My Cat Is Gone

Death is never easy to explain to a child. Some years ago our cat, Cleo, had to be put down due to a tumor. Ali was still a toddler, but our boy Will grasped the severity of the situation. The Wife and I had sat him down and explained that Cleo was sick and she was in pain. What we needed to do was to bring her to our vet where Cleo would be painlessly killed. The conversation was necessary. The conversation was blunt. The conversation was teary for all of us. Kids understand a lot and are more resilient than many adults give them credit for. As we placed Cleo into the cat carrier for the last time our boy placed a picture of him and the cat in with her so "She wouldn't be alone."


I still cry when I write about this.

A friend of Purgatory and artist, Glenn W. Davis, wrote and illustrated a kids' novelette to help young children deal with death. The main character, a girl named Epp, explains what she feels and thinks when her cat dies. This is a synopsis from the author.

Epp's father finds one of her cats under his desk.The father realizes what has happened. He and Epp's mother allow Epp to grieve on her own terms. However, she is not alone when the time comes to bury her cat in the backyard. My Cat Is Gone is for the parent who has the unenviable responsibility of helping a child grieve for a beloved pet and for the child who has lost her pet.

The book is very easy to understand. What I particularly like about it is that there are a few blank pages in the back where a kid can write and draw about his or her experience having a pet die. There are a few pages of the book you can preview by checking out Glenn's site (click here).

LiP