Even though my cat had been sick for two years it still felt too fast when we had to say goodbye. When his time came he declined really fast and despite emergency care he didn’t improve. Which is how I am here writing about something I never wanted to have to think about, losing your cat. This was my first cat I adopted and just like young love I feel like losing your first is the hardest. As I am stepping through the phases of grief, probably just like you reading this, I wanted to share with you some ways to remember your cat.
Of course, our pets are our family and it left a whole in my heart to have him gone. I instantly knew I wanted to find a way to remember him and all the happiness we had together over the years. The memories we had in our short 6 years together were ones I never wanted to miss. So here are some of the wonderful cat memorials I discovered to honor the memory of our lost cat.
Customize a Photo Book of Your Cat
Struggling through the grief of losing my cat has been a process. I have been reminded it is a process and to give it time. The main focus I have been working towards is remembering all the good time I had with my fur baby.
While I have photo books with the cats from over the years I wanted to take it a little further. Making a whole book dedicated to just my cat who passed was something I thought would be really help to pull out when I was missing him and wanted to remember all the good memories.
Personalized Paw Engraved Jewelry
What I like most about the jewelry option is you can wear it close to your heart and keep your pet with you. You can opt for jewelry with your cats paw print, if you didn’t get one when your cat passed a photo of their paw works as well. Or you can get your cat’s photo engraved as well.
Create Your Own Plush Pet
Did you know there are companies at there that will make life like re creations of your pet. All that is needed to achieve this is to send it several photographs of different angles of your pet.
Petsies will allow you to create your own plush, pillow or even socks of your pet. Their team of designers and seamstresses custom-make and hand-sew every Petsies plush to match your pet’s likeness. It’s like a small little way you can get to snuggle your pet again.
Plant a Memorial Garden
If you plan on staying put and have some yard space available a memorial garden is a wonderful way to cherish your pet. I have been trying to figure out a good spot to put one because I think it’s a great way to for our other cats to have a little more window entertainment.
Look into planting some bushes for birds or you could plant some flowers that would bring by some butterflies. In our house it seems like geckos outside are the most special cat entertainment. If you aren’t sure where to start I find Pinterest jam packed with gardening tips. We also received a card from our vet that had a little seed paper memorial we could plant and it would grown flowers.
If you are looking for an extra special way to mark your memorial garden think about getting a customized stone. Memorial stones from Etsy are a great way to customize to your pet. Plus if you ever find yourself in need of moving you can easily take this item with your to your next house or apartment.
Have a Custom Cat Portrait Made
You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to get a custom portrait of your pet commissioned. A photo is worth a 1,000 words they say and one of many perfect ways to remember your cat.
Plus any chance I can support a local small artist I love to take the opportunity. There are seemingly dozens of options over on Etsy that are priced starting at less than $100! This is honestly a steal of a custom portrait for your cat.
Make Jewelry Out of Your Pet’s Ashes
This one was a new one to me! You can actually have jewelry made out of your pet’s ashes. If you opted to get your ashes of your pet you can send a small portion off and have various jewelry items made out of them.
Personalized Christmas Ornaments
When we lost our cat it wasn’t all too long before the start of the Christmas season and I knew I wanted to get an ornament for him for the tree. Above is an ornament I got off of Etsy.
Shop Cat Pet Memorial Ornaments
Adopt a New Cat
There is a reason this one sits at the bottom of the list. Adopting a new cat shouldn’t be taken lightly. It’s really important you give yourself time to grieve the cat you lost. No other cat with ever be able to replace another.
However, getting a new cat can be looked at as a positive that came out of your loss. Like rescuing a cat that would have otherwise been put down in a shelter or maybe taking on a special needs cat.
It absolutely melted my hart following the story of Beth Stern and Sevensdaisy over on Instagram. This is someone who lost their cat to chronic kidney disease and turned around and said I wanted to honor my late kitty.
Beth reached out to her local rescue organization and said the next cat you get that has kidney disease I want to adopt and care for. Just a few short weeks later she heard a Ragdoll abandoned at age 8 for being sick with CKD needed her help. Now you can follow their adventures together on Instagram. I especially love hearing about their acupuncture trips.
Go at your own pace on deciding to add a new member to the family. Never let anyone pressure you into anything.
Conclusion on Ways to Remember Your Cat
Remember this time isn’t easy, there is no right or wrong way to grieve your cat. This list is merely intended to spark some ideas for ways to remember your pet. This whole articles took me months to put together. First, from the painful thoughts that came up during research. But also, I feel I just needed time to process everything and heal. Please let us know any other ways you have found have helped in your healing process in the comment section below.