RIP: Jet :'(

[alleyallen]

Got a bad start to the morning today when I woke up and checked on the kittens. One of them, Jet, had died during the night.

Quick backstory: I left for my Charlotte trip a few weeks ago but didn't know either of my cats was pregnant. One of the cats, unfortunately, got locked into Little Man's room for a couple of days and had two kittens, apparently the day I left. Anyway, one of the kittens died the night I returned 10 days later. In the meantime, my sister, Lieslntx, checked on them every day, feeding them, petting them, etc.

Well, the one surviving kitten from that cat was called Jet, by Little Man, who has a habit of naming animals based on whatever he sees at the moment (he tried to call the two kittens from the other cat, born on the same day, Lamp and Fan). He named her Jet because when he first saw her, he was holding a miniature version of the airplane I'd flown home on.

Because Jet's mom wasn't giving a lot of milk, I moved her to the other new momma cat and she took her in as one of her own, feeding, cleaning and holding her, just like her other two kittens. Jet seemed to be doing fine, meowing and moving around with the other kittens, although she was a little smaller than the other two.

And then this morning... :'(

I quickly buried her but I couldn't bring myself to tell Little Man when he woke up, and thankfully he didn't go see the kittens like he usually does. I just don't even know how to tell him, either.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Re: RIP: Jet

Wow, that's brutal.

I know some crazy lengths people have gone to keep a pet's death from a kid.

One is to pretend he ran away. Another is to buy one that looks just like it. Or you can have a very uncomfortable death conversation with a kid, who based on the picture is probably about 3 or 4... Cute kid by the way...

Or you can tell your son that the kitten disobeyed you and you snapped his neck...

 

[alleyallen]

Re: RIP: Jet

Wow, that's brutal.

I know some crazy lengths people have gone to keep a pet's death from a kid.

One is to pretend he ran away. Another is to buy one that looks just like it. Or you can have a very uncomfortable death conversation with a kid, who based on the picture is probably about 3 or 4... Cute kid by the way...

Or you can tell your son that the kitten disobeyed you and you snapped his neck...

Actually, he's 5 1/2 and thank you for the kind words. I've always tried to be honest with Little Man but I didn't tell him about the first kitten which died. However, he's going to know that Jet is gone and she's too young to run away. I can say I gave her away....or just be honest. Grapple, grapple, grapple.

 

[OTD]

Re: RIP: Jet

Tell the truth. You don't want him finding out later (even way later) that you lied about it. Sit him down tonight, make sure you've got some Kleenex for the inevitable tears, and do it.

You might offer to get a new kitten. Shelters have tons of them.

 

[OnTheRiver]

Re: RIP: Jet

I thought this was going to be a thread about the band.

RIP to your kitty cat, Alley.

 

[Lieslntx]

It will break your heart to do so, but I would go for being honest with him.

 

[alleyallen]

It will break your heart to do so, but I would go for being honest with him.

I agree. I just feel really bad about it all.

 

[Captain_Kirk]

Well, the one surviving kitten from that cat was called Jet, by Little Man, who has a habit of naming animals based on whatever he sees at the moment (he tried to call the two kittens from the other cat, born on the same day, Lamp and Fan).

Got a chuckle out of this line.

You should have gone with Lamp. Would then be standard course in the AA household to go, "I love Lamp" for years to come.

Sorry about the loss of Jet. I know it will be painful for Little Man, but I would also recommend going with the truth.

 

[alleyallen]

Well, the one surviving kitten from that cat was called Jet, by Little Man, who has a habit of naming animals based on whatever he sees at the moment (he tried to call the two kittens from the other cat, born on the same day, Lamp and Fan).

Got a chuckle out of this line.

You should have gone with Lamp. Would then be standard course in the AA household to go, "I love Lamp" for years to come.

Sorry about the loss of Jet. I know it will be painful for Little Man, but I would also recommend going with the truth.

So we have Homer, so named because the Simpsons were on TV at the time we were trying to name her. Fuzz, because he had a handful of it that she'd shed as we were trying to name her, and, of course, Jet. When we were in the car last week discussing potential names for the other two kittens, he suggested Flag and Cloud, since that's what he was seeing at the time.

I have GOT to write a book or make a movie about this kid.

 

[StormSurge]

Sorry to hear about Jet. :'(

 

[Dan Hickling]

Can be a bonding time between father and son.... I remember some years back, when Dan the 10th and I discovered one of our kittens had been flattened by a car... we did the burial thing in the back yard (full moon and everything). We get the grave dug, then he says, "wait" and runs back the house. Comes back a few minutes later with a bag of cat food, pulls out a handful, then lines the bottom of the hole with it...a priceless moment for us both...

 

[slappy4428]

Well, the one surviving kitten from that cat was called Jet, by Little Man, who has a habit of naming animals based on whatever he sees at the moment (he tried to call the two kittens from the other cat, born on the same day, Lamp and Fan).

Got a chuckle out of this line.

You should have gone with Lamp. Would then be standard course in the AA household to go, "I love Lamp" for years to come.

Sorry about the loss of Jet. I know it will be painful for Little Man, but I would also recommend going with the truth.

Good thing little man wasn't looking at an ATM machine...

Seriously, you have a tough job to do, but honesty is the best... good luck...

 

[Football_Bat]

Well, the one surviving kitten from that cat was called Jet, by Little Man, who has a habit of naming animals based on whatever he sees at the moment (he tried to call the two kittens from the other cat, born on the same day, Lamp and Fan). He named her Jet because when he first saw her, he was holding a miniature version of the airplane I'd flown home on.

I had a stray beagle pup I named Cooper because he ran up to me while I was fixing a flat tire in my driveway.

 

[alleyallen]

Well, the one surviving kitten from that cat was called Jet, by Little Man, who has a habit of naming animals based on whatever he sees at the moment (he tried to call the two kittens from the other cat, born on the same day, Lamp and Fan). He named her Jet because when he first saw her, he was holding a miniature version of the airplane I'd flown home on.

I had a stray beagle pup I named Cooper because he ran up to me while I was fixing a flat tire in my driveway.

See, that's one of the things I love about pets. And kids.

 

[dooley_womack1]

Sorry for your loss, Alley. Have a cat here. Normally a dog person, but it's growing on me.

 

[bagelchick]

I have a friend whose kid named one of their mice "wrapping paper".

Seriously.

 

[BTExpress]

I name my cats after tennis players.

Sorry to heat about Jet.

 

[sportschick]

Sorry to hear about Jet, Alley.

When I was about your son's age, my mom ran over my cat (we lived on a farm, cat lived outside). She could have told me the cat ran away, cause they did all the time, but she told me what happened. It was my first big lesson in life and death.

 

[Lieslntx]

I told AA that I was going to visit his house with a Bud Light in one hand and a Diet Pepsi in the other and wave them in front of Little Man's face while asking about what he is naming his kittens, hoping he will pick "Beer" and "Soda."

Would that make me a bad, evil aunt?

 

[BYH]

Damn that story is alternately cute (the part about Little Man naming pets after whatever he sees) and heart-breaking.

Let me be the latest to recommend telling him the truth.

The summer before eighth grade, my parents bought a house in a so-so part of town and refurbished it to rent it out (and to get a huge tax break). My dad was doing work one day when he heard meowing from the dilapidated (sp) house next door. He walked closer to the house and saw a little kitten meowing like mad in the window. He got her out and brought her home. My sister fell apart seeing this poor little thing. My mom took the cat to our vet, who said she was ridden with fleas and various maladies and would have died in 48 hours if my dad didn't find her.

"We should name her Lucky," I said.

Lucky got nursed back to health...while our older cat was so pissed about the new arrival that she got sick and hid under the bed for like a week. Lucky was crazy, running around the house and always trying to play with Inky, who was an old soul at five. But the two started to get along and we really liked having two cats.

One night in December my dad comes home from work. "Which cat is outside?" he asked. "Lucky," someone said. "OK," he says.

Then he goes into the bedroom and tells my mom that he saw Lucky dead outside...run over. He told us he was going out for a jog, but he went out to bury Lucky in the backyard.

A day or two later, we start to worry about Lucky. My mom kept putting us off, saying maybe she ran away. My sister insisted on putting an ad in the newspaper. Finally, a couple nights later, my mom says "Come into the living room, your dad and I want to talk to you."

"It's about Lucky isn't it? She's dead isn't she?" I say and start crying. My sister is bawling.

Turns out my dad was so upset over this and so unsure what to do that he called the school shrink (no lie) and asked what he and my mom should do. I always thought that was pretty impressive.

Anyway, at first I wished my parents had told us she ran away, but I know now of course that we would have wondered about her forever. And as sad as it was to lose her, at least Lucky got a few extra months of happiness in a good home.

And why the **** is the google ad on the bottom of this page for "dying cat ringtone?" Bad taste.