Your Pet Loss Stories

'Our Little Leo'

by Therese
(Victoria, Australia)

This morning I woke as usual. Leo our 1 1/2 year old cat was not in the house nor did he come jumping in through the window when he heard me. Unusual no, as some mornings he was never any where to be seen.

As I pulled out of my driveway I noticed an animal dead on the busy road that we live on. At first I thought it was a possum, I took a second look and realised it was a cat, then a sinking feeling crept in.... it was my cat. I stopped the car and ran over to where he lay. I couldn't believe it, and I kept looking in disbelief. I instantly rang my husband in a hysterical state.. our little Leo was dead.

Leo was like no other cat we had ever known, he constantly wanted to be around us. He slept with us on our bed every night since we first got him, he followed my husband around the yard whilst he did gardening and every night they would fall asleep together on the couch. Leo just wanted to be around us and I had never experienced that with other cats.

When we first got Leo, we decided he would be a house cat. We live in the mountains but off a busy road and it worried me. But after 6 months we could see how much he wanted to go outside and we felt we were denying him that pleasure. Leo seemed very afraid of the busy road and seemed content to just explore our 1/2 acre back yard and the neighbours gardens and because of this I felt confident in the knowledge that Leo would never try to go near that road.

It's only been a day but I already feel so lost without him. Our house feels empty and not the fun happy place that Leo had made it. He made us laugh on a daily basis and he was our baby.

I will always love and miss him.