LF Advice: My Gaelicat Died

[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.

[CVXIV]

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

[CCheshire]

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.

[Rinoa_353]

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.

[Gurgeh]

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?

[mallleable]

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.

[TaleraRistain]

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.

[Misutoraru]

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.

[Espon]

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.

[Eraden]

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.