Normalizing pet grief: It's okay to grieve your cat
Of all the creatures we share our lives with, cats hold a special place in many hearts. When our furry friends or children die, it feels like a piece of our heart dies with them and it can be extremely difficult to cope with their loss.
The process of grieving is often complicated by the fact that society doesn't always take pet loss seriously. A friend took a few days off work to grieve the loss of her cat and she was harshly judged at work and told it was "just a pet" and she didn't need time off. This kind of thinking is incredibly backward and insensitive. People who love cats should absolutely be allowed to grieve their loss in whatever way they need to, without judgement or criticism. If you're grieving the loss of your cat, know that you're not alone.
Well-meaning friends and family members may also try to downplay your feelings or tell you to "get over it." But the pain of losing a cat is very real. You may find yourself struggling to get out of bed or function normally in your day-to-day life. This is all part of the grieving process, and it is time society accepted this fact.
! If you are living through this situation and you don’t know how to deal with it, you can check my blog post about grieving for your cat here.
How can we change this attitude towards pet loss?
Call out those who say, "get over it." If you witness a situation where someone gets gaslighted for their grief, just tell them that it’s okay to grieve and tell the other person their comment is highly insensitive and backward. This will help normalize the situation and make it the new normal for people to grieve their pets. Small steps bring big changes over time.
Share your story about losing a pet This can help others feel less alone in their own grieving process. The more people share their stories, the more it will become normalized, and we’ll be able to make it a standard, and not a privilege to be able to deal with our grief for our pet.
Do you agree with this? If so, please share this story on your Instagram or TikTok and tag us @bloire.latelier so we can continue to normalize pet grief.
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