Grief and Coping With the Loss of a Pet Family Member

It’s very natural to feel immense grief when a family pet leaves this third dimension, due to advanced age, disease or injury. The feelings of not being able to physically pet and feed our furry friends can be over whelming at times.

Over the years I’ve been granted the privilege of being the steward of cats. They are more than animals. Our cats and dogs are beloved members of our family. They give us unconditional love and heal us, even when we are unaware of them doing so. When our beloved pet becomes ill, we give care and treatment under the direction of a veterinarian. Our care and concern causes more love to be felt in our hearts.

Many years ago, my cat named Shady Lady, developed feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). This disease affects the liver and has a high mortality rate. She became disoriented due to the high ammonia levels in her blood stream that her liver could not detoxify. She required the expertise of a vet who specialized in gastroenterology. After an initial four days in the animal hospital, undergoing tests and receiving intravenous fluids and medications, I took her home with a feeding tube that was protruding out of her abdomen. Thus began two and a half months of round-the-clock treatment and weekly visits to the vet.

Every four hours, I fed her a fresh blend of tube feedings that I prepared with a blender, using raw liver and other nutrients. Her medications were in liquid form and were administered into the same tube. It took an hour to slowly inject the feedings into her stomach each time.

The high ammonia levels would cause her brain to malfunction. I spent many hours washing linens because she was peeing on the waterbed. I remember one time, it was just about midnight, and I had just placed the washed and dried sheets back on the bed. Shady Lady jumped up on the bed and urinated on the area where I sleep. I was so tired I just put a bath towel over it and slept that way. I washed the sheets the next day. I caught myself complaining to a friend who just gave birth to a baby.

I told my friend, “All I do is feed my cat and wash laundry. There’s no time to do anything else!”

She replied, “Welcome to my world, Barb.”

We both had a good laugh and it snapped me out of the narrow-minded perception of my life at the time. Of course, this loving care and work is what mothers do all over the world for their children!

Shady Lady had a complete recovery from the FIP disease. I am very grateful for experiencing the care and love I gave her during her illness. It was seven years later, when she developed a nose bleed the night of my weekend Reiki II course. The vet told me to bring her into the office on Monday. I returned home from the Reiki class on Saturday and she was nowhere to be found. My husband assured me he kept the doors and windows shut, so there was no way any cat in the house could have walked outdoors.

The next day, the Reiki instructor told me she could see Shady Lady next to me in the class, as a form of golden light. I asked the instructor what happened to Shady Lady.

“She just left.”

I later found out Shady Lady did what Jesus did. She translated out of this dimension. Translation is the act of taking your physical body with you, through a portal or stargate. I grieved for months over her absence in my physical reality. Even though I know she is with me, just as our human loved ones who cross over are still with us, I miss her all the same. I learned it takes time to process grief and being kind to our self is very important. There are no rules to length and depth of the grieving process. However, I do understand the more we realize as we ascend through the dimensions, we are all together as One, the grief is lessened and the joy of our experiences and memories remain.

I have since learned I have a gift of contacting my client’s pets who have crossed over the rainbow bridge. I’m able to hear the messages they want to convey to their human family. Hearing the messages gives great relief to those grieving. These moments are very sacred and special. Our life on Earth has many challenges and experiences to help us express our love and compassion. Caring for our beloved pets is one way we demonstrate these qualities in the human journey to our hearts.

Blessings and love!

Barbara Becker

If you have physical, mental or emotional illness, or need to clear your chakras and energy fields to attain optimum health, a channeled healing can be given over the phone. 

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For more stories of my healing gift, please consider reading my book, Enclosure: A Spiritual Autobiography. If you are guided, please contact me