LF Advice: My Gaelicat Died

In real life, three years ago, I adopted a baby kitten from PetSmart. She was adorable and looked identical to the Gaelikitten in Final Fantasy XIV. So, I named her Gaelicat.

When I say this cat owned my heart, words can't express otherwise. She was my everything. She'd always come up to me, want pets, had the cutest meow that sounded like "mi-mi" and she would purr loudly if you patted her head.

When she was less than a year old, she jumped up in front of my monitor and would pat the screen while I was playing FFXIV. I have video of that here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6TVC1ye2nA

Today was a difficult day, as you might have surmised from the title. Suddenly this morning, she kept dry heaving -- over 20 times in fact -- so we took her to the vet. Her heart was very fast, her white blood cell count was low, the vet was concerned about an obstruction, and there was concern of sepsis.

She was rushed from one vet hospital to the next. When she arrived, her heart stopped and they had to give her CPR to bring her back to life. It didn't last long, as the tests now show her heart went from very fast to very slow. I was asked to euthanize the cat, so I asked them to instead please wait for me so I could drive 30 minutes to reach them.

Minutes before the time I reached the hospital, my Gaelicat died on her own.

With the backstory out of the way, here's my question.

My minion is a Gaelikitten. My eyes water when I see her in-game, flying above my head like the angel/devil that she was, and sometimes Gaelikitten perches on my shoulder. It pains me to see her in-game and remind me of her.

But at the same time, the thought of switching to a new minion just breaks my heart, like I'm forcing myself to forget about her and that feels equally as cruel.

So my ask to the forum is, what should I do? Do I keep the Gaelikitten out as a memory of my favorite pet, or do I hide her in my inventory of minions and forget about her?

This is a tough call for me, so I welcome any kind feedback.

In the end it's your decision on how to best process your grief
For what it's worth, I don't think that dismissing the minion is the same as throwing it away, and personally I dislike the "forgetting about her" remark, because let's be honest, you won't ever forget her, and that's perfectly okay.

Take your time to process and come to your own conclusions, as there are merits in both outcomes

My condolences for your lost pet.

I'd say take some time away from FFXIV if it's possible, and I had a former cat who was a calico, so the Coerl Kitten reminds me of her too. Usually, I will rotate around my minions I don't see them as abandoning them; I just like to switch them since we can have only 1 out at a time.

I send my condolences, I how that pain of losing your beloved cat, I miss Tango dearly, he was 12 years old when he passed away last August. I say keep the minion as a happy reminder, it will sting a bit at first but then it's comforting like I feel now having the Tora-Jiro minion following me around on my adventures. I do wish there was an orange Maine Coon minion since there are no cat minions with a bushy tail that Maine Coons have. I also wish we could name our minions, I would name mine Tango in memory of him :3


Here is Tango and I use the Tora-Jiro minion since it looks the closest to him.

https://i.ibb.co/CK1wS616/20210505-104559.jpg

Oh no, I'm so sorry!
/hugs
Keep it! For us!
As a reminder that we are thinking of you and we care.
You honour her. We honour her. But these things are natural, a part of life and the way it just must be sometimes.
However, DO experiment with the 'random' minion as often as you can . To give yourself a break, and then go do something engaging.
Keep gaelikit on a hot bar in the corner so you can always go back when the whim takes you and you feel up to it.
What was your kit-kits name? Was it gaelicat?

Sorry about your kitty! :c

The pain never truly goes away, but it does get easier with time. Allow yourself grieve her, even if it means dismissing your gaelicat minion from time to time. You aren't 'throwing her away.' Nothing can take away the memories of the time the two of you spent together. I hope one day your gaelicat minion can be a reminder of your cat's life, and not her death.

I'm so sorry about your kitty and so young, too.

If seeing your minion causes you pain, it's okay to use a different one for a while. You aren't forgetting her. You'll never forget her. You're just giving yourself some time to process your grief and one day you'll be able to bring that minion out again and think of happy memories.

It is difficult and I can fully understand that
One of my Gaelikitten pass away just before last Xmas. Try everything until the Vet suggests the only option. I could not say yes despite I know it was the only option. In my mind she was a fighter, recuse her from an abusive owner when she just turn 1.
At the end I let my family sign the paper and do the final thing.
After that, I keep her ashes but I avoid her toys and stuffs. It is going to take time, life move on, easy to say hard to do. In your situation I would not force myself if I feel the minion is too much to bear. If it is too much switch the minion until you are ready. No shame in that.

I named my chocobo after my cat. Even after she passed away I kept the name in her honour.

Everyone handles death differently, so it's ultimately up to you whether you whether or not you should keep using the minion. If it hurts too much to see your gaelicat then it might be time to retire it for the time being.

Mao thinkings Mother Vain will never forgets Kitty. Kitty was part of Mother Vain life and will always be there in spirit. Is oks to takes time to deal with grief. Is normal part of healings. Some day Mother Vain will bring minion backs out again and it will become focus for Mother Vain to remember the funs Mother Vain had with Kitty.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Veritas-Ancora

So my ask to the forum is, what should I do? Do I keep the Gaelikitten out as a memory of my favorite pet, or do I hide her in my inventory of minions and forget about her?

This is a tough call for me, so I welcome any kind feedback.

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I'm very sorry for the loss you suffered.

My advice is: send the minion away, then print a beautiful picture of your cat and place it somewhere near to your monitor. That way you can look at a real memory of your cat whenever the feelings strikes you, not at some pixels on your screen.

I'm saying this as someone who has kept animals for over 40 years, and has had to have a number of them put down. It breaks your heart every time, but the only alternative is not to have animals. Or maybe a turtle that will outlive you ;)

My heart goes out to you.

I think maybe you brought this to others because you're floundering in grief, and have conflicting feelings and thoughts on using your minion or letting it rest in with your other minions. That's NORMAL. Maybe people talking about it to you will help you sort out your own feelings on it---and it's your own feelings that MATTER here. Ultimately you will do whatever is best for you. It's also okay for that "best" to be one thing at one point in time, but maybe change at another point in time (or not).

Point is, we sympathize. Grief is hard. Losing a loved one is hard. Re: your minion, do whatever feels the most comfortable for you in the moment, and if it stays that way or changes later, both are good.

What truly matters is that your adorable beloved kitteh will live on in your heart forever, and she blessed you with many sweet, wonderful memories.

Use a different minion for awhile, until seeing the minion brings you the joy of your cat's memory rather than the grief of her recent loss. That's not forgetting your cat or trying to cast her memory away, it's just letting yourself heal a little while. You're still going to be seeing your cat everywhere in the corner of your eyes for a long while, and surprising things are going to catch you off guard and remind you of her for years, you won't forget her.

OP, I'm very sorry for your loss. My character Zephyr is named after a kitten I adopted who died at only 3 months of age as he had FIP. Despite our short time together, I still feel that loss. I am glad that in a way he lives on and we can spiritually spend some time together through FFXIV.

I often name characters or pets/mounts over pets I had lost over the years. It may be hard for a while, but some day I am sure you will look at the Gaelicat fondly. But take your time - if you need to put him away for a bit, that's completely valid until you feel ready to see him again.

I'm sorry for your loss, animals really do become a part of one's family.

I think you should do whatever feels best to process losing them. If it's saddening to see the Gaelicat minion as it reminds you of them, you could swap the minion and use them later on. Or once a month as a sort of anniversary to remember her? (it doesn't mean you're dishonoring her memory).

If you can, you could also get a photo of her in a frame if putting the minion away.

If you've opened up your Island Sanctuary already, perhaps you could find a nice spot to let your lil critter roam around there?

Sorry for your loss. I do something similar with a minion I associate with my cat. Suggestion: Adopt a new kitty & associate with one of the other minions such as Tora-jiro if you adopt an orange boy, or Bluecoat cat if you get a silver girl, etc. Reserve a special place on Island Sanctuary for Gaelicat.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Veritas-Ancora

In real life, three years ago, I adopted a baby kitten from PetSmart. She was adorable and looked identical to the Gaelikitten in Final Fantasy XIV. So, I named her Gaelicat.

When I say this cat owned my heart, words can't express otherwise. She was my everything. She'd always come up to me, want pets, had the cutest meow that sounded like "mi-mi" and she would purr loudly if you patted her head.

When she was less than a year old, she jumped up in front of my monitor and would pat the screen while I was playing FFXIV. I have video of that here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6TVC1ye2nA

Today was a difficult day, as you might have surmised from the title. Suddenly this morning, she kept dry heaving -- over 20 times in fact -- so we took her to the vet. Her heart was very fast, her white blood cell count was low, the vet was concerned about an obstruction, and there was concern of sepsis.

She was rushed from one vet hospital to the next. When she arrived, her heart stopped and they had to give her CPR to bring her back to life. It didn't last long, as the tests now show her heart went from very fast to very slow. I was asked to euthanize the cat, so I asked them to instead please wait for me so I could drive 30 minutes to reach them.

Minutes before the time I reached the hospital, my Gaelicat died on her own.

With the backstory out of the way, here's my question.

My minion is a Gaelikitten. My eyes water when I see her in-game, flying above my head like the angel/devil that she was, and sometimes Gaelikitten perches on my shoulder. It pains me to see her in-game and remind me of her.

But at the same time, the thought of switching to a new minion just breaks my heart, like I'm forcing myself to forget about her and that feels equally as cruel.

So my ask to the forum is, what should I do? Do I keep the Gaelikitten out as a memory of my favorite pet, or do I hide her in my inventory of minions and forget about her?

This is a tough call for me, so I welcome any kind feedback.

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If you have an Island Sanctuary, could you put your Gaelikitten minion someplace there? That way, you still have your kitten summoned and visible there, but she can be pampered by the mammets and you can use a different minion for a while on your character so you're not reminded of the raw memories.

Edit: Oops Dustytome suggested this same thing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Doki

Sorry for your loss. I do something similar with a minion I associate with my cat. Suggestion: Adopt a new kitty & associate with one of the other minions such as Tora-jiro if you adopt an orange boy, or Bluecoat cat if you get a silver girl, etc. Reserve a special place on Island Sanctuary for Gaelicat.

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I've always found that the best way to mourn the loss of a pet is to save another little life; don't think of it as replacing them.