LF Advice: My Gaelicat Died

[Gwenkatsu]

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.

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

[Nana_Bear]

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.

[Astronis]

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.

[ZephyrMenodora]

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.

[Doomed_Raven]

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.

[Dustytome]

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

[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.

[Catwho]

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.

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.

[FuturePastNow]

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.

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.