I do this all the time with my flampoint Siamese. I rescued him when he was around 4 weeks old and now he’s 4 years old and my heart is full of feelings. I imagine this must be what it’s like for parents watching their kids grow up
Parents don’t usually have to watch their kids grow older than themselves. This feeling is mixed for me, I got my orange boy when I was 10 and he was just a tiny kitten. Now he’s 12, showing signs of arthritis, cataracts, constipation, it’s hard to see. He is still my beautiful baby boy and always will be. I’m not ready for the next few years though.
@Denny
That’s so true… grow older than themselves That one really got to me.
Roan said:
@Denny
That’s so true… grow older than themselves That one really got to me.
I’m thankful cats can live up to 15-20 years. I hope I can make his life as comfortable as possible. I had pet rats before and they only live about three years, so it’s nice to have him around much longer. It’s always a surprise when I notice the signs of his age, like how did I miss that? Maybe I’m just not ready to admit how old he really is.
@Denny
I know what you mean. I made my little family in my younger days and lost my first two years ago. My oldest and youngest are cats, the middle three are dogs. My oldest passed two years ago today at 17.5, and my second dog passed in January just before his 16th birthday. Now my youngest is 11, and my vet calls all of them ‘geriatric,’ which has made me notice their white and grey hairs, the longer naps, and their hesitation when jumping up or down. I had rats, rabbits, guinea pigs throughout my life, and it always felt like just when I started seeing their true selves, they passed. These five have been my whole world for so long. Losing them has changed my life. The biggest advice I always give people is to enjoy every day.
@Roan
I still cry thinking about the day I had to have my rats put down for mammary cancer. It was so heartbreaking, they were only two and a half and just starting to calm down and be cuddly. Then the lumps appeared. I just had a scare with my 12-year-old boy too, he had a lump on his foot that they said was nerve cell cancer. If it comes back after being removed, it’ll be worse, but so far he’s fine. It’s hard to put so much love into something so short-lived, but if anyone asked, I’d still say it’s worth it.
@Denny
It really is worth it.
time moves so fast, I can’t imagine him having white hairs
Looking at my old lady kitty right now and remembering when I found her as a tiny, hungry kitten that fit in the palm of my hand. I took her in until I found her a good home. Now she’s 12 and still my baby.
Yes, all the time. With both my furry kids and my human kids. I adopted my cats when they were young adults, so they weren’t tiny babies, but I still get those moments. And seeing those memories pop up in my photo app makes it even worse…
I do this all the time. It feels like just yesterday they were tiny and now they’re all grown up. Time goes by so fast.
I got my girl at 7 weeks old. She’s nine now and I’ve been with her every moment of her life. We’re going through a hard time now, and it breaks my heart to think the last years I have with her are slipping away. Enjoy and spoil him, you both deserve it.
I sometimes cry thinking about my cats as babies, but I’m glad they’re adults now because they’re so much calmer.
I got my dog when she was already grown, but I love searching for pictures of what I think she looked like as a puppy.
My dog is 17.5 years old now and I still look at him like he’s the tiny little baby I brought home at 7 weeks. His habits are still the same and always make me smile.
We brought two puppies home in the last year. I can’t believe how big they are now! We have a 5-year-old Corgi and sometimes missing her puppy days makes me sad, but she’s become such a special dog. Our 1-year-old mutt was tiny when he came home, like the size of a kitten, and now he’s about the size of a small breed dog. Our 9-month-old is huge compared to the others. She came home as a little black furball, like a potato-shaped dog, and now she’s grown so much.
I call one of my dogs my forever baby. I got her as a puppy and she’s 11 now, but she still acts young, playful and loving. She will always be my baby, even at 18. I have another dog who I got when she was 5, now she’s 8, and she’s more mature than the older one. Maybe because she was a mama dog or just her personality. I love her so much, but sometimes it makes me sad that I didn’t get to raise her from a puppy.
I adopted my dog when he was six and I always wish I knew him as a puppy! I now have 6-month-old kittens and I’m excited to see them settle in, but I’m not ready for them to stop being kittens.
I was just looking at photos of my rabbit when he was a baby, and now he’s already 6 years old.
Yes, way too often. Sometimes I watch puppy videos before bed. Both of mine turned 8 this year, and it’s hard to think back to when they were little puppies under 6 months old. It was a crazy but amazing time.