No joke today

I'm not posting a joke today.
One of our beloved feline children met her demise today, in an accident.
I am dealing with a tremendous amount of grief and guilt, because I ran over Ricki, age 14, with my own car. I don't know how it happened, it was on the street 3 houses away. fortunately, she didn't live but a few seconds.
We made her a casket and dug through roots for half an hour to make her a decent grave.
Then Tammy scattered catnip seed over the mound.
She had a good life with us, Tammy adopted her as a kitten. She was always playful, and very talkative with a loud purr.
After she passed, a white cat that has never been here before showed up then left.
Tammy and our friends have been consoling me. We had an ukulele workshop this evening, but this time, I could not teach.
Godspeed, little friend, I shall never forget playing ball with you.

Nickie, so sorry to hear of your pet's passing, especially in that way. Accidents happen, but I'm sure her 14 years of care from you were wonderful.

Oh, Nickie, that's just awful. I really do feel for you. It is a sad fact that, as cats grow older, their hearing starts to fail. It makes them very vulnerable to road traffic accidents. They don't look before crossing streets, they rely totally on their hearing.

My own cat, Oscar, is nineteen years of age, and for the last two years he has been stone deaf. He still likes to prowl around the neighbourhood, and I see him crossing the street. I worry about him, but he must have his freedom. He'd make my life intolerable if I tried to keep him indoors!

All you can do is give them a good life, and love them while you have them.

Condolences and best wishes,

John Colter.

Thank you John. And John.
I'm having a hard time with this, but your words help.

So sorry for your loss, Nickie, I know it's not an easy time when we lose our beloved furr balls - we just have to remember the good times we had with our little friends.

Oh Nickie, I am so sorry! Losing our furry friends is hard enough without added guilt.

Ricki knew you loved her and you gave her a great life. Remember that as you grieve.

Sending you hugs and prayers.

Sorry to hear the sad news Nickie, we do get attached to those little buggers. Scattering catnip was a nice touch.

so sorry to hear about you loosing one of your own.

So sorry to hear the sad news. Thoughts are with you.

Sometimes there is nothing you can do, an animal can run so fast and get in front of a car before anyone could possibly react. In the long perspective (which is very hard to see from here, I've been there) a 14-year-old cat could find worse ways to meet its demise. I'm sorry for your loss and I hope you find comfort in knowing you gave Ricki a good life. I still miss my avatar Bruce.

When one of our cats passes, we often get visits from neighbor cats. They come up to our front porch and look in the window. I wonder if they're paying respects... or just checking to see if the competition is really gone?

Nickie, my heart goes out to you. I know the grief that you feel on the loss of a beloved pet but please spare yourself the guilt from feeling responsible. Some cats are just not meant to be housecats. Ricki would not have had the happy life she had for 14 years if she didn’t have her freedom. With freedom, comes a certain amount of risk and you have to accept that. My mother tried for years to keep one of her cats inside due to safety concerns but it wasn’t meant to be. That clever little imp would hide somewhere near a door and make a lightning fast dash as soon as it opened. Her other cat couldn’t care less about going out. You did what you could to give her the best life you could, so let the accident go. Put it out of your mind completely and only hold on to the precious memories of your time together.

Thanks everyone. Your kind words touch my heart. MY friends here have also been most supportive. I shall never forget playful Ricki, our house is too quiet now, even with our 5 other cats.