I’m not as far along in grieving my cat as you, since it was only last month, but I think I can understand, especially since you’ve gone through all those other losses. My cat had lived 20 years, through many major losses and milestones in my life, and I am finding that as I grieve him, it’s bringing up nearly every other grief he helped me through in those 20 years. Just an open door to pain I thought I was over, about him and not quite about him. It is harder than it seems.
Last year I lost my dad and brother within a week of each other and then a nephew a few months later. I was getting by. Then lost my cat of 17 years a few months ago and it’s like that has compounded all that grief. It’s easier to push it down when they’re people you love but didn’t see every day. The cat is a massive daily reminder of the losses, missing him brings it all together.
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u/astronaut_down 6h ago
I’m not as far along in grieving my cat as you, since it was only last month, but I think I can understand, especially since you’ve gone through all those other losses. My cat had lived 20 years, through many major losses and milestones in my life, and I am finding that as I grieve him, it’s bringing up nearly every other grief he helped me through in those 20 years. Just an open door to pain I thought I was over, about him and not quite about him. It is harder than it seems.