19 May 2017

Feline Friday: About Lily

Hello, friends. We are slowly adjusting to a household without Tinsel. Lily has never been a solo kitty so this has to be a very big change for her. But I'm giving her lots of attention and she seems to be responding well.

I know that animals have their own grieving process so I have tried to think of ways to help Lily understand this big change. For instance, I left out the carrier for her to smell after returning from the vet on that very sad day. She spent some time inside it before I put it away.

When I brought Tinsel's cremains home, I showed them to her. Of course, Lily has her own way of doing things and somehow in the midst of my sadness, she made me smile.

Naturally, Lily was quite intrigued by the box. There's a lovely poem with a gold broken heart on top. The other half of the heart is in the bag with Tinsel's cremains. 💓

She sniffed it all over, which is what I wanted her to do. She even scooted it around with her nose. When Tinsel was here with us, Lily was always poking at her, so this behavior was pretty typical. :)

Next I removed the velvet pouch from the box and let Lily take a look at it. 
 

 Bless her heart, she grabbed the cord with her teeth and lifted it up onto the scratching pad where Tinsel often sat.
 

You can see here that she has the cord in her mouth.

In her own way, I know she understands. 

The next day, I found Lily sitting in Tinsel's spot next to her cremains. The sunlight was streaming in so beautifully.
 When I'm ready, I plan to put Tinsel's cremains in the garden and along the sidewalk next to her favorite plants. Until then, we'll continue to adjust to life without her. Somehow I think Lily will be a very big part of the healing process. She's the best medicine for a broken heart.

With love for Tinsel
Janet




1 comment:

Kimberly Marie said...

Awww, I think you're doing a beautiful job of helping Lily to understand the loss of Tinsel. She sure is a special kitty, and I'm so glad you both have each other for comfort and love as you work through the grieving process and missing Tinsel. {{HUGS}}