Pets are people, too...
 

Very sorry for your loss. Our cat died this January as well after 18 years and we knew she was leaving a month or so before she passed. "Oscar" (yes, Oscar was a she) stopped eating and although she didn't appear to be in pain, she progressively got weaker.
The day before she died she went downstairs to my daughter's room. I have no idea how she made it as she was only crawling at that point. I believe she went down there for the last time to say goodbye to that room as she had slept there quite often. I carried her back upstairs and later that night she died.
I believe that all creatures have a soul. :angel10: Oscar is buried in the woods behind our home on a small hill facing a ravine. I placed her as if she was laying and looking out over that scene. I believe she is in heaven waiting for us, just as people are. :hug:
There are many areas with more information on the internet regarding pets and heaven. Try some of those and perhaps you will be able to accept and believe in something that will bring you comfort. Good luck.

Laughter and love,

Richinside

Thanks everyone for your warm and comforting posts.

I had talked to a friend of mine a couple of weeks ago about this, and she relayed a story to me that had happened to her a number of years ago. She went on to say that she had been rushed to the hospital and ended up dying on the operating table. She had been 'dead' for a few minutes before doctors were able to revive her.

During that time, she had an experience of leaving her body and looking at it as if she just had shed off an old pair of heavy clothes. She proceded to watch the doctors before losing interest and then wandered throughout the hospital and floated up and above it. She next found herself in a field with her childhood dog greeting her just like he had always had done before. She used to take him on long walks and they would play in a grassy field, except the colors in this field were so much more vivid!

After playing and greeting with her dog for awhile, he then led her to a place where others were waiting for her. She remembers having a life review, but little of anything else at this point other than being given a choice to go back. When she made her choice, she found herself awake on the operating table with a team of doctors and nurses surrounding her. As they were all happy and relieved to have brought her back to life, all she could feel was saddness and longing to go back to that state of pure joy. The doctors had told her that she had been dead for a couple of minutes, but her experience on the 'other side' seemed to have been nearly an hour.

It gives me comfort to hear stories like this, believing that my beloved pet is ok and that I'll see her again someday.

yup. I would be the last to make a flowery feel good statement about something i had not experienced. they continue on... sometimes stick around for a few weeks after they pass, sometimes return..sometimes stay in fluxuating intensity. in experiencing my own, and other animal spirits really puts things into perspective, or lack thereof. Bonds and love never die. they just change form.

daver
i myself have just went through pretty much the exact same thing and I extend my deepest sympathies to you. on january 19th i also found out that our pussy cat had leukemia, she was extremely anemic and her kidneys were failing. for about two months i had noticed a significant drop in her weight, and her increased thirst for water. in reasearching online i had came to my own conclusion that she was perhaps diabetic or had a thyroid problem. so you can imagine the complete shock when the vet came out and told my daughter and I that there was no hope for our wee Sunshine. we took her home and for a week we allowed her to eat all the treats she could handle and loved her all up. on january 26th I had made the appointment to lay her to rest and end her suffering. it was the absolute most horrible thing i have ever had to do. i close my eyes sometimes and the thought of watching her pass haunts me. and still haunts my dreams. here is my little experience that happened just 3 days after we put her to rest.
in my living room, i have a fairly large entertainment stand. on top of it lay a christmas card that I had forgotten about from my sister. that night i was sitting on the couch watching television and all of a sudden the card FLEW off the stand. right then and there i absolutely knew it was her saying "hey mom i'm here". it was her thing to crawl all over everything in our home. she certainly had a love for the top of the stand and would always "cat nap" there. i had to giggle out loud and thanked her for coming to see me. my daughter who was very attached to her has sworn she has seen the little streak of orange lightening out of the corner of her eye several times since her passing. like human spirit, i do believe that pets stick around for a while before crossing over to make sure that their loved ones are ok, and when they feel that everyone is done grieving, they find thier wings and fly :)
warmest of hugs to you and may the memory of your wee friend always be a constant reminder of what true unconditional love is. do take care.
~loriann

Sorry for your losses bornagain and Richinside. My loss was totally unexpected and very quick. Within 3 days she went from being seemingly perfectly healthy to the vet telling me that she was suffering and there was nothing they could do for her. It's almost been a month now and I still get teary-eyed when I think of her, which is everyday.

I think pets do have a place in the after life.

i have had my cat run over 3 years ago which broke my heart and i went on a site called gone too soon which helped me, i have just found this site and i am going to suggest it to my mum as she lost her labrador two weeks ago to cancer and she had to have her retreiver put to sleep today because she was 13 and stopped eating so ime feeling for her at the moment

Sorry for you and your mum's loss suexylady. :hug2:

When I was a kid, probably about 11 or 12, I had pet birds, one day one of the mothers in a nest threw all the babies out, by the time I realised, they were all dead (about 4 or 5 of them) except one, that was still on the ground in the cage, seemingly unharmed. I went in and got him out, I saved this one baby budgerigar.
Then over probably a month or so (with my parents help) I raised him. We eventually put him back out in the cage, but he never seemed happy or 'social' like this breed of bird normally is. Probably 2 weeks after he reached adulthood and was put in the cage, he died.
So I guess maybe him and his siblings where unwell?

I remember the last couple of times I saw him in the cage he would fly away from you like the other birds, normally he would'nt be scared and would even let you touch him, and if you had food he would go to you, it was like he forgot who I was.

Anyway, to answer your question I'm not so sure about an animal heaven or life after death for animals, I've never sensed the spirit of my pet bird, or any other pets me or my family has had. Anything's possible though I guess.

I guess we wonder if our pets will be waiting in the after life??? Some of us think not, because we tend to think of ourselves as in some way superior. let me tell you this is NOT the case! We have a lot to learn from our furry friends.

Have you ever seen an animal cruely story??? I am always amazed, that even when so poorly treated, animals will give there trust to a new owner. You would think they would never trust a human again. However, animals are extremely forgiving, very loving and loyal. Hence, they have a higher vibration, that allows them to share the same realms as us.

And althought they are in a physical body, there senses are far more acute than ours!!!

Myer