I am so sorry, Meekah. Please be as good to yourself in the coming days as I am sure you were to your dear Izzy. Hugs.
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Oh no! Iām so sorry, Meekah!
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Iām so very very VERY sorry! It hurts so much to have to say goodbye to our little furry kids, especially when something comes on so quickly. 
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Iām so sorry to hear of the passing of Izzy. Losing a fur baby is never easy.
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Oh, no. Iām so sorry. Poor little guy. Try to take comfort in the wonderful life you gave him.
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Blessings for the time you shared and fond memories to continue. I am so sorry for this time.
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Iām so sorry. I was hoping for the best, as I am sure we all were. Made me cry.
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My older girl cat has been crying all day. They know.
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It just never gets any easier. All we can do is treasure the time we have with them, and give them the best possible life, which I am sure you did.
The hardest part is having to let go. Keep your girl close today 
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Iām so sorry
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Iām so sorry. It never gets any easier. 
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I believe that only those who donāt have pets are able to say that pets (especially cats and dogs) arenāt family. In my eyes, theyāre even more family than many children as itās rare that pets hold grudges or do careless things to we who take care of them. So I feel very strongly that losing a pet is no different than losing a family member. So @Meekah , you have my sincerest condolences. And I hope you or other HO members donāt mind me posting the words below. If it feels wrong to do so, I apologize in advance.
I wasnāt going to post anything because the pet is question wasnāt my own, but my friendās dog Amber passed away on October 4th of kidney failure. She was a rescue that my friend in Japan adopted after Amber had been at an animal rescue organization for TEN years. Amber sat in a cage in the organizationās rural facility without anyone adopting her. She had a deformed paw and some other ailments. But my friend immediately knew that Amber was for her.
The first time I met Amber was in June 2019 soon after my friend adopted her. That means Amber was lovingly cared for by my friend for over 5 years. And I stayed with my friend and her husband for approximately 4 months in 2023 & 2024. My friend was kind enough to let me take of Amber while I stayed there. I woke up at 5:30 AM and gave Amber her before meal medicine by putting a pill on the tip of my finger coated by some of that pet food that comes in a tube. That was the only way anyone ever got ākissesā from Amber as she was a bit wary of people (who wouldnāt be after 10 years in a cage at a rescue facility, right?)
Before I started to take care of Amber, she hardly ever wagged her tail and only barked ONCE. But while I was there, she gradually started to open up. Wagging her tail for treats and meals and if I was late in feeding her at night, sheād actually dance & bark! And one day she suddenly started greeting my friendās sister when she visited!
One night I stayed out late and when I came back, Amber was sleeping in front of the bedroom door where I slept waiting for me. And that same night, I woke up at 3:00 AM to use the bathroom and Amber was still sleeping there!
Amber was on a special low protein diet. It was a dry food which required lukewarm water to be poured on it 30 minutes to an hour before being eaten. I was happily given that task when I stayed there. Because of her deformed paw, it was hard for Amber to take walks, but I sometimes took her outside for to do her business. However, my friend is usually the one who took Amber on walks because thatās who Amber trusted most.
Even though Amber was not my dog, I loved her as if she were and the loss of her and knowing Iāll never see sweet, sweet Amber again truly saddens me. But I feel very much blessed to have taken care of her and to know that I possibly made her life a little happier and more comfortable.
I have dozens of photos of Amber that I or my friend & her husband took. But this one I took is my absolute favorite. Amber would sit on one of her 3 beds 
and lovingly gaze at me with these doe eyes when Iād eat. I wanted to share my food with her, but my friend had fairly strict rules about what Amber was allowed to eat and hardly ever snuck her food. Eventually Iād have to close the door to the room I was eating in because I felt bad about not being able to give her human food.
Thank you Amber for all the love you gave. And a real thank you to my friend and her husband for letting me stay with them and for allowing me to take care of Amber.
Lastly, thank you to @Meekah for giving me the courage to post here about Amber and to those who took the time to read this rambling post. Iām sorry if anyone feels it was improper for me to write something like this here.
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Thank you for sharing. I donāt believe that you have to be the āowner/guardianā of a pet to love them. Our good friendsā not even 2yr old cat died unexpectedly and very suddenly of heart failure in August, so neither they nor others really had a chance to form a very close relationship with Otis, but he was an absolute sweetheart and will be missed.
I think you and I both are highly empathic people who are very attuned to other peopleās feelings, especially losses. Nothing wrong with that, and certainly not improper, or something to apologize for.
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Thank you so much, @linguafood . Netiquette (a portmanteau that I first came across in Japan) is a rather delicate and tough issue. Because of that, I tend to shy away from posting or commenting on any site. And currently this is the ONLY site I post/comment on because Iām quite fearful of upsetting the OP and readers not to mention abhorring trolls and itās been my experience that this site is the most welcoming of any.
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. Made me cry.
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@TokushimaCook thank you for sharing your story and a picture of Amber. She was a beautiful dog, you loved her very much and I can tell you took really good care of her. You must miss her very much.
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Thank you so much, too @ottawaoperadiva . She was a truly special dog and indeed, I loved her. She passed away quite suddenly and that made it all that much sadder.
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Iām really sorry to add to your sadness. I hope something will soon appear to make your sadness a little bit lighter.
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You didnāt add to my sadness - you told a beautiful loving story that reminded me how much our animal friends bring to our lives. I will start looking for a new companion for my older girl cat; not for me if Izzy had been my only kitty, Iād take more space. My girl has lost two kitty brothers now; I want her to have a kitty by her side in her last years. She adored the two she had.
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Thank you very much, @Meekah . I can truly see what a warm and caring person you are. Izzy and all the other pets youāve had are truly lucky to have had you take care of them.
I take care of my sister and her 20 year old cat now. Though I love nearly all animals (dogs like Dobermans other breeds raised by the āownersā to attack scare me), Ive never really been a cat person and always preferred dogs. But taking care of my sisterās cat āCocoā has made me like cats a lot more than I used to. Sheās seemingly in the beginning of dementia and that is hard for me (and my sister, of course) to deal with. But I do my best to keep Coco happy and comfortable.
I hope that you can find a suitable companion for your girl.
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