If you follow me on Instagram or on Facebook, you already know this. But I am heartbroken to tell you that this past Saturday, February 1, 2025, our sweet boy Pip joined his brothers and sisters in heaven.
Pip first came to live with us when he was just short of a year old. He had recovered from having his back left leg amputated, and a friend of mine - Kate Gagnon Osborn - had been fostering him. She suggested that he would be a good fit for our family. (Fun fact: about a year later, she would foster the dog that would become another member of our family, Dug!)
When Pip joined us, we had Jetsam, who had been alone for about a year after we lost two other kitties within a week of each other. They became fast friends, and we could tell Jetsam was glad to have a companion again. Pip loved Jetsam right away, and things felt more complete again.
Pip never met someone - human or otherwise - that he didn't make friends with. We used to joke that if we brought an alligator home, he'd make it his friend. Anyone else who joined the family was immediately fine with him, even if the others might take a while.
He was our sweet boy, cuddly, purry, and playful. He was also the family narc, making sure that we knew if something wrong occurred. He loved it when people came to visit (more friends!), and loved going out in the garden for a walk around, once he realized (starting over every single year) that it was a safe place.
He had a great Christmastime this year, which made us (and him!) happy. Last October, the vet said he had lost a bit more weight than before. He wanted to do all kinds of tests to see if it might be cancer or something, but we decided that as long as Pip was happy and his usual self, we were leaving it alone. Going to the vet was one of the few things that stressed him out, even more than any of the others, and we wanted to avoid that.
In the last few weeks, you could tell he didn't feel well. He slept more, and though everything else was pretty much the same, he wasn't his usual Pippy self. And then his back leg - the only one he had - started not working too well.
I kept telling him that he needed to let us know when he was just too unhappy or sick to go on, because like I said, he was clearly not feeling his best. On Saturday morning, when I went downstairs to give everyone their breakfasts, he was sitting next to the heater, and he looked at me sadly and meowed even sadder. So I knew he was telling me.
Fortunately, the vet could take us a couple of hours after we called. All the others told him goodbye, and we put him in the carrier to go to the vet, which is about a block away from our house. It was a *very* sunny day, and we talked to him and told him the sun came out for him the whole way there.
And by the time we went to take him out of the carrier at the vet's office, he was already gone. We agreed that one of the rays of sunshine decided that it couldn't wait any longer for him to join in making the world bright and making people smile, so that's what happened on our way there. I like to tell myself it was quick and he didn't even have time to think about it, because I hate to think he was panicked in the carrier for the last seconds of his existence.
Pip was a happy boy, and from all that we could see and tell, he had a happy life. We tried our best, and I like to think he knew that - he seemed to know that he was beloved, and he really was.
He would have turned 14 on the 14th of the month - Valentine's Day. So rather than have a little party for him, we'll do our best to celebrate that he was ours for as long as he was. Maybe by then we'll have his ashes here at home with all of us.
God bless you, Pip. We will love you forever, and will never be able to stop remembering how you saved our lives. I hope you were extra happy to see your Welcoming Committee in heaven - I know they were happy to see you!
Please give all of your family members some extra love today, however you can. Pip was all about love, and knowing that other people and animals were getting some extra love on his behalf would make him happy.
16 comments:
Dear Bridget, I am so sorry. He seems like a sweet cat, and I know you gave him a wonderful, beloved life. In the end, what we all want is to love and be loved, and he had that with you.
Thank you for sharing your guy and of course so sorry for your loss. I had to cry through the whole post partly because he was such a sweet boy and partly because I lost my sweet yellow fellow nearly two years ago and still miss him so much. It's so hard to lose them but they are such blessings when we have them. I'll be thinking of you.
Oh, I am so sorry to hear this! It was always such a delight when Pip popped up in your blog. Your animals have the best lives and they know they lucked into living with the most loving family. My furballs and I send our love to you and yours.
Oh I'm so weepy over your loss. I'm so sorry. I am thankful that he left while in your company and he knew you were with him and didn't have to go through the stress of being in the vet's office. Pip was so ready to go, but so sad to leave you.
What a lovely, lovely tribute to dear Pip. I have been holding you all in my heart and thoughts since seeing your IG post. May Pip's memory continue to fill you with the delight that was Pip. XOXO
I am so sorry to hear this. My deepest condolences on the loss of your beloved Pip. I’m taking comfort in your description of his final moments because that is just how my Mommy cat went. It’s been hard to separate my grief from what was best for her. Your words will now replace the ones I’ve had in my head for too long. May his memory be a blessing.
Sending you hugs and prayers. Losing our pet family hurts a lot even when it is for the best. You were amazing parents to your sweet Pip. He knew it too. I remember when it was time to take my Kittie, "Blackie" to the vet for her last time, she always had hated the car ride. Ironically she never cried that day. Just watched me driving and listened as I was talking to her through her carrier. They know more than many give them credit for. Your Pip knew you well and knew how to tell you what was going on.
Oh, dear sweet Pip. Rest well. Orange cats deserve a Special Place in the Hereafter.
XXOO Bridget--I feel for you, friend.
Oh I'm so sorry.
He went like our dear Peno did... just breath one last breath and was just gone. And you gave him a long happy life - right to the very end
Pip, you are loved beyond Philly. Hugs, hugs, hugs to your family.
You have my sincere condolences. I lost Piper - who, from the sound of it, was the female equivalent of Pip (she made friends with a mouse) on Valentine's day 4 years ago. She was 23. I will kiss Daisy the dog in memory of Pip.
God bless Pip! I am sorry for your loss.
Oh Bridget, I am so sorry for your loss.
Oh, Bridget. I'm writing this comment through tears. What a beautiful tribute you've written for your dear Pip -- and what a beautiful life you gave him. I'm so sorry for your loss, and I know the hole in your lives/in your hears will never heal. Lucky Pip. Lucky you and Tim. Thanks for the sunbeam, Pip. XOXO
Pip was such a friendly, loving fellow. I’m so sorry for your loss. Be kind to yourself!
I am so very sorry to read this. Pip sounds like the perfect friend…accepting and loving. It is so hard to know when to say that last goodbye. Rest in Purrfection, Pip.
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