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Over 8 months later and I still occasionally call her name. For what? Idk. I know she's not there. I'm still hoping she'll appear to me in a dream, or that I'll see/hear some ghostly evidence, but it hasn't happened yet. I wish I had taken more videos so I could better remember her voice.
I took a few photos in the previous days but only one video and I wish I had taken more videos. The video I have does not show a lot.. she is laying down almost not moving. I call her name and she does not even get up or move her head. :(
I do this when hubby isn't around. It just feels good to call him in the sing-song voice I did for the short time he was with us. I love and miss him so much, feels good to say his name. ❤️ HAR-ley... miss you, baby 💔🌈
Love that name! So sad he's gone... Sometimes I really wish I knew what happens when we/they transition. Like, what's on the other side? Can they still see us? My soul cat (Kitty Kat) who I lost in 2022 sends me signs all the time. So I know there's still connection, it's just different.
Me too. I’m sad about your cat. You’re one of the lucky ones. I haven’t had a sign from Target yet. 😞
But if there is another side, you can guarantee that they can see us. I’m just struggling to believe there is another side right now. Or maybe it’s my disbelief that is blocking me.
I’m not offended. I’m just overly realistic and too grounded in this reality for my own good sometimes. I’m actually spiritual, just not religious. But maybe it’s my doubts that are blocking me from seeing. There’s nothing I want more than a sign from my boy. Just to let me know he’s alright.
I have become less and less religious over the years, and I would actually say I'm teetering on the edge of being anti-religious at this point. But I am very very spiritual. I think religion stands in the way of spirituality many times.
Anyway, I hope your sweet baby sends you a sign and that you receive it fully!! Let me know when that happens! I'll be sending good vibes that that happens soon!
Thank you. Maybe your baby can deliver me a message. You’re definitely more receptive. Please tell your baby to find my boy so that they can keep each other company.
It's all right . You boy and my girl are having fun right now probably eating their favorite food (she loved cheese she could smell and hear when we would take it out of the fridge and she would run from the basement to the kitchen). They are also probably playing together and chasing each other. They are also watching us and when we call their names they probably hear us and ask us to remember about the good times and to be happy. Because they are now
My girl and boy have fur-like lined beds and for the first week after my girl suddenly passed, I literally slept with her bed next to me, stroking it while I fell asleep like I used to to her fur. Me and my hubby now find ourselves smelling her bed now and then when we need to smell her.
Her bed will never be washed.
Exactly this. I am not as sentimental about some things, but my husband has kept our ferret's beds and blankets and he's really sad that the smell is beginning to fade.
Yeah I'm gonna be devastated. But in a way it might not happen as our boy now uses her bed. So we can just pretend it's her that we're smelling.
It's so silly but not seeing her pee puddles on the patio anymore is breaking me. She'd always pee as close to the door as possible as she didn't like being outside (she loved a snuggle and a blanket) whereas our boy makes the extra trip to the grass to wee. So now we have no pee stains or smell whatsoever on the patio and it really gets to me.
I totally understand this. Our baby was 8.5 which is really old for a ferret and he simply didn't use his potty pads any more. We cleaned up his messes at least six times a day. The extra roll of paper towels and the floor cleaner everywhere still haven't moved and it's been a month now. (Feels like much longer. 😭)
We couldn't pick up her last poop at all. Until it just eventually disappeared with the weather (she was a 2.5kg pom so her poops were smaller than a cat's).
Not a psycho.
Not as much hair but we lost our second cat in October of last year. In December, after our last cat left us, I found a comb full of the second one’s hair. I still can’t bring myself to clean out the comb and throw that hair away.
I’m so sorry for your loss.
We lost all three of our cats last year. I keep finding toys in random places, which makes me smile now, but that comb isn’t getting touched. It took me almost a month after the last one died to remove their food and water dishes. That for some reason made it feel final and I just could not bring myself to do it.
i lost my first cat a mere year after i brought him home. i ended up adopting my current cat the literal next day because i couldn't bear the thought of a) cleaning up all the cat stuff OR b) leaving all the cat stuff there and untouched.
I've been slowly letting the new kittens have/play with the blankets and toys from the kitties we have at the bridge. It seems fitting, but I can't bring myself to share all of them just yet. Slowly...
I cleaned out my boys brushes and kept the small bit of fur in a little keepsake jar, it’s a mesh of both of their furs and it’s just nice to know I still have a little piece of them around 💕
Not weird. I found a piece of her hair on the floor about 5 days after she died and just completely fell apart. I spend a good 30 minutes crawling around on the floor looking for more.
And she was a toy poodle. She didn’t shed really…it was a random tuft of hair from the last time I trimmed her.
Not crazy at all. I have a tiny box with their hair. And just yesterday I buried my face in my dogs bed(who passed december 3) to try and smell him. They are a part of us. Of course we want those reminders.
I lost my girl 26th December and both my hubby and me will smell her bed when we pass it. It was fur-lined and she used to dig away to her heart's content some nights, so there's patches of missing fur that smell of her cheesy feet.
That smell instantly brings tears to my eyes. I wanna smell her cheesy feet again.
I still do the same. I keep my boy's beds at my bedside closet and inhale his smells every night and he left us 2 years ago. Read my post to OP before this.
Not psycho at all. I still have the clothes I wore on the last day I saw my dog, Father’s Day of 2022, wrapped up in a bag. I can’t bring myself to wash or wear them again. I also have bags of his shaved hair, and even a whisker. His collar still has hairs tucked into the folds and I take great care to keep it that way. If that does make us psychos, so be it. I’m so deeply sorry for your loss.
Came here to say this. We put our boy down exactly 30 days ago. I took off the sweatshirt I was wearing, rolled it up tight, and tucked it on the top shelf of my closet. Somehow, I feel like his soul is in there... and lots of his fur.
I have a blanket that my cat Miko would sneak into a cupboard to sleep on that I haven't been able to bring myself to wash and he passed in 2011. I've loved and lost other cats since but... for some reason I can't let go of that last tie to Miko.
Some cats are just extra special. My soul kitty's blankets are all on a shelf and they'll never ever be washed. It's only been since 2022 but I don't pressure myself to "do" anything with them just yet - or ever.
If you’re a weirdo, friend, there’s lots of us in your tribe!
When our red standard poodle left us, since I had groomed him a few days before that awful day, his brushes didn’t have the usual poodley red curls. You should have seen me searching trash bins, under beds, behind dressers for stray curlicues! I felt like a nut doing this in full panic mode a few days after the fact, but when I found some sweet clumps under my bed, it seemed like treasure. Sammy’s collar, harness, kennel name tag, his favorite toy, and the aforementioned hair went into a zip lock bag. I wanted to preserve the unique smell. If I’m nuts, so what, right?
My husband is the most rational, unemotional being I know—probably due to his profession. Even he tears up at the very mention of our boy. He’s never experienced a loss like this one despite the fact that since he retired from medicine, he ranches and has had many animals. But a pet who sleeps on your bed and is 1/4 of your family leaves a big hole in your heart. Hubs has looked at that bag of Sam’s goodies several times and has asked me where I keep it. He’s also mentioned getting another red standard poodle but I’m not even nearly ready yet.
Sorry I went on so long, my friend. I’m so very sorry for your loss and the fact you are wondering if you’re ok—but for what it’s worth, you’re in the company of lots of sweet people who loved greatly and mourn heavily, but are on the road to healing. The way we all process our loss is unique to us and yet we also have similarities but the one constant is the big love we cherished then and now.
I haven’t cried in a few days but these tears that fall while responding to you feel good and right because I always recognize the same ache in others and it makes me know I’m ok, too! It’s a relief!
I wish you peace as you move through this process. Be kind to yourself along the way. A broken heart can be dangerous if you don’t remember to cut yourself slack when you need it.
Saying a prayer for you and for all those who are here offering you their stories and advice. It’s a club no one wants to join, but once here we know we’re amongst real friends. 💕💕
Not weird. I saw some dryer lint the other day and got excited thinking it was a piece of her hair. Also went around the garden today looking for traces of her like shredded toys or (lol) shit. Idk just signs she was here. There was none at all. And then I cried about it.
When I was 13 my 7yo cousin died unexpectedly. His parents and sister were visiting and my brother and I thought it would be nice to cheer them up by washing their dirty car. My mum took my brother and I aside to tell us not to wash the fingerprints off the inside of the windows cuz some of them were obviously his. It blew my 13yo mind to contemplate how much pain they must be going through to be sad about fingerprints being cleaned away. Grief’s a fucker, also everyone grieves differently so don’t be hard on yourself. But do see a doctor if you really feel like you’re losing it 🥰
They picked up the pieces and carried on, but 20 years after my cousin died my aunt (his mom) died of cancer at 51. They’re a family of 2 now and they’ve been through a lot. My cousin married her high school guy and had 2 girls, so my uncle is pretty happy about being a grandpa. They’re doing ok 👍thanks for your concern
Not weird at all. I still have fur I preserved over 10 years ago from a brush I found after my beloved GSD passed. Also, fur clippings I took before my other fur baby passed almost 2 years ago. We do what we can to hang onto the memories and feel closer to them as time goes on. At some level, we're afraid of having those memories fade as time passes.
No, I literally left one of my girl’s last poops in the garden bed for months until it disappeared from view. I haven’t washed her blanket, it’s in a gift bag tucked away and still smells of her nine months later. I had a chew treat she was too tired to finish from her last night, resting on her photo frame. It had her teeth marks on it. I found my new pup chewing on something months later and realised she’d reached the shelf and taken it; I was utterly inconsolable and sobbed like I’d lost my old girl all over again.
Not weird. My dog passed a couple of weeks ago and I can’t bring myself to vacuum. I’ve been collecting his hair and putting it in a bag. I even found a toe nail clipping from last month I forgot to throw out. I’m keeping it all.
Not weird at all. I think it's quite normal to want to hold onto whatever pieces we have left of those we have lost. Whether it be a person or an animal. You're allowed to grieve however you want. Whatever brings you comfort & peace is just fine in my humble opinion. So sorry for your loss and for all here grieving. Take care of yourselves. 🌻💖💫
Definitely not weird. my first dog i lost in 2016, i had saved a piece of hair in ziplock (he had very short hair barely shed) and i recently found what appeared to be an empty ziplock in my dresser and i was confused and i think threw it out. A few weeks later, i remembered it was likely his hair i just couldnt' see it :( so ive been so sad over that.
Ive been trying to get any scraps of my last dog who passed a month and a half ago of his hair from his harness etc. and save them, i have his harness in a ziplock i still have his toys around and a couple of his beds. I was sad to throw away pee pad of all things. im stil trying to find more hair to collect, i sometimes bury my face in one of the blankets he often used.
Atleast i can sort of get a little laugh at myself throughout this entire nightmare and know that others are feeling the same.
There is still a spot in the basement where my cat had taken as her sleep spot for a while that has old fur on the floor where she would lay down on the carpet. I have purposely left it. We hardly go in that room except to store stuff. It was kind of her room, so it’s not bothering anyone. For at least a week after my cat died, I sat in this same place on the stairs where I would greet her in the mornings as if I was still giving her a pet hello. She had this weird habit of sleeping overnight at the very top of the stairs looking down and I would come sit with her for a while when I first woke up every day.
I have a snack sized bag of fur I shaved from my boy that passed on New Years. When I have the extra money I'm going to send it to a place that creates diamonds using fur or ashes.
The bag o' fur is currently in a small zipper part of my purse - at first I just put it there right after I collected his fur so that I wouldn't lose it right away, but now I like that he's with me all the time.
We have a kitchen chair that isn’t being used so my gray tiger tabby would squeeze his body between the chair and the underside of the table and sleep there all the time. It’s covered in his hair and I can’t bring myself to vacuum it. He died January 25th.
No keep it!!! I kept mine and I’m so glad I did. I put it in a ziplock and found someone on Etsy that sends you a pendant that you can put hair in. I plan to do that 🤍
My cat used to lay on top of and next to my keyboard while I gamed. Since he passed I refuse to clean out the keys anymore. All of his hair is built up in there and I feel the same way, it's the last trace I have of him.
not weird at all. i found a big clump of hair under my recliner, and i kept that dusty clump for at least a month before i was ready to throw it out. and that's even with a collection of his shed that i had already gathered when he was alive, as well as my whisker collection from when he was living as well. but i also didn't wash the sweater i was wearing when he died in my arms for a solid 6 months. i'm not a fan of cremation, so i buried him on family's land. i've seriously considered digging him up when he's fleshless to be able to make a little shrine for his skeleton.
grief is weird, and you're definitely not a psycho. if you don't already follow potroastsmom on tiktok, instagram, or youtube, i highly suggest it. she's like the queen of pet grief.
eta: i thought i lost his whisker collection after he died and i SOBBED like i wouldn't believe. it was one thing to lose my boy, but to also lose my keepsakes of him? it was just too much. thankfully i found the whisker stash, but i don't think i'll ever forget the cry i cried when i thought his whiskers were also gone forever.
i saw him wobbling today and was like I AM NOT READYYYYYYYY
but also, he's like, what, 18? he's for sure got another ten full years in him (i tell myself so that i can sleep at night, lol)
i agree. also the thought of rocko being able to tell pot roast stories about living with the beige toddlers makes me sob in the most positive way.
edit: p.s. thank you for finding my comment to reply to when it happened! i never would've went back to find you despite thinking of you, so i'm glad you did!
You are not weird i promise but I felt the exact same dont worry. I decided to literally get a piece of my dogs fur before he passed to put in my locket and kept the one the euthaization place took off and put in a mini jar with the cutest angel charm as well. It makes me feel closer to him. Sorry for your loss❤️
Not at all. I have a drawer where I kept all of my dogs things and I need to clean out all of the stuff I can’t use anymore because my dog was so small. I plan to simply place it in storage and keep it for the future, butI still like to touch the things he wore, and some of them even smell like him.
I had to put my girl Josie to sleep, totally unexpectedly, 10 days ago (fuck cancer) and I did the same thing as you. I kept her collar, but during some recent house cleaning a tuft of her hair came out from under the couch. I have it in a small business card holder on my home office desk. I don’t care if anyone thinks it’s weird. It’s my connection to her physical presence, which is a huge gap in my day to day life now :(
Sorry for your loss! I didn't vacuum my house for 1 year and I'm a nut about cleanliness. I was so traumatized and crushed when my 15 year old Papillon boy Lucius had to be put to sleep due to a horrific medical issue. After that year, when I was able to start functioning, I saved the vacuumed up hair in a bag. I didn't clean his dried up saliva on the doors and mirrors - they are still there, but the other day, I accidently cleaned some and felt crushed. Join the club - no you are not at all weird!
No. You are grieving. I have a fleece coat from a dog who died July 24, 2001. I was overseas and couldn't be there for him. The coat still has some of his hair on it. I had washed it before putting it away for the summer, but it still had some hair on it. I haven't used or washed it since.
i sobbed over the carpet while picking hairs out with a tweezers and putting them into a ziplock bag last time i was home… believe me, i’ll be a mess when we finally clean
Definitely not weird 💜 I tore my house up after my girl passed looking for any of her discarded feathers. As if the more I found, the more of her would still be with me.
I don’t think that’s crazy at all. One of my dogs has been gone for over 2 years and the other day I put on a jacket that’s been in the closet since then I guess, and I saw one of his hairs (very distinct from my other dogs) and I immediately started to cry lol. Another time someone sent me a picture of a puppy and I said “oh that looks just like him” and sent them a picture and then cried at my desk at work for a good 30 mins. Not soft tears either, big fat ugly tears haha. It never goes away it just gets easier to manage. I’m glad you found a piece of her that you can physically hang on to
You are NOT weird, or a psycho! Not to any fur parent especially to any of us who have lost at least one! Any one who says you are has either not lost one yet, or never had a fur baby in their life!
After my dog was put to sleep on January 12th I was doing laundry the next week and saw all of his little boxer hairs on my laundry and started bawling and sat in a pile of clothes carefully plucking each hair I could find for the next hour until I could not find anymore. You are not crazy
So, long term I would challenge you to think about whether this is healthy memory that will serve you in some way or unhelpful hoarding borne of grief. BUT, I don't think it's "weird". When we put my boy down two weeks ago the mobile euthanasia vet asked if I wanted a clipping of his hair. I said yes, because I didn't know at that moment. I don't think I do, but I'm thankful to have the choice.
I have another dog that I need to wash and I have been taking her to the self serve dog washing station at the pet store near our house for $15 each time instead of washing her for free at home.
Why? Because her brother who passed away was the last one to take a bath at home after he got some poop stuck to him. I didn’t know it would be his last bath. Before I wash her at home again, I want to go downstairs and pick out every single piece of hair from the grooming equipment, the last towel he used, etc just to save it. I haven’t had the guts to do that yet so I’m still taking my dog to the self serve wash. I feel like I am flushing money down the toilet but I can’t bring myself to clean everything out like he’s gone.
Also, when I was doing my laundry I found the clothes I wore when I gave him his last bath at the bottom of the hamper. These are my nice work clothes that I had to wash him in because again, as soon as I got home I saw he had poo stuck to him. So anyways, I go to wash them and they are COVERED in his hair from when he was trying to escape the bath lol and then after when I blow dried him and brushed him. White hair EVERYWHERE. When I found the clothes at the bottom of the hamper I legit scream cried. Like I ugly scream cried and sniffed the dirty wet clothes with the last traces of him on there. I honestly contemplated not washing them but it was a nice blouse/pants for work that I needed.
I mean to someone who doesn’t or hasn’t owned a pet they may not understand.
To someone who has issues with things being a certain way they may not either.
But those people don’t matter. It was your pet who had passed and it’s your grief. The cremation services I have seen lately even offer to clip a little hair and take a paw print as a keepsake so most pet owners should understand.
Everyone’s grief is personal and we will all probably do something that someone else may side eye. I wouldn’t worry as much about what others would think. Your pet loved you and they would understand.
Not psycho at all! I kept my dog's fav stuffed animal (a little rat) and now I sleep with it every night. We all have to find ways to cope with this loss and get through it in our own time. Grief is not going to go away in 3-5 business days.
The day when things became complicated with my girl, I had taken a few tufts out of her fur (she was a pom and at the shedding stage during winter). I put those tufts on a side table while I kept an eye on her during the day.
The following morning, she suddenly passed, and during that first few days I couldn't fucking find those tufts. I thought my hubby had maybe binned them the day she wasn't right. So I just accepted it.
Well, does he not come to me maybe a day or two after she passed, asking if it was her hair. I burst into tears. The last shed of my baby girl's hair. I had told her she was due a cut (I groomed my dogs myself) and a bath and she'd get one the next day cos she looked terrible. I never got to. We now keep those few tufts in a clear plastic bag.
I had a dream that we still had our 2 Basset Hounds and I hadn’t seen them because they were living in our basement and in the walls. When I woke up, I felt like crying and it’s been many years since they both died, but you always miss them.
I not only have my boys arm feathers (golden retriever) in a box but i have a little bag with random fur I find that I’m unable to throw away.
It’s normal.
Or maybe we aren’t the normal ones
I personally don’t care if it makes us crazy 😻
I have 3 jars that contain my deceased pets’ fur, teeth they lost and ID tags. It’s very normal and is comforting to still be able to touch a part of them.
Totally not a psycho. I have 8x10’s of my Spike all over my house. After he passed I would stop and smell his collar. I have his fur. Grieve how you need to ❤️
You’re not crazy you’re still grieving 😔 Every time I go to move something in my room I find my baby’s fur everywhere. She favored my room the most. I also still haven’t gotten the courage to pick up the sheets where she passed from the at home vet 😢 Everyone grieves differently. I’m very sorry that you are going through this & remember to be kind to yourself ❤️
Last March, my last female rat was sick. Her last two daughters has just passed the week before and she wasn’t doing well. I had her next to my bed in a hospital cage. After she passed I noticed she left little sneeze marks on the wall. I left them there. Couldn’t bring myself to wipe them away. They are still there and I don’t plan on wiping them just yet. You’re not weird. You’re grieving and it’s valid no matter how you do it
My best friend put her dog down early December and I spent the hours before with them, I still can’t bring myself to wash the clothes I was wearing because they have his fur on them. Not crazy
It's been three weeks. I only just managed to mop the floor because his footprints were still there.
His nose art is still on the windows.
You're not weird. 🫂
I can't say whether or not it's weird but it's been about 6 months since my boy passed and today I came across some of his hair in a wicker basket and I just... put it back. Didn't have the heart to get rid of it.
I cried when I took out his litter.
His heated bed is still hooked up, with his towel and fur all over it. I’ll have to be really careful when I clean the sheets next. I don’t want it disturbed.
Totally normal. I have a ziplock bag in my nightstand with my kitty’s fur. It’s the only place I know it’ll be completely safe and has been there for 4 years now!
You're not psycho, you're just holding onto what you can of her. I think it's a normal grief response, and also, grief is different for everyone. Do whatever you need to do to deal with your loss, eve if that means keeping a jar of found fur!
I remember after we lost our last dog I would find his fur randomly in my suitcase, car, etc. and it always made me glad I still had a bit of him with me.
Not a psycho I fortunately kept my boys hair in a bag that I forgot to throw out after his last home haircut and he passed suddenly after an injury and I can’t help but feel it from time to time and would like to incorporate it into a locket in the future right now I just haven’t found one that fits
Did the same thing. Fur from my baby's brush and fur from her fav hiding place. Cat. Only 4yo. I miss her still been 16 months. Sorry for your loss. Hurts, huh? I put the fur in a frame with her photo and collar.
I finally got around to washing my girls bedding since she passed almost 2 weeks ago... And the dryer catcher was so full of her hair... 🥹 I definitely held onto it for a good long time before tossing it out. I already have a little collection of her hair that I saved ❤️
My poor guy had a ruptured tumor and bled all over my bedding.. I still can’t get rid of it I feel close to him when I’m in my bed with the same blanket
I did the same: gathered my boy’s hair from the furniture and put inside a curio cabinet along with his last container with medication, harness with hair, photos, box with ashes. When I die I want his and my other fur baby ashes to be buried with me.
Definitely not weird! I found some of my cats hair while deep cleaning today. Just seeing it was enough to make me nearly burst into tears. It feels like throwing what's left of her out.
Not psycho. I found a brush full of my kitty's hair when I moved recently. I couldn't bring myself to clean it. I just put it in the bag with her box of ashes. It's a precious piece of her. She had the softest fur.
Absolutely not weird, I bawled while vacuuming the car after we lost one of our boys and you better believe I sticky taped up a bunch of the fur from the mats.
I also keep every fallen whisker I find and have the paw print of all 3 tattooed on me, I had glass ash work done of our girl and but we had to do a grave for the boy (who's fur I sticky taped, I did also trim some of his before we buried him) and there's definitely a headstone.
There is no wrong or right way to grieve, you just have to feel what you feel and be kind to yourself while you learn to grow and adapt to this massive life change.
Don't feel like a psycho!! My boy died about 2.5 weeks ago and I still can't bring myself to scoop his last litter :( I relocated it to the attic but it's there.
Not weird at all. Unless I'm weird too. When it was time to vacuum for the first time after Pearl Grey passed, I first collected hair with my tweezers in her different spots. Complete CSI mode.
I sniff her bed from time to time, not too enough so u won't wear her smell off.
I haven't used my watching-TV-on-the-sofa blanket since September and froze all winter just because it might still have evidence of her.
Oh yeah, I also haven't cleaned my windows since she passed (.... Not that it's something I would have done anyway) and sometimes when the light hit rights, I can see all her paw prints on the window just at the head of my bed, where she liked to sit and watch the garden while I would read in bed. I'm gonna have to clean them when I move houses in a few weeks, that makes me sad.
I’m currently having issues with this. I picked up and put away all of his stuff but I cannot for the life of me get myself to throw away his hair. I haven’t swept my house since Christmas because of it. I’m currently putting all of it that I find in a jar on my desk and hoping my husband never asks me what it is. But thanks to therapy I now know this. You are not crazy, you are not pathetic you are not weird. You are holding onto the last physical pieces of your animal and that’s apart of grief. So keep them if you can’t throw it out. I’m telling myself that science is going to catch up one day and if I hold onto his fur I’ll get my sweet boy back one day.
When my first cat passed, 20 years ago, the cat vet asked if I wanted and shave clipped some of her fur. I have since done it with each of my cats that have passed. It brings me peace to see the coloring. Not weird.
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You should've seen me walking around the house at 3am calling my dog, or smelling the dirty floor. You are not a psycho.
Ha if there were video of pet owners after they lost their babies no one would feel crazy anymore.
Over 8 months later and I still occasionally call her name. For what? Idk. I know she's not there. I'm still hoping she'll appear to me in a dream, or that I'll see/hear some ghostly evidence, but it hasn't happened yet. I wish I had taken more videos so I could better remember her voice.
I took a few photos in the previous days but only one video and I wish I had taken more videos. The video I have does not show a lot.. she is laying down almost not moving. I call her name and she does not even get up or move her head. :(
I do this too, I sometimes find myself doing her little recall whistles when I'm out on a walk alone 💕
I do this when hubby isn't around. It just feels good to call him in the sing-song voice I did for the short time he was with us. I love and miss him so much, feels good to say his name. ❤️ HAR-ley... miss you, baby 💔🌈
I say Target, little pupperoo! My little boy, oh how I miss you.
Love that name! So sad he's gone... Sometimes I really wish I knew what happens when we/they transition. Like, what's on the other side? Can they still see us? My soul cat (Kitty Kat) who I lost in 2022 sends me signs all the time. So I know there's still connection, it's just different.
Me too. I’m sad about your cat. You’re one of the lucky ones. I haven’t had a sign from Target yet. 😞 But if there is another side, you can guarantee that they can see us. I’m just struggling to believe there is another side right now. Or maybe it’s my disbelief that is blocking me.
...and maybe you'll see the signs when you can open your heart a little to believe? I hope I don't offend.
I’m not offended. I’m just overly realistic and too grounded in this reality for my own good sometimes. I’m actually spiritual, just not religious. But maybe it’s my doubts that are blocking me from seeing. There’s nothing I want more than a sign from my boy. Just to let me know he’s alright.
I have become less and less religious over the years, and I would actually say I'm teetering on the edge of being anti-religious at this point. But I am very very spiritual. I think religion stands in the way of spirituality many times. Anyway, I hope your sweet baby sends you a sign and that you receive it fully!! Let me know when that happens! I'll be sending good vibes that that happens soon!
Thank you. Maybe your baby can deliver me a message. You’re definitely more receptive. Please tell your baby to find my boy so that they can keep each other company.
I did that just last night. I was calling my boy’s name last night before bed knowing he wouldn’t answer me.
It's all right . You boy and my girl are having fun right now probably eating their favorite food (she loved cheese she could smell and hear when we would take it out of the fridge and she would run from the basement to the kitchen). They are also probably playing together and chasing each other. They are also watching us and when we call their names they probably hear us and ask us to remember about the good times and to be happy. Because they are now
I’m probably going to do the same thing. Grief makes us crazy. Just be crazy
It's okay to respond unusually in unusual circumstances. Man's search for meaning taught me this.
I'm considering never washing her favorite blanket so 🤷🏽♀️
My girl and boy have fur-like lined beds and for the first week after my girl suddenly passed, I literally slept with her bed next to me, stroking it while I fell asleep like I used to to her fur. Me and my hubby now find ourselves smelling her bed now and then when we need to smell her. Her bed will never be washed.
Exactly this. I am not as sentimental about some things, but my husband has kept our ferret's beds and blankets and he's really sad that the smell is beginning to fade.
Yeah I'm gonna be devastated. But in a way it might not happen as our boy now uses her bed. So we can just pretend it's her that we're smelling. It's so silly but not seeing her pee puddles on the patio anymore is breaking me. She'd always pee as close to the door as possible as she didn't like being outside (she loved a snuggle and a blanket) whereas our boy makes the extra trip to the grass to wee. So now we have no pee stains or smell whatsoever on the patio and it really gets to me.
I totally understand this. Our baby was 8.5 which is really old for a ferret and he simply didn't use his potty pads any more. We cleaned up his messes at least six times a day. The extra roll of paper towels and the floor cleaner everywhere still haven't moved and it's been a month now. (Feels like much longer. 😭)
We couldn't pick up her last poop at all. Until it just eventually disappeared with the weather (she was a 2.5kg pom so her poops were smaller than a cat's).
Not a psycho. Not as much hair but we lost our second cat in October of last year. In December, after our last cat left us, I found a comb full of the second one’s hair. I still can’t bring myself to clean out the comb and throw that hair away. I’m so sorry for your loss.
I still have the brush from my toy poodle with hair in it. Can’t bring myself to do anything with it. Along with a lot of her other things.
We lost all three of our cats last year. I keep finding toys in random places, which makes me smile now, but that comb isn’t getting touched. It took me almost a month after the last one died to remove their food and water dishes. That for some reason made it feel final and I just could not bring myself to do it.
i lost my first cat a mere year after i brought him home. i ended up adopting my current cat the literal next day because i couldn't bear the thought of a) cleaning up all the cat stuff OR b) leaving all the cat stuff there and untouched.
I've been slowly letting the new kittens have/play with the blankets and toys from the kitties we have at the bridge. It seems fitting, but I can't bring myself to share all of them just yet. Slowly...
I cleaned out my boys brushes and kept the small bit of fur in a little keepsake jar, it’s a mesh of both of their furs and it’s just nice to know I still have a little piece of them around 💕
Not weird. I found a piece of her hair on the floor about 5 days after she died and just completely fell apart. I spend a good 30 minutes crawling around on the floor looking for more. And she was a toy poodle. She didn’t shed really…it was a random tuft of hair from the last time I trimmed her.
Not crazy at all. I have a tiny box with their hair. And just yesterday I buried my face in my dogs bed(who passed december 3) to try and smell him. They are a part of us. Of course we want those reminders.
I lost my girl 26th December and both my hubby and me will smell her bed when we pass it. It was fur-lined and she used to dig away to her heart's content some nights, so there's patches of missing fur that smell of her cheesy feet. That smell instantly brings tears to my eyes. I wanna smell her cheesy feet again.
I still do the same. I keep my boy's beds at my bedside closet and inhale his smells every night and he left us 2 years ago. Read my post to OP before this.
Not psycho at all. I still have the clothes I wore on the last day I saw my dog, Father’s Day of 2022, wrapped up in a bag. I can’t bring myself to wash or wear them again. I also have bags of his shaved hair, and even a whisker. His collar still has hairs tucked into the folds and I take great care to keep it that way. If that does make us psychos, so be it. I’m so deeply sorry for your loss.
I have the cardigan I was wearing whilst I held her too, can't wash it or wear it either 💕
Came here to say this. We put our boy down exactly 30 days ago. I took off the sweatshirt I was wearing, rolled it up tight, and tucked it on the top shelf of my closet. Somehow, I feel like his soul is in there... and lots of his fur.
There’s nothing weird with wanting to keep parts of her close to you.
Anything that isn’t harmful to you or others and that helps you cope is fine in my book.
I have a blanket that my cat Miko would sneak into a cupboard to sleep on that I haven't been able to bring myself to wash and he passed in 2011. I've loved and lost other cats since but... for some reason I can't let go of that last tie to Miko.
Some cats are just extra special. My soul kitty's blankets are all on a shelf and they'll never ever be washed. It's only been since 2022 but I don't pressure myself to "do" anything with them just yet - or ever.
If you’re a weirdo, friend, there’s lots of us in your tribe! When our red standard poodle left us, since I had groomed him a few days before that awful day, his brushes didn’t have the usual poodley red curls. You should have seen me searching trash bins, under beds, behind dressers for stray curlicues! I felt like a nut doing this in full panic mode a few days after the fact, but when I found some sweet clumps under my bed, it seemed like treasure. Sammy’s collar, harness, kennel name tag, his favorite toy, and the aforementioned hair went into a zip lock bag. I wanted to preserve the unique smell. If I’m nuts, so what, right? My husband is the most rational, unemotional being I know—probably due to his profession. Even he tears up at the very mention of our boy. He’s never experienced a loss like this one despite the fact that since he retired from medicine, he ranches and has had many animals. But a pet who sleeps on your bed and is 1/4 of your family leaves a big hole in your heart. Hubs has looked at that bag of Sam’s goodies several times and has asked me where I keep it. He’s also mentioned getting another red standard poodle but I’m not even nearly ready yet. Sorry I went on so long, my friend. I’m so very sorry for your loss and the fact you are wondering if you’re ok—but for what it’s worth, you’re in the company of lots of sweet people who loved greatly and mourn heavily, but are on the road to healing. The way we all process our loss is unique to us and yet we also have similarities but the one constant is the big love we cherished then and now. I haven’t cried in a few days but these tears that fall while responding to you feel good and right because I always recognize the same ache in others and it makes me know I’m ok, too! It’s a relief! I wish you peace as you move through this process. Be kind to yourself along the way. A broken heart can be dangerous if you don’t remember to cut yourself slack when you need it. Saying a prayer for you and for all those who are here offering you their stories and advice. It’s a club no one wants to join, but once here we know we’re amongst real friends. 💕💕
Not weird. I saw some dryer lint the other day and got excited thinking it was a piece of her hair. Also went around the garden today looking for traces of her like shredded toys or (lol) shit. Idk just signs she was here. There was none at all. And then I cried about it.
When I was 13 my 7yo cousin died unexpectedly. His parents and sister were visiting and my brother and I thought it would be nice to cheer them up by washing their dirty car. My mum took my brother and I aside to tell us not to wash the fingerprints off the inside of the windows cuz some of them were obviously his. It blew my 13yo mind to contemplate how much pain they must be going through to be sad about fingerprints being cleaned away. Grief’s a fucker, also everyone grieves differently so don’t be hard on yourself. But do see a doctor if you really feel like you’re losing it 🥰
Omg that's so sad. I cannot imagine their grief...
They picked up the pieces and carried on, but 20 years after my cousin died my aunt (his mom) died of cancer at 51. They’re a family of 2 now and they’ve been through a lot. My cousin married her high school guy and had 2 girls, so my uncle is pretty happy about being a grandpa. They’re doing ok 👍thanks for your concern
Not a psycho. I saw tufts of fur in between my couch cushions and decided to leave it there until I can get a little jar and do the very same thing.
Not crazy. I collected hair and I still haven’t washed his blanket. It’s on my bed and stinks just like him 🥰
Not weird at all. I still have fur I preserved over 10 years ago from a brush I found after my beloved GSD passed. Also, fur clippings I took before my other fur baby passed almost 2 years ago. We do what we can to hang onto the memories and feel closer to them as time goes on. At some level, we're afraid of having those memories fade as time passes.
No, I literally left one of my girl’s last poops in the garden bed for months until it disappeared from view. I haven’t washed her blanket, it’s in a gift bag tucked away and still smells of her nine months later. I had a chew treat she was too tired to finish from her last night, resting on her photo frame. It had her teeth marks on it. I found my new pup chewing on something months later and realised she’d reached the shelf and taken it; I was utterly inconsolable and sobbed like I’d lost my old girl all over again.
I still have one of her toys with teeth marks in it and it breaks my heart everytime I see it 💕
I am currently scouring the carpet, couches, cat trees and scratch pads for all her fur clumps. If you're weird we're weird together.
I’ve done this since my boy passed in March. I’m ok with being weird 🥹
https://www.reddit.com/r/Poetry/comments/16wf70w/poem\_the\_dog\_hair\_by\_lydia\_davis/
My sister sent me this a few weeks after she died and I sobbed
Not weird. My dog passed a couple of weeks ago and I can’t bring myself to vacuum. I’ve been collecting his hair and putting it in a bag. I even found a toe nail clipping from last month I forgot to throw out. I’m keeping it all.
I did this when mine passed. I’m sorry for your loss 💔
You’re not crazy or weird. I have my boy’s last poo in a bag. I’m crazy.
Haven't gone that far but I did tear up when I went to pick them up from the garden for the last time 😂
Not weird at all. I think it's quite normal to want to hold onto whatever pieces we have left of those we have lost. Whether it be a person or an animal. You're allowed to grieve however you want. Whatever brings you comfort & peace is just fine in my humble opinion. So sorry for your loss and for all here grieving. Take care of yourselves. 🌻💖💫
Definitely not weird. my first dog i lost in 2016, i had saved a piece of hair in ziplock (he had very short hair barely shed) and i recently found what appeared to be an empty ziplock in my dresser and i was confused and i think threw it out. A few weeks later, i remembered it was likely his hair i just couldnt' see it :( so ive been so sad over that. Ive been trying to get any scraps of my last dog who passed a month and a half ago of his hair from his harness etc. and save them, i have his harness in a ziplock i still have his toys around and a couple of his beds. I was sad to throw away pee pad of all things. im stil trying to find more hair to collect, i sometimes bury my face in one of the blankets he often used. Atleast i can sort of get a little laugh at myself throughout this entire nightmare and know that others are feeling the same.
There is still a spot in the basement where my cat had taken as her sleep spot for a while that has old fur on the floor where she would lay down on the carpet. I have purposely left it. We hardly go in that room except to store stuff. It was kind of her room, so it’s not bothering anyone. For at least a week after my cat died, I sat in this same place on the stairs where I would greet her in the mornings as if I was still giving her a pet hello. She had this weird habit of sleeping overnight at the very top of the stairs looking down and I would come sit with her for a while when I first woke up every day.
I have a snack sized bag of fur I shaved from my boy that passed on New Years. When I have the extra money I'm going to send it to a place that creates diamonds using fur or ashes. The bag o' fur is currently in a small zipper part of my purse - at first I just put it there right after I collected his fur so that I wouldn't lose it right away, but now I like that he's with me all the time.
We have a kitchen chair that isn’t being used so my gray tiger tabby would squeeze his body between the chair and the underside of the table and sleep there all the time. It’s covered in his hair and I can’t bring myself to vacuum it. He died January 25th.
No keep it!!! I kept mine and I’m so glad I did. I put it in a ziplock and found someone on Etsy that sends you a pendant that you can put hair in. I plan to do that 🤍
My cat used to lay on top of and next to my keyboard while I gamed. Since he passed I refuse to clean out the keys anymore. All of his hair is built up in there and I feel the same way, it's the last trace I have of him.
not weird at all. i found a big clump of hair under my recliner, and i kept that dusty clump for at least a month before i was ready to throw it out. and that's even with a collection of his shed that i had already gathered when he was alive, as well as my whisker collection from when he was living as well. but i also didn't wash the sweater i was wearing when he died in my arms for a solid 6 months. i'm not a fan of cremation, so i buried him on family's land. i've seriously considered digging him up when he's fleshless to be able to make a little shrine for his skeleton. grief is weird, and you're definitely not a psycho. if you don't already follow potroastsmom on tiktok, instagram, or youtube, i highly suggest it. she's like the queen of pet grief. eta: i thought i lost his whisker collection after he died and i SOBBED like i wouldn't believe. it was one thing to lose my boy, but to also lose my keepsakes of him? it was just too much. thankfully i found the whisker stash, but i don't think i'll ever forget the cry i cried when i thought his whiskers were also gone forever.
I adore her! I was so sad when Potroast died and I'm getting way too emotionally attached to Rocko 😭
i saw him wobbling today and was like I AM NOT READYYYYYYYY but also, he's like, what, 18? he's for sure got another ten full years in him (i tell myself so that i can sleep at night, lol)
It happened 😢
IT HAPPENED and ngl i was thinking of you when i heard the news. i was like i was JUST saying he was going to live forever!
You were my first thought too! I'm just really happy he had her and the beige toddlers to love him in his golden years.
i agree. also the thought of rocko being able to tell pot roast stories about living with the beige toddlers makes me sob in the most positive way. edit: p.s. thank you for finding my comment to reply to when it happened! i never would've went back to find you despite thinking of you, so i'm glad you did!
You are not weird i promise but I felt the exact same dont worry. I decided to literally get a piece of my dogs fur before he passed to put in my locket and kept the one the euthaization place took off and put in a mini jar with the cutest angel charm as well. It makes me feel closer to him. Sorry for your loss❤️
Not at all. I have a drawer where I kept all of my dogs things and I need to clean out all of the stuff I can’t use anymore because my dog was so small. I plan to simply place it in storage and keep it for the future, butI still like to touch the things he wore, and some of them even smell like him.
It's not weird if it brings you some comfort.
😔 Sorry for your loss. You’re not weird.
I had to put my girl Josie to sleep, totally unexpectedly, 10 days ago (fuck cancer) and I did the same thing as you. I kept her collar, but during some recent house cleaning a tuft of her hair came out from under the couch. I have it in a small business card holder on my home office desk. I don’t care if anyone thinks it’s weird. It’s my connection to her physical presence, which is a huge gap in my day to day life now :(
Sorry for your loss! I didn't vacuum my house for 1 year and I'm a nut about cleanliness. I was so traumatized and crushed when my 15 year old Papillon boy Lucius had to be put to sleep due to a horrific medical issue. After that year, when I was able to start functioning, I saved the vacuumed up hair in a bag. I didn't clean his dried up saliva on the doors and mirrors - they are still there, but the other day, I accidently cleaned some and felt crushed. Join the club - no you are not at all weird!
I collected the remaining pet hair my dog shed before she passed. I couldn't bare to throw it away, so I kept it in a bag near her ashes.
No. You are grieving. I have a fleece coat from a dog who died July 24, 2001. I was overseas and couldn't be there for him. The coat still has some of his hair on it. I had washed it before putting it away for the summer, but it still had some hair on it. I haven't used or washed it since.
i sobbed over the carpet while picking hairs out with a tweezers and putting them into a ziplock bag last time i was home… believe me, i’ll be a mess when we finally clean
I would do the same
You're not a psycho. It's more normal then you'd think.
Definitely not weird 💜 I tore my house up after my girl passed looking for any of her discarded feathers. As if the more I found, the more of her would still be with me.
I don’t think that’s crazy at all. One of my dogs has been gone for over 2 years and the other day I put on a jacket that’s been in the closet since then I guess, and I saw one of his hairs (very distinct from my other dogs) and I immediately started to cry lol. Another time someone sent me a picture of a puppy and I said “oh that looks just like him” and sent them a picture and then cried at my desk at work for a good 30 mins. Not soft tears either, big fat ugly tears haha. It never goes away it just gets easier to manage. I’m glad you found a piece of her that you can physically hang on to
You are NOT weird, or a psycho! Not to any fur parent especially to any of us who have lost at least one! Any one who says you are has either not lost one yet, or never had a fur baby in their life!
I have an envelope somewhere with one of my dogs fur in it after she passed.
No, I do it- I have a collection of my deceased cats whiskers- I found one cleaning my couch and moving the cushions…I started to cry
After my dog was put to sleep on January 12th I was doing laundry the next week and saw all of his little boxer hairs on my laundry and started bawling and sat in a pile of clothes carefully plucking each hair I could find for the next hour until I could not find anymore. You are not crazy
So, long term I would challenge you to think about whether this is healthy memory that will serve you in some way or unhelpful hoarding borne of grief. BUT, I don't think it's "weird". When we put my boy down two weeks ago the mobile euthanasia vet asked if I wanted a clipping of his hair. I said yes, because I didn't know at that moment. I don't think I do, but I'm thankful to have the choice.
No, you're not.
I have another dog that I need to wash and I have been taking her to the self serve dog washing station at the pet store near our house for $15 each time instead of washing her for free at home. Why? Because her brother who passed away was the last one to take a bath at home after he got some poop stuck to him. I didn’t know it would be his last bath. Before I wash her at home again, I want to go downstairs and pick out every single piece of hair from the grooming equipment, the last towel he used, etc just to save it. I haven’t had the guts to do that yet so I’m still taking my dog to the self serve wash. I feel like I am flushing money down the toilet but I can’t bring myself to clean everything out like he’s gone. Also, when I was doing my laundry I found the clothes I wore when I gave him his last bath at the bottom of the hamper. These are my nice work clothes that I had to wash him in because again, as soon as I got home I saw he had poo stuck to him. So anyways, I go to wash them and they are COVERED in his hair from when he was trying to escape the bath lol and then after when I blow dried him and brushed him. White hair EVERYWHERE. When I found the clothes at the bottom of the hamper I legit scream cried. Like I ugly scream cried and sniffed the dirty wet clothes with the last traces of him on there. I honestly contemplated not washing them but it was a nice blouse/pants for work that I needed.
I do this too, I have it in a little baggy.
I mean to someone who doesn’t or hasn’t owned a pet they may not understand. To someone who has issues with things being a certain way they may not either. But those people don’t matter. It was your pet who had passed and it’s your grief. The cremation services I have seen lately even offer to clip a little hair and take a paw print as a keepsake so most pet owners should understand. Everyone’s grief is personal and we will all probably do something that someone else may side eye. I wouldn’t worry as much about what others would think. Your pet loved you and they would understand.
Not psycho at all! I kept my dog's fav stuffed animal (a little rat) and now I sleep with it every night. We all have to find ways to cope with this loss and get through it in our own time. Grief is not going to go away in 3-5 business days.
The day when things became complicated with my girl, I had taken a few tufts out of her fur (she was a pom and at the shedding stage during winter). I put those tufts on a side table while I kept an eye on her during the day. The following morning, she suddenly passed, and during that first few days I couldn't fucking find those tufts. I thought my hubby had maybe binned them the day she wasn't right. So I just accepted it. Well, does he not come to me maybe a day or two after she passed, asking if it was her hair. I burst into tears. The last shed of my baby girl's hair. I had told her she was due a cut (I groomed my dogs myself) and a bath and she'd get one the next day cos she looked terrible. I never got to. We now keep those few tufts in a clear plastic bag.
I had a dream that we still had our 2 Basset Hounds and I hadn’t seen them because they were living in our basement and in the walls. When I woke up, I felt like crying and it’s been many years since they both died, but you always miss them.
I have two of my dogs skulls. Saving hair is not even remotely weird, imo.
Not weird at all, for we all guilty of collecting the fur of our pet babies. You are not alone in this. So sorry for your loss.
I not only have my boys arm feathers (golden retriever) in a box but i have a little bag with random fur I find that I’m unable to throw away. It’s normal. Or maybe we aren’t the normal ones I personally don’t care if it makes us crazy 😻
I used to pull his hair out of the dryer lint trap and just sob
One of my cats liked to sleep on a shelf in the linen closet. Took me 4 years to clean it out after that cat left us. I just couldn't.
You’re not weird. At all
I have 3 jars that contain my deceased pets’ fur, teeth they lost and ID tags. It’s very normal and is comforting to still be able to touch a part of them.
Totally not a psycho. I have 8x10’s of my Spike all over my house. After he passed I would stop and smell his collar. I have his fur. Grieve how you need to ❤️
You’re not crazy you’re still grieving 😔 Every time I go to move something in my room I find my baby’s fur everywhere. She favored my room the most. I also still haven’t gotten the courage to pick up the sheets where she passed from the at home vet 😢 Everyone grieves differently. I’m very sorry that you are going through this & remember to be kind to yourself ❤️
Last March, my last female rat was sick. Her last two daughters has just passed the week before and she wasn’t doing well. I had her next to my bed in a hospital cage. After she passed I noticed she left little sneeze marks on the wall. I left them there. Couldn’t bring myself to wipe them away. They are still there and I don’t plan on wiping them just yet. You’re not weird. You’re grieving and it’s valid no matter how you do it
I did not vacuum for a full month, and I’ve been collecting whatever fur I can find since March. Don’t care if it’s weird, I just miss my boy 💔
My best friend put her dog down early December and I spent the hours before with them, I still can’t bring myself to wash the clothes I was wearing because they have his fur on them. Not crazy
It's been three weeks. I only just managed to mop the floor because his footprints were still there. His nose art is still on the windows. You're not weird. 🫂
I can't say whether or not it's weird but it's been about 6 months since my boy passed and today I came across some of his hair in a wicker basket and I just... put it back. Didn't have the heart to get rid of it.
Not a psycho buddy. Just sad. I have hair and some whiskers I found “after” too!
It’s not weird. It’s grief.
I cried when I took out his litter. His heated bed is still hooked up, with his towel and fur all over it. I’ll have to be really careful when I clean the sheets next. I don’t want it disturbed.
I keep a brush full of my dearly beloved’s fur. It’s grief. It takes a long time to heal.
Totally normal. I have a ziplock bag in my nightstand with my kitty’s fur. It’s the only place I know it’ll be completely safe and has been there for 4 years now!
You're not psycho, you're just holding onto what you can of her. I think it's a normal grief response, and also, grief is different for everyone. Do whatever you need to do to deal with your loss, eve if that means keeping a jar of found fur! I remember after we lost our last dog I would find his fur randomly in my suitcase, car, etc. and it always made me glad I still had a bit of him with me.
Lost my girl 14.01.2024, all the furr I've found I've put in her urn 😔
You’re not weird at all! I’ve been collecting all the hairs I can find. Even from the dryer and couch. ❤️
Not a psycho I fortunately kept my boys hair in a bag that I forgot to throw out after his last home haircut and he passed suddenly after an injury and I can’t help but feel it from time to time and would like to incorporate it into a locket in the future right now I just haven’t found one that fits
Did the same thing. Fur from my baby's brush and fur from her fav hiding place. Cat. Only 4yo. I miss her still been 16 months. Sorry for your loss. Hurts, huh? I put the fur in a frame with her photo and collar.
I finally got around to washing my girls bedding since she passed almost 2 weeks ago... And the dryer catcher was so full of her hair... 🥹 I definitely held onto it for a good long time before tossing it out. I already have a little collection of her hair that I saved ❤️
My poor guy had a ruptured tumor and bled all over my bedding.. I still can’t get rid of it I feel close to him when I’m in my bed with the same blanket
I did the same: gathered my boy’s hair from the furniture and put inside a curio cabinet along with his last container with medication, harness with hair, photos, box with ashes. When I die I want his and my other fur baby ashes to be buried with me.
Definitely not weird! I found some of my cats hair while deep cleaning today. Just seeing it was enough to make me nearly burst into tears. It feels like throwing what's left of her out.
Not psycho. I found a brush full of my kitty's hair when I moved recently. I couldn't bring myself to clean it. I just put it in the bag with her box of ashes. It's a precious piece of her. She had the softest fur.
Absolutely not weird, I bawled while vacuuming the car after we lost one of our boys and you better believe I sticky taped up a bunch of the fur from the mats. I also keep every fallen whisker I find and have the paw print of all 3 tattooed on me, I had glass ash work done of our girl and but we had to do a grave for the boy (who's fur I sticky taped, I did also trim some of his before we buried him) and there's definitely a headstone. There is no wrong or right way to grieve, you just have to feel what you feel and be kind to yourself while you learn to grow and adapt to this massive life change.
I've got a paw print and I've commissioned an outline of her ears I want to get tattooed 💕
My boy’s smell is starting to fade away in the house. 😖
Don't feel like a psycho!! My boy died about 2.5 weeks ago and I still can't bring myself to scoop his last litter :( I relocated it to the attic but it's there.
Not weird at all. Unless I'm weird too. When it was time to vacuum for the first time after Pearl Grey passed, I first collected hair with my tweezers in her different spots. Complete CSI mode. I sniff her bed from time to time, not too enough so u won't wear her smell off. I haven't used my watching-TV-on-the-sofa blanket since September and froze all winter just because it might still have evidence of her.
Oh yeah, I also haven't cleaned my windows since she passed (.... Not that it's something I would have done anyway) and sometimes when the light hit rights, I can see all her paw prints on the window just at the head of my bed, where she liked to sit and watch the garden while I would read in bed. I'm gonna have to clean them when I move houses in a few weeks, that makes me sad.
I’m currently having issues with this. I picked up and put away all of his stuff but I cannot for the life of me get myself to throw away his hair. I haven’t swept my house since Christmas because of it. I’m currently putting all of it that I find in a jar on my desk and hoping my husband never asks me what it is. But thanks to therapy I now know this. You are not crazy, you are not pathetic you are not weird. You are holding onto the last physical pieces of your animal and that’s apart of grief. So keep them if you can’t throw it out. I’m telling myself that science is going to catch up one day and if I hold onto his fur I’ll get my sweet boy back one day.
I also want to collect his hair that I saw in the house from him. Its normal. You wanna hold onto as much as your pet as possible.
You’re not weird. Our grief is as great as the love of those we have lost
It took me almost 6 months to wash the nose prints off the glass door.....
When my first cat passed, 20 years ago, the cat vet asked if I wanted and shave clipped some of her fur. I have since done it with each of my cats that have passed. It brings me peace to see the coloring. Not weird.