losing a pet

[nameraka]

for those of you have lost a pet, how long did you wait before you got another one? (and was it a part of the grieving process for you, or were you pretty much over it?)

we're supposed to go to the humane society this weekend. it's been almost a year, but it still feels like i'm just trying to replace him. 

[Insipid]

I lost my shiba 5 years ago this month. I haven't replaced him. I'm not opposed to getting another dog though. You seem ready to me.

[The_annoying_one]

The last dog I lost was probably at least 5 years before I got my current one. I had the same feeling when I decided to get the one I have now. Almost like it was a betrayal of some kind. 
 

I’m definitely not trying to convince you either way of what you should do. Sorry if this isn’t much help.

[crackymckrackin]

16 minutes ago, nameraka said:

for those of you have lost a pet, how long did you wait before you got another one? (and was it a part of the grieving process for you, or were you pretty much over it?)

we're supposed to go to the humane society this weekend. it's been almost a year, but it still feels like i'm just trying to replace him. 

None of my pets ever died. They all went to live on a farm.

[SwimOdin]

It's been about 10 months with Biscuit and I don't see getting a new cat anytime soon.  I want one so bad, but the time isn't right.

[André Toulon]

After Sheeba, never got another dog....that was 17 years or so ago. 

My son got a gecko that wound up being my responsibility and that one wrecked me. Pet stores never had crickets in stock, ordering them online was iffy... sometimes they show up dead and the gecko wont eat dead crickets.

I gave him dried meal worms, bit he wouldn't eat them.....so i started hunting crickets in my yard. I think i poisoned him with those shitty, lead water crickets....anyway. That was like 3 years ago and no more pets for me. I'm good.

Edit, it was around covid so i guess longer than 3 years but it feels like yesterday 

Edited yesterday at 06:05 AM by André Toulon

[molarbear]

2 hours ago, nameraka said:

for those of you have lost a pet, how long did you wait before you got another one? (and was it a part of the grieving process for you, or were you pretty much over it?)

we're supposed to go to the humane society this weekend. it's been almost a year, but it still feels like i'm just trying to replace him. 

eight years or so from when the dog crossed the rainbow bridge to the void randomly appearing on the back porch

It still feels off, but it is definitely nice to have an animal around again

[UwPp]

Pixie passed away during covid. She was 15. Still haven't gotten another dog. Mew and I have been just chilling through life. Idk what I'm going to do when I have to say goodbye to him tho. 

[scoobdog]

I've never had a household that was devoid of canine and feline family members so that might affect my answer, but, there really isn't a timeline.  Just as with a hereditary family member, they're not "replaceable" in the sense one might "replace" a significant other.  If you picked up a new kitty a day after losing your long time feline companion, you're not somehow replacing your old family, you're rescuing new family that can help you work through the grief of losing someone special to you.  Each pet we take into our homes is a unique personality that can't be erased once they are no longer with us, and it become apparent when you learn to interact with your newest adoptee.  What matters is your capacity to open yourself up to loving this new family member:  whether or not you are able to process grief with the help of others or if you have to shut down to do so.  If the answer is that you can love someone while grieving for another, then you can adopt a new pet right now.

[katt_goddess]

It's honestly a continuous grieving process for me. I still feel the loss of each kitty deeply.

'sha [ age 10; condition was liver failure, semi-quick once diagnosed and she made the decision that she didn't want any more tubes by chewing all her IVs off ] I received a phone call the day after she passed from my mom who had just found two litters of kittens in the wood pile being raised by raccoons. They were only a month old so I'd have to wait another month to rescue one. I said I would if there was a girl and not a blue-grey- there was exactly one girl and she was a full tabby. So the decision was technically the following day but I had a month of alone time which could have ended up being more. The little tabby came to me very sick but we got her healthy. In the end, she was the only survivor of all the kittens.

Bitchcakes [ age 14 years, 9 months; condition was cancer] Her disease was hidden by her arthritis, her pain meds kept her going until she started having problems eating. She ended up in the ER hospital where testing eventually revealed she had cancer. She was given days to weeks. We had 6 weeks together after that diagnosis, careful hand feedings twice a day, heating pad, pain meds and episodes of Metalocalypse. Two weeks after she had passed, I ended up clicking a link I was sent and there was one itty-bitty baby girl in need of a home. A little tuxie.

Potato Bug [ age 1 year, 3 months; condition kitten leukemia ] The freshest loss, she went downhill way too fast for such a small kitten. She was being treated for what passed as anemia but when she refused to eat anything one day, we went to the ER. She never came home. This was a few days before I had to head to Atlanta. In the vendors mart, there was a picked over table of random plushies - a small tuxie had been pushed to the side. It stays on my bed in the pillows by my head - Bug used to climb under the covers and hug my neck to fall asleep. About 3 weeks later I was pity-partying on Bug's adoption site and there was a tiny not-a-tuxie kitten that looked like her world was ending too. They said she might be too shy to function. She's currently snoring in the cat tree's highest point after a full day of mischief and mayhem.

 

For me, a kitty is an ESA. A kitty needs me to be functional, non-feral, semi-adult creature so that's what I am. I spoil them, they keep me sane. I still grieve 'sha and that was ~16 years ago. I currently can't watch videos of tuxies playing in the snow and being tuxies or enjoy french fries because those were Bug things only 7 months ago. The Metalocalypse DVDs are gathering dust on the shelf because the last time they were watched, it was while carefully cuddling my little Bitchcake and feeding her puree. They are always in the background, they were family. Sakura isn't a replacement, she's merely the newest family member. 

[1pooh4u]

I got another cat before my very old cat Sox died. I didn’t plan it. I didn’t want it, but he needed me. The CDS does stuff in its own time. 
 

a year seems like a long time. Look at it like this, your old pet would want you to help another like how you helped them. 

[ghostrek]

On 3/5/2026 at 10:03 PM, nameraka said:

for those of you have lost a pet, how long did you wait before you got another one? (and was it a part of the grieving process for you, or were you pretty much over it?)

we're supposed to go to the humane society this weekend. it's been almost a year, but it still feels like i'm just trying to replace him. 

5 years seems like a reasonable amount of time. @nameraka   But after my cat goes.  I might not get another.  @Insipid is rigth 4-5 year perfercet time to wait, but also  trust your feelings, you know best