Is It Okay for a Grown Man to Grieve Because His Cat Died?

Cats go to heaven, right? Where else could they go?

Jackson poses with his favorite wines. Image by author.

My beloved cat, Jackson, died, and I can hardly breathe.

Death sucks. You can’t plan it, and you can’t fix it. It’s abrupt, permanent, and excruciating. I’m mired in the quicksand of grief and struggling to climb out.

I’ve lost family members and close friends, and the jagged holes their passing cut in my heart will never heal. But a cat? A pet?

“It’s just a cat. Get a new one,” they say. “They” obviously never had a cat. Certainly not mine. Jackson was The Perfect Cat.

Loving, wise, and generous, he left countless lessons scattered in his wake. As the shroud of grief slowly lifts, I see how his life and behavior are reflected in my own.

Jackson contemplates the meaning of life. Image by author.

Facing mortality

We all lose pets and it burns like hell — for a long time. But like any loss, sooner or later, you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get on with life.

I don’t know if I can do that this time. You see, the problem is Jackson’s death heralds the…