Can you spare some kind thoughts? Our beloved TommyCat (17 years old)

[Flaxbee]

died this morning in my husband's arms. He and my husband were bachelor buddies for 5 years until I came along. Tom was (is) the kitty love of my life, I can't even describe the joy he brought me. I really have no words; we are both grieving, there is a huge hole in our lives now.

So, any thoughts, poems, words of comfort are really appreciated. He has been struggling for a while, but kept bouncing back to real vigor and playfulness; yesterday he took a turn for the worse and he left us this morning.


Here are some photos of him in his heydey. I might post more later, but this is what I've got now.

Goodbye, my sweet Thomas. We love you beyond measure. I know you're still out there.

[LadyoftheRabbits]

1. I'm so sorry...

There's no way he didn't feel how much you both loved him, and you gave him a wonderful life. :hug:

[Flaxbee]

47. thank you so much

(I still think of you as lelapin), LadyoftheRabbits. We had a wonderful life together, and I am happy for all the memories. It's just hard to think of the days going forward without him.

[TZ]

RIP TommyCat....

Sounds like he had a good long life...:hug:

[Arugula Latte]

2. Oh no ... I'm so sorry.

:hug: :pals:

I know how kitties can be just so ... essential ... to our lives. There is a huge hole in our hearts when they leave us.

Tommy was gorgeous and I know he had a wonderful life with you.

We have a big sweet Tommy cat also.

[VenusRising]

3. What a gorgeous baby.

I'm so terribly sorry for your loss. My deepest heartfelt condolences to you and your husband. :hug:

Safe passage, Tommy.

[lizziegrace]

4. I'm so sorry

My old guy and best friend is starting to fail and he'll be 16 next month. I cherish every minute with him.

I lost my first cat 20 years ago. For months after he died, I'd catch glimpses of him in the rocking chair (his chair) and I'd hear him padding down the hall after all the lights were out at night. Thomas will be with you.

:hug:

[LeftyFingerPop]

5. I'm so sorry Flaxbee...I know you gave your beautiful kitty a wonderful life...

:hug:

[auntAgonist]

6. a very loved cat/kid

I'm sorry for your loss. :hug: for both of you.

aA

[Heidi]

7. Safe passage, kind and beautiful Tommy,

and love to you and your family, Flaxbee. I will light a candle (not a religious thing, more of a "sending light" thing) for y'all, if that's okay. :hug: :hug:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

8. My dear Flaxbee...

My deepest condolences on the loss of your beautiful Tommy...

It's so damn hard to lose them, isn't it?

May the huge hole in your heart soon be filled with the wonderful memories of the years you shared...

Safe passage to him!

:hug:

[Ikonoklast]

9. TommyCat will be waiting for you both.

He has crossed the Rainbow Bridge, and is at peace.

I am sure that he is sleeping at the feet of Bast, who has called him home.


:hug:

[ceile]

10. I'm so sorry....

Good bye, Thomas.

[Pool Hall Ace]

11. I know how wonderful pets are.

As you grieve the loss of Tommy Cat, let the happy memories comfort you.

And remember, while the body may be gone, the spirit *never* dies. :hug:

[grasswire]

12. it's very painful to read this

Your beautiful ring-tail orange tabby is going ahead of my beautiful ring-tail orange tabby, and I know the pain you're suffering. What marvelous animals they are. I'm often in awe of their capacity to love and amuse us. Always there. Always offering comfort. Asking so little in return, and summoning up our better instincts.

I'm so sorry.

[Strong Atheist]

13. Ah I understand. I am very sorry to hear about that.

:hug:

My cat (also of 17 years) died three years ago.

[Beer Snob-50]

14. i am so sorry for your loss!!

we lost three within a 6 month period a couple of years ago all around that same age. tommycat looks just like calvin who was one of those three. great cats.....i still miss him jumping up into the chair i was sitting in, manuvereing his body to where he was comfortable and then flopping down (always with at least part of him touching me)

[GreenPartyVoter]

15. I am so sorry! *huge hugs* So hard to lose a fur-baby.

[Flaxbee]

16. Another picture of my baby. We just buried him...

Thank you all for your thoughts. :hug:

[DeepBlueC]

17. I'm so sorry for your loss...

The last picture you posted is so poignant...the legend on the box says it all: "Fragile". R.I.P. TommyCat, beautiful and beloved.

:cry:

:hug:

[CreekDog]

18. What a sweet little guy

I'm sorry. :cry: :hug:

[applegrove]

19. RIP Tommy cat.

[Chorophyll]

20. I'm so sorry...

Rest in peace, TommyCat.

:hug:

[JenaLaw]

21. RIP Sweet kitty

I feel your loss. My oldest furbaby is a 20 yr old boxer mix. We reached an agreement a few years back that in exchange for love and care he was NOT ALLOWED to get sick or die on me. Sadly, I think he is starting to go back on his end of the deal.

Hugs of support to you from me, and the canine zoo that lives with me.

[Cabcere]

22. Oh Flaxbee, I am so sorry.

:cry: :hug: What a beautiful cat. Big :grouphug:s to you and your husband.

[no name no slogan]

23. Goodnight, TommyCat

may you be at peace :cry:

[BuelahWitch]

24. What a beautiful kitty!

:cry: RIP TommyCat

[lukasahero]

25. I'm so sorry for your loss

I hope you find comfort in your years of memories together. :hug:

[Captain Hilts]

26. TC, say 'Hi' to Mr. Peabody for me when you get 'there'. nt

[buzzycrumbhunger]

27. 17 years is awesome. . .

but doesn't lessen the hurt when they're gone. They leave an enormous hole, don't they? Bear hugs to your family. :grouphug:

[Flaxbee]

44. we think he was 17... not sure how old he was when he

adopted my husband back in 1993; he was a full grown cat by then, so who knows?

The house feels empty. There are six other cats here, all of whom I love, but Tommy was my baby. Thanks for the hugs.

[Lavender Brown]

28. I'm sorry Flaxbee...

:hug: I know how much you'll miss him.

[foxfeet]

29. Safe journey to the Otherworld, Tommycat,

and peace and healing to you and your husband. TommyCat was certainly a handsome fellow (I love orange tabbies) and he was obviously very much loved.

[Callalily]

30. So sorry to hear about TommyCat

[Flaxbee]

31. Thank you, everyone. I'd like to respond to you all, but I can't right now

this just hurts so bad. I knew it was coming someday, but I never thought I'd feel so empty.

But all of your kind thoughts and hugs help. :hug: to each of you.

[yellowdogintexas]

32. oh what a handsome big boy he was. I can weep with you.

We lost our own TommyCat last month, he was 16.

Let's grieve together.

[Flaxbee]

46. Does it get any less painful with the passage of time?

RIP to your sweet TommyCat. I'm so sorry. He is the first loss I've had in my adult life and it was his time to go; I am glad any suffering is over for him. But I feel like mine has just begun.

[yellowdogintexas]

50. yes. Losing Tommy was sad, but we knew it was coming. The first cat I lost

like that though was the kitty love of my life against whom all cats are compared. That one hurt longer, because he died suddenly and too young. 22 years ago and I still miss that cat. But it did get less painful with time.

I currently have 3 others so I am not missing kitty love in and of itself. That does help a lot. They are about 6 years old and we hope to have them for a long while.

[Bertha Venation]

33. dear god, flaxbee

I am so very sorry. :hug: :loveya: to you and your husband. I am so sorry.

[Flaxbee]

45. goddamn

is what I'm feeling. I know you lost your beloved Richard, and many others. There are some who just grab hold of your heart and that's that. I love my other six; they're grieving now, too, but Tom was different. THanks for your hugs, and I hope Mrs.Venation gets home fast!

[MineralMan]

34. I'm so sorry. It's awful to lose a long-time pet.

You will heal, though. I can barely count all of the cats I have been friends with who are gone now. Each lives on in my memory and in photos.

[Flaxbee]

35. Not to wallow, y'all, but it'd be easier if someone just ripped my heart out

and stomped on it. This hurts too much.

Time is too slow for those who wait,
Too swift for those who fear,
Too long for those who grieve,
Too short for those who rejoice.
But for those who love, Time is not

--- Henry van Dyke

[graywarrior]

36. Oh no!

I'm sorry....

G'bye Tommy!!! RIP.

[Skittles]

37. *sniff*

Grieve not,
nor speak of me with tears,
but laugh and talk of me
as if I were beside you.....
I loved you so --
'twas Heaven here with you."

--by Ilsa Paschal Richardson

[Flaxbee]

43. thanks, Skittles

it was heaven with him here. Damnit. Tommy was such a comfort.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

38. I'm very sorry... What a handsome kitty he was.

Poem For Cats

And God asked the feline spirit
Are you ready to come home?
Oh, yes, quite so, replied the precious soul
And, as a cat, you know I am most able
To decide anything for myself.

Are you coming then? asked God.
Soon, replied the whiskered angel
But I must come slowly
For my human friends are troubled
For you see, they need me, quite certainly.

But don't they understand? asked God
That you'll never leave them?
That your souls are intertwined. For all eternity?
That nothing is created or destroyed?
It just is....forever and ever and ever.

Eventually they will understand,
Replied the glorious cat
For I will whisper into their hearts
That I am always with them
I just am....forever and ever and ever.

Author Unknown

R.I.P., Tommy. :hug:

[Flaxbee]

42. thank you. I know he's here

but right now I can't stop crying. The poem helps.

[enigmatic]

39. I'm so sorry

Safe passage, Tommy :hug:

[Flaxbee]

40. One more picture --

[Lyric]

41. I'm so sorry for your loss.

*hugs* to you and your family.

:hug:
:cry:

[GoddessOfGuinness]

48. Awww...I'm so sorry...

He looks like a real sweetie. How luck he was to have you for a human. :hug::hug::hug:

Rest in peace, TommyCat. :hug::hug::hug:

[ThomCat]

49. Oh, Flaxbee, I'm so sorry.

:(

:hug:

He was a beautiful cat, and in those pictures he looks like he had a whole lot of personality. :)

I am glad that he was so loved so thoroughly for so long. That must have been a wonderful life.

[Flaxbee]

61. hi Thom, thank you so much for posting -

I know you aren't feeling great and it means a lot to hear from you. I know you recently lost one of your beloved babies; this grief is just so intense. :hug:

[RFKHumphreyObama]

51. My deepest and sincerest thoughts, prayers, sympathies and condolences

May Tommycat RIP:hug:

[Raffi Ella]

52. oh Flaxbee, so sorry for your loss.

my heart goes out to you.
:hug: :hug: :hug:

[WillParkinson]

53. My deepest sympathies...

I know how hard it is to lose a loved one.

:hugs: to your family.

[raccoon]

54. Sorry to hear that. nt

[haele]

55. So sorry -

I'm tearing up now, thinking about my Moggy and Willy-Bear. They leave us all too soon.

Haele

[Deep13]

56. Goodnight, sweet kitty...

...may you chase flights of rodents to your rest.

[madinmaryland]

57. I'm sorry to hear that.

Is that the cat you named your web site tomthecat after, that we saw pictures of Sonia on?

:hi:

[Flaxbee]

59. yes. He is (can't say was) the kitty love of my life

thanks, mad. I knew I would grieve, but I didn't fully realize the hole there would be in my life after he left.

[madinmaryland]

62. Did you say you were going to be in dc next week? Meeting up with any du'ers??

[bobmorr1]

58. RIP Tommycat

http://www.indigo.org/rainbowbridge_ver2.html

Until you meet again! :hug:

[Sheltiemama]

60. I'm so sorry.

He was a beauty.

[driver8]

63. I'm so sorry for your loss.

RIP, sweet TommyCat...

[lost-in-nj]

64. I'm sorry Flaxbee

:hug:

to your family......

what a sweet face on that Tom

but how beautiful that your husband was there to hold him....


lost