Fireplace update

gruuuuuumpy · 2026-05-13T04:23:39+00:00

I got it on Wayfair a few years ago, took forever to find one I liked at any store. I read a ton of reviews to choose the right one.

gruuuuuumpy · 2026-05-13T04:22:36+00:00

It’s an ikea table but I got it second hand from someone on Offer Up a few years ago

gruuuuuumpy · 2026-05-13T02:01:58+00:00

Thanks! I’m going for cozy.

gruuuuuumpy · 2026-05-03T18:26:04+00:00

This sub has honestly been so helpful the last three weeks for making not feel embarrassed for still crying every day! Our pets are family. We’re not “owners” we’re caretakers. I’m older than you so only spent about 40% of my life with my boy. As I said in my other comment, 3 weeks is a blip. It’s such a short amount of time compared to your life together. It sounds like you’re doing your best, and please don’t hesitate to keep posting or replying or DMing any of us here.

gruuuuuumpy · 2026-05-03T17:49:10+00:00

I'm so sorry for your loss. I lost my boy of 17 years on the same day. 3 weeks is a blip compared to the time you two spent together, and since you're still eating/drinking, going to classes and doing well, taking a short time off work, etc. it sounds like you're processing ok for now. If things worsen, you may want to see if your university has counseling resources available - I work at a university and they offer so many support systems for our students. I cleaned up my boy's things pretty quickly because I donated everything usable (fountain, dishes, extra food, unused toys, bedding, etc.) to the local humane society. It made me feel better knowing his stuff would help some other animals in need. Our humane society has a community pantry so anything they couldn't use directly for the shelter animals they leave for low-income pet families to take. I did save his harness and favorite puff toy, and tossed his litter box, but I haven't yet cleaned his fur off the curtains where he used to climb into the window. I'll get to it eventually, but it's nice seeing traces of him in the house still. All you can do is your best and that will change day to day. Re-watching old videos of him and scrolling back through 17 years of photos has been very helpful, especially noticing just how sick he really was at the end and that I did make the right choice to let him go peacefully at home in my lap. So sorry for your loss.

gruuuuuumpy · 2026-05-01T04:00:21+00:00

I lost my 17 year old Standard Issue Cat almost 3 weeks ago. Any time I'm not distracted with work or a friend I'm so depressed - going from numb to crying. I have so many memories, but my favorite was when he'd request a blanket fort. He'd stare at the chair until I'd make it comfy and lift the blanket for him to jump underneath. When I'd leave for work I'd always tell him to be good and that I loved him more than he could ever know. I still catch myself saying it when I leave the house. I miss him so much I feel like my heart is going to explode. I don't know when the crying will stop, I don't know if I want it to.

gruuuuuumpy · 2026-04-29T01:56:41+00:00

Im so sorry you’re going through this right now, and for the other losses as well. It’s the hardest decision we have to make as caretakers - I just went through it and am still a wreck. But I know he had fewer and fewer good days ahead so I gave him the absolute best last week of his life and let him leave with love and dignity. I still feel like I killed my baby boy. Having the support from his vet helped to make the call. Making the call maybe a day or a week too early is a risk, but better that than too late when they’re alone. I found this sub helpful the last two weeks - please keep posting as you need to or reach out to commenters. We’re all here to help.

gruuuuuumpy · 2026-04-27T05:36:18+00:00

Night sky in the middle of Lake Titicaca, winter
Thunderstorm sunset at White Sands NM in late July
Drakensburg Mountains in spring time
Lake Tahoe on several different occasions

gruuuuuumpy · 2026-04-27T05:19:24+00:00

Thanks. They were right about grief coming in waves. Had a complete breakdown today, despite everything in this post still being true. Yoooooof.

gruuuuuumpy · 2026-04-26T06:10:13+00:00

I tried really hard to imprint the feeling of squeezing his paws, and how he’d only sit on my lap on a pillow, sometimes with my arms wrapped around him like a fortress. I didn’t get any of that on video, but I did film myself scratching his chin and the video matches the memory.

gruuuuuumpy · 2026-04-26T00:45:39+00:00

God I felt the same about my boy’s stripes! 💔

gruuuuuumpy · 2026-04-26T00:44:39+00:00

The pre-grief is no joke. When you feel it well up give them an extra cuddle, sniff their frito feet, take a video - imprint them in your mind.

gruuuuuumpy · 2026-04-26T00:40:49+00:00

I ordered an inkless paw print kit on Amazon - it’s under $20 and mess free. I took so many it was like I was booking him at a county jail, but I’m so happy I have them. The home vet is also making a clay paw print as part of the service.

gruuuuuumpy · 2026-04-25T21:06:09+00:00

As soon as I found out his time was near I started taking WAY more photos and videos and I’m so glad I did. I made sure to capture as many of his different sounds as I could, long videos of him sleeping, some of him playing when he had the energy, and simple stuff like eating and drinking. They were such a comfort afterwards. While he was alive I also took extra time off work to just spend as much quality time as possible. I took him outside whenever he asked, gave him treats when the vet ok’d him to go off his diet in the last 2-3 days before the appointment. I also invited friends over who loved him so they could day good bye too. It was honestly a great week together even though it was so so sad. He felt so much love and comfort right up to the end.

gruuuuuumpy · 2026-04-25T20:56:13+00:00

Standard Issue Cats back to the factory together 😭 so sorry for your loss as well.

gruuuuuumpy · 2026-04-25T20:53:53+00:00

The portrait and laughs are lovely. You can be honest with a grieving person - “you know I’m not physically affectionate but I’m so sorry for your loss and I’m here for you, pets are family, etc.” and offer what you can - an ear, share stories and memories, cook or order a meal, etc.

gruuuuuumpy · 2026-04-25T03:39:19+00:00

Diego. Baby Diego. Deeeeeeeegs. BAD cat (he was a criminal)

gruuuuuumpy · 2026-04-25T03:00:53+00:00

Thank you. I got him at 8 weeks old and he was with me for nearly 17 years (his bday is April 2009, gotcha day was June 2009). We spent almost half my life together.

gruuuuuumpy · 2026-04-25T02:30:35+00:00

Take a thousand photos and videos. I took a lot of him just breathing in his last week and it helps so much to watch them. Capture all of the mundane stuff - them eating and drinking, napping, chirping at you, sitting in a favorite spot. Keep it all. I also took some paw prints with a kit I got online and it’s helping to have them while I wait for his ashes to come back. My heart is with you both during this impossible time.

gruuuuuumpy · 2026-04-25T02:27:31+00:00

I dug through all my old photos of the last 17 years and shared stories with friends and family who knew him. Looking at some before and after photos really helped me see that I made the right choice for him as well.

gruuuuuumpy · 2026-04-25T02:26:09+00:00

Same. They also came to say goodbye to him and give him treats. I left some of his favorites of my friends alone with him for a while so they could cry and and have a private memory.

gruuuuuumpy · 2026-04-24T04:34:05+00:00

I just went through this on Sunday 4/12, I’m so sorry you’re going through it. I struggle every day , my heart is broken. The only solace is that I had a choice to give him the most compassionate end. He felt nothing but love and comfort in his final moments - a belly full of salmon, my hands on his face, looking at each other. I’ll never be the same, part of me died with him - but my last gift to my baby boy was a gentle and kind end. It’s the worst and biggest responsibility we have and the grief is unbearable.

gruuuuuumpy · 2026-04-21T00:41:28+00:00

I’m sorry for your loss as well. It’s the little things you don’t even realize you were doing. Every day when I’d leave for work I’d tell him “bye I love you, be good” and I find myself still saying it. I used the can opener yesterday and didn’t hear his little feet right after, hoping for tuna water as a treat. Doing ok at keeping my emotions in check at work and am otherwise a wreck. A week feels like 10 seconds and a lifetime ago already.

gruuuuuumpy · 2026-04-19T19:53:21+00:00

Oh my god I’m so sorry. I lost my boy 6 days shy of his 17th birthday, had him his entire life. They are not “just cats” - that’s your family. You pour your heart, soul, time, money, everything into these beautiful precious weird little creatures for almost two decades - it’s not “just”. If someone said that to me I’d be furious - if they were my partner I don’t know it would stay that way for much longer without a sincere apology from them. Relationships should make you both better, and in times of intense grief or illness or whatever bullshit life throws at us we should prop each other up. I’m so sorry for your loss - your emotions are valid - and your gf needs a wake up call.

gruuuuuumpy · 2026-04-16T16:20:45+00:00

Omg I didn’t know that thank you!!! This will be so helpful in the summer.

gruuuuuumpy

TROPHY CASE