Dog Community

Sasha our beautiful black cat

cyclefiend2000

Posted : 12/20/2006 11:23:11 PM

Sasha was our beautiful, perfectly black cat. Her fur was super soft. My wife adopted her from the SPCA while she was living in Northern California in 1999. The two of them moved to Georgia to live with me in February of 2000. When I first saw Sasha, she was just a scared HUGE (over 20lbs) cat. The people at the area where you claim pets at the airport thought she was a small black bear! [

]I didn#%92t really want any pets at that point, or so I thought. Sasha stole my heart and had me totally change my mind about having and wanting a pet.

Sasha had been abused prior to my wife adopting her. She was a very timid cat. She would hide from us most of the time in the beginning. Given time though she came out of her shell. She was never what you would call a lap cat. She wanted attention, but on her terms. When she wanted petting she would let you know. In the beginning she would walk over and put her head under your hand. If you didn#%92t start petting her, she would urge you on by rubbing her head underneath your hand. Later on she became much more vocal, and would verbally demand to be petted [

].

Sasha and our other cat, Gidget, lived together since 2000. Shortly before Thanksgiving this year, Gidget became very sick and we had to have her PTS. We were all heart broken. Even our dogs sensed the change in our household. Our youngest dog, Sydney, still searches for Gidget from time to time. Sasha wasn#%92t the same ever since Gidget passed away.

As far as we could tell, Sasha was still eating normally (we free feed), and otherwise seemed healthy. Sasha spent most of the time the past year or so in our office, which is also set up with all the cat#%92s necessities (food, litter box, toys, cat condo, etc.). After we lost Gidget, we tried to make special efforts to go in and pet Sasha several times per day and check to make sure she staying healthy. I don#%92t know exactly what happened, but yesterday when we got home from work Sasha was dead. It looked like she keeled over in mid stride. Literally, her body was posed in an apparent walking posture. This wasn#%92t a position she would normally lounge around in.

My wife and I were both devastated. We lost both our cats, who had been with us for the better part of a decade, moved with us several times, and been part of our lives pretty much since we have been together, both died within a few weeks of one another. They both will be greatly missed.

jjsmom06

Posted : 12/20/2006 11:34:38 PM

Oh Bradley...I am so very sorry to hear about Sasha...that is so hard and with you just losing your other cat..it is a lot to take in a short period of time.

I am so sorry for your loss...please send my regards to your wife as well...

cyclefiend2000

Posted : 12/20/2006 11:53:53 PM

thanks so much. i am just wondering what could have happened. at least with gidget we knew she was sick and what the prognosis was. with sasha though, she seemed fine when we left for work. my wife went in to check on her while i was out with the dogs, and she found her dead.

jjsmom06

Posted : 12/21/2006 12:32:31 AM

Bradley- I know this sounds strange, but I work in a hospital and I know of countless cases where one spouse passes away and the other one doesn't even last a month...perhaps it was the same way with Sasha and Gidget...it can happen with animals too and I also know of many cases where an owner dies and then their pet passes away shortly there after...

You didn't need another thing to bring you down this holiday and I am so sorry for that Bradley....I hope that the memories of your furry felines will stay with you and that you, your wife and Sydney and Amelia can have some happy times together in the coming year..perhaps even some "RV- together time" if you can convince DW![

]

Roxie865

Posted : 12/21/2006 12:34:56 AM

Bradley, I do know how you feel. I hate when someone tells me that, because I think, "They could never know how much pain I'm in ..."

I suffered the same experience earlier this year. My beloved and precious Sassy, a five-year-old tortie, had kidney failure and died in May. She was nothing short of exceptional. Always around for me to pet and love. There was nothing I could do to save her, and that's what hurts me to this day.

The next month, I lost Tiki, a nine-year-old manx. She was killed by dogs. I loved Tiki dearly, too.

I cried while typing of their fates, so I'm not completely over it yet.

Roxie had been with me for a month when Sassy died. Without her here to hold, I would have been miserable. It would have been worse in June, when Tiki died. Roxie pulled me through.

You have Amelia and Sydney to help ease the pain, too. I don't think I'll ever get over the loss of Sassy, though. It's impossible to describe how special she was. She was my heart cat ... and I sometimes think she always will be.

tacran

Posted : 12/21/2006 12:35:48 AM

I'm so sorry you've faced such a shocking loss, and so soon after the loss of your other kitty! My heart goes out to you and your wife. As you said, when a pet is ill, at least you can somewhat mentally prepare yourself for a goodbye, and have some idea of why the end had to come, but it would be even harder to bear being so sudden.

The only thing I can think of is that she had some kind of aneurism or embollism. I worked with a woman whose cat suddenly awoke with a loud cry in the middle of the night (he slept on their bed). In the short seconds after the cry, he lurched forward and died. The vet told her it was one of those two things (I forget which - I'm not sure how they differ). Also, this summer, our friends lost their black cat named Jet in a way similar to Sasha. She was fine that morning, but when they came home from some errands, they found her lying on her side just inside the entry. No evidence of any injury, blood, nothing. She was elderly, but no other issues. They were heartbroken, too.

My condolences -- I can't imagine how empty your hearts are feeling, and how distraught your dogs are, too. Take care.

Roxie865

Posted : 12/21/2006 12:37:11 AM

ORIGINAL: jjsmom06

Bradley- I know this sounds strange, but I work in a hospital and I know of countless cases where one spouse passes away and the other one doesn't even last a month...perhaps it was the same way with Sasha and Gidget...it can happen with animals too and I also know of many cases where an owner dies and then their pet passes away shortly there after...

You didn't need another thing to bring you down this holiday and I am so sorry for that Bradley....I hope that the memories of your furry felines will stay with you and that you, your wife and Sydney and Amelia can have some happy times together in the coming year..perhaps even some "RV- together time" if you can convince DW![]

I believe this, Shelly. When Sassy died, I noticed how Tiki's mood decreased. They weren't very social with each other, but I could see how lonely Tiki was without Sassy around.

Cats pretend to be independent, but they need companionship, too. [

]

willowchow

Posted : 12/21/2006 2:28:59 AM

I'm really sorry for your loss.

sharismom

Posted : 12/21/2006 8:15:55 AM

Bradley, I am so very sorry for the dual loss you & your wife have endured. Run free together, Gidget and Sasha [sm=angel.gif]

bragg1120

Posted : 12/21/2006 11:10:40 AM

I'm so sorry to hear about both your losses of Sasha and Gidget. Sasha sounds like she had the perfect, life long buddy in Gidget and a wonderful life with you & your wife AND Amelia & Sydney. It's hard to endure one loss, I can only imagine how you guys are feeling.

Run free, Sasha [sm=angel.gif]
Run free, Gidget [sm=angel.gif]

miranadobe

Posted : 12/21/2006 11:46:08 AM

Bradley - So sorry for your loss. So unfair to lose both so close together. I suspect they're keeping eachother company over the bridge. Sending heartfelt sympathy to you and your wife.

marlania

Posted : 12/21/2006 12:53:04 PM

So sorry for your loss.

cyclefiend2000

Posted : 12/21/2006 12:57:11 PM

thanks everyone.

roxie, i know what you mean about having a heart cat. gidget was mine. i love sasha, but gidget will always have an extra special place in my heart. i havent been able to really write about what happened to her becase i have had a really hard time dealing with her death.

i do think the two of them had some kind of bond. they had been constant companions for nearly 7 years. sasha had seemed somewhat depressed since gidget died. weirdest of all, the dogs have really seemed to sense that the cats are gone. amelia especially. i cleaned out the litter boxes and put away the cat food yesterday. i left the gate down that we had blocking that room off because without the food and the litter for the dogs to get into, the room really didnt need to be off limits to them any more. amelia layed in the hallway the whole time i was working looking really sad. both dogs came in and sniffed around when i was finished, but for the most part have stayed out of the room.

Sasha our beautiful black cat

Rainbow Bridge

Sasha our beautiful black cat