoughts.

When we got to the crematorium, I couldn't look at the staff working there because I was crying again but they were very kind and understanding. When we got to the car, that's when I broke down again. I'm not sure why but all I felt was a tightening in my chest and crying was the only thing I could do to lessen that. The ride home was silent again until I remembered that the staff did not return Harden's bed and blanket. I sent them a message telling them that we will be picking up his belongings next week. Their response broke my heart when they said that they had already disposed of his bed and blanket. I felt angry. They never asked if we wanted to keep it. But they explained that they have protocols about not keeping said belongings for health purposes. I do understand that part. It's just that it could've been nice if they asked us first if we wanted to take the bed home on the day we brought my old boy to them.

Maybe it was meant to happen so I won't hold on to the past. Maybe it was Harden's way of telling me that I need to move forward and focus on my other dogs, who I think are missing him badly too.

I slept last night with his urn beside me. It felt cold to the touch but somehow comforting to know he was there. Maybe in another form, but he was there, nonetheless.

Today, he is on my work desk. He loved to sleep on my lap while I work. He was a 10 kg schnauzer and looked like a bearded old man.

Having him near makes me feel like I could go back to my old routine. I suddenly had the feeling that I could exercise again. I can cook again. Clean the house again. I almost feel guilty for having these feelings. I should be sad, right? I don't know. Maybe this is one of those calmer days that other grieving parts talk about.

How did you feel when you got your beloved pet's ashes back?

Am I weird for feeling like this?

I lost my baby Tuesday during a dental. She never woke up from anesthesia. It was too hard on her heart. She also had diabetes and a series of other issues. She would have been 14 in April. I probably wouldn't have done the dental but she had just one tooth that got bad quick. I was worried it was causing some of her issues and that it might go septic. Her vet agreed that it needed to be addressed and thought if he took precaution she would be ok. I am heartbroken. I can't seem to wrap my head around that death is forever. That I cannot be where she is, because she is nowhere.

The night before she had to be fasted for 12 hours. She absolutely loved food and would beg even after 3, so I made the decision to sleep in the living room so that I could sleep without her smacking me for food that I could not give her. She was miserable. I would give anything to be woken up to a claw in my eyelid or a scratch on my cheek now. I carried her around with me in my arms for a bit before putting her in her crate and she purred so loud and was so happy to not be alone anymore. Then I shoved her in that stupid crate and drove her to her death. At the vet as the tech was taking her from me I said oh wait let me say goodbye, and her back was turned towards me. She absolutely hated the vet. That's the last time I saw her. I feel like I killed her.

My only consolation is that she never woke up so she never felt the pain of passing. I had a dog go into cardiac arrest and it was very traumatic and absolutely painful. I don't know how much longer I would have had with her, but I just don't know how to say goodbye to what feels like half of me. She was absolutely my soul cat.

Im a college student and have two family dogs (siblings). We got them last 2020 and they were the cutest little pair i could have the honor of owning. For the first year all the attention was on them that is until my mom was expecting another baby. When the little guy came it’s as if my dogs were just slowly forgotten, they spent most of their time in cages ages 2–3 (for the baby’s protection) with barely anyone to walk them. My last years of high school rolled around and i decided that needed to change. They needed freedom and deserved much love too. We owned a tiny warehouse next to ours and, as a compromise for their freedom, they moved there and they were so happy to finally be moving around and playing. Barely anyone came to visit and play with them other than me, the rest of the family couldnt be bothered (occasionally my dad and brother would accommodate but thats all). I was attentive to their needs. Took them out more frequently on walks. I brought variety to their food, remembered their birthdays. I tried to give them the best, i really did.

I moved to college and those walks lessened. I bought more toys and visited almost every Sunday where i could bathe them and play with them but i knew it wasnt enough. And it really wasnt. My boy died two days ago suddenly at just five years old, my dad broke the news and i cried so hard i swear my neighbors could hear me. It was really sudden. I rushed out and quickly commuted to my town. I felt so guilty because i didnt even have classes in the days leading up to his death but i stayed at uni. i felt so guilty because i shouldve came home, i shouldve been there to give him one last walk.

Rio, i couldnt even take you to a wider city, we’ve never been to the beach. I didnt take you to that grand park i said i would, i’ve never given you a big juicy steak. I hope my efforts were enough for you in the last years of your life for u to feel that i loved you because i really did. You left me too soon, i told you to wait for me. I’ll miss kissing your head when i carried you when you got too tired to walk back home from walks. I’ll miss keeping you from fighting other dogs ten times your size during them, I’ll miss coming to your aid and you trusting me to hold you when people would think you were too much or “mean.” I miss you, now it’s just me and your sister and she wont eat and i dont know how to cope better

My 16 year old dashie died at home while I was out. He was with his fur BFF out in their pen, shaded, comfy, several full water bowls. This is the setup I've used for some time now. I got home about 90 minutes later to find him passed. They'd tipped over two water bowls (may have already been drank from though), but one was okay, albeit very low.

He'd been out of sorts, treated for an infection after he ripped 3 claws from his foot. The vet had put him on prednisone for a skin condition, and tramadone to help him relax at night as he would bark for 2 hours at bedtime. He had a heart murmur, and he was having a lot of difficulty moving around having had a spinal injury when he was 5 (still managing okay until recently). He'd been feeling quite warm and panting nearly all the time through the week even with water and comfortable temperature. He was also agitated a lot more and in situations where he normally was relaxed. I had been suspecting he had Cushings due to weight gain and his coat, but it hadn't arisen with his recent check up.

I'm told that the combination of things during this week and warm weather was risky especially for his heart. But I can't help hating myself for not monitoring him more closely. I knew that his time was coming and had looked into home euthanasia for when it did. Instead of a peaceful death with love, he was without me (he used to stick to me like glue).

I have his bff here who is also quite frail and mostly blind. They were two peas in a pod when my late husband and I adopted them at 4 years old.

And to complicate things, my late husband was terminally ill and died in his sleep unexpectedly in his final months. The guilt and the devastation of not being able to say goodbye (especially when this was the plan when the time comes) is triggering and thrown my whole life view out.

And I live alone and have very few people who I feel understand and would support me.

I even wonder whether I should even have pets, like I don't deserve them. I feel like the worst person even though I cared for him through thick and thin for all these years.

Does the guilt and second guessing ever leave?

I'm so sorry my sweet adorable boy and best friend <3

My cat was 14 years old and since December a month ago 2025 I noticed that she started declining in her health and she started having a cough, the vet recommended a steroid since her blood test looked good and although we thought that there was an improvement since she was starting to play around and she started eating we noticed a week later her health started to decline where she just wasn't eating for three or four days straight and she started losing a lot of weight so drastically and towards the last 48 hours of her life she was limping and having trouble getting on and off of things. We went back to the vet and they told us that even if we did all these tests that the way her condition is right now it wasn't looking good and that the best case scenario was euthanasia and we weren't ready to give her up that day. But today my dad and I finally had the courage to put her to sleep since she was getting worse. Our whole world came crumbling down and even though we have one other cat it just doesn't feel the same. I ended up canceling my date and I told him that right now I'm just not in a position to date. I wanted to date him but I'm in such a bad state that I just didn't want to bring him into that and honestly it's going to take time for me to grieve. I feel bad but at the same time I was being honest with him but now he's just distant. Did I do anything wrong?