My Sons Kitty Died....

I always tell my kids that the animals are in Heaven with all of their family that has passed away. I have always told my kids the truth where death is concerned. I tell them animals, like people, get old, sick, hurt, and then they die. They go to Heaven and all their hurts and sicknesses go away, and they are happy and waiting for us. Kids are very resilient, and can handle a lot. My kids grandfather just lost a dog and my daughter cried for a bit, but than she was better.

I am so sorry! We too had a kitty pass away recently. My kids are 6 and 4. My husband found Einstein in the living room (he was just a kitty but was very sick) and call to tell me. I swear I have never wanted to turn the car around and NOT go home more than then. I didn't want to face telling them. I wanted to protect them. I never had to deal with that before, it was awful.

They took it pretty hard, but we did something that really helped. I went to the craft store and got a little box. We decorated it and glued a picture of Einstein on it and inside we put his collar and some of his little toys. A memory box. You can google it for ideas. We just went with something simple and inexpensive. The kids love it. They get his stuff out sometimes and we talk about our memories.

google "The Rainbow Bridge". I think they have special pictures you can have made, and the poem is great. Try the book 10 good things about Barney, too. So sorry. We still miss our lab 2 years later.

Kids are pretty tough believe it or not. He may be sad for a few days but
before you know it he will be talking about the fun things he did with
Snickers. You also have to remind him about the good life Snickers had.
I have, unfortunately, been thru this a few times. Sorry for your loss.

A great book is "The Tenth Good Thing About Barney".

In December we Had to put my son's 15 month old puppy to sleep. He was only a few weeks shy of turning 3. 6 months later he hasn't forgotten and still talks about Bentley almost every day. I think it is good to talk about it and not pretend it didn't happen. We burried him at my MIL&FIL's farm. We haven't taken our son to see the grave, but I think if your youngest is 4 then maybe you could get a statue or tree or bush or something to plant and put on the site to always remember him.

Sorry I'm not much help.

Its a tough one,, loving an animal and losing them. Kids will be sad and then move on. Just be sure to let him be sad when he is sad and give a few more hugs than usual. If he wants to sit and talk about his kitty then listen and tell stories about how funny and cute the kitty was. I wouldnt bring it up too much and "make" him dwell on it any more than he does himself. Life goes on, and we all just have to let it. Someday maybe you will want to get another and he will love it too.

sorry about the kitty. we just got a kitten and I know my son is already attached to him. I feel you. I would look at pictures of the kitty and talk about the kitty snickers. May be make a collage with his pictures of snickers in it. Let him know that everyone was lucky to have Snickers in there lives. Visit the grave everyday and bring him flowers. Let the boys talk to the kitty at his grave. In time they will feel better. When you think everyone is ready then get a new kitty.

Hello, For the older children, you could have them write down on paper what they are feeling. They could write messages for the kitty and put them in a balloon (filled with helium) and let them go. For the younger one, you would have to write what he tells you. You can go to somewhere like Party City and they will let you put the messages in and then they will fill them. That way, they can also choose their own colors.
Good luck with your precious family.
K. K.

I'm so sorry to hear about Snickers. We recently went through the same thing with out cat, Midget. I had Midget before my son was born, and then when Romo was born, Midget became his cat. She would sleep in front his crib or door and growl, literally growl, at anybody who walked by the door. Romo was the only one who could walk her on her leash (she had one for a little bit cause we had to move). If Romo was gone for the weekend at his dad's house Midget would hide under his bed until he got home and then come running through the house at the sound of his voice. They were adorable together. Every morning, Romo would let Midget outside while we got ready and then before we left he would call out to her and she would come running back inside. One Sunday, we let her out and since we were home we didn't call her back right away. And then she never came back. We hung posters and called all animal shelters in our area. And then a few days passed and a neighbor about 3 houses up called and said she saw or cat get attacked by a coyote in her front yard the day my cat went missing. She tried to stop it but wasn't going to go outside with the coyote and I can't really blame her for that. Telling my son that Midget wasn't coming home was tough. He had already dealt with death, as his Nana (great grandmother) had passed away the year before and his Grandpa had passed away before that. We had told him that his grandparents were stars, and at night we go outside and he points out which one is Nana and Grandpa and now which one is Midget and we talk to them. He knows that Nana and Grandpa are taking care of Midget now and it seems to help him. He was almost 5 when Midget was killed, Midget was 14. He still talks about her, and sometimes gets confused when he sees an orange cat and says Mommy Midget came home and I have to remind him that she can't come home, but we can play with her in our dreams and we can talk to her when she turns her night light on (her star). I hope this helps. It's so hard telling your kids something like this whether it be a pet or family member. Take care!
H.

That is so sad. Poor Snickers!

Our rabbit died a couple of years ago. We had him for 13 years, so before the kids were born. We just talked about how he was old and he's in a better place. We buried him in the backyard and bought a little rabbit statue to put on his grave. The following year we bought a plant to plant next to his grave. Just answer any questions they have and tell them the truth.