We lost Taffy, my Avatar

[vintner Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close vintner]

Steffi has been in our life for only 8 years, and is so much a part of it, I hate to think of loosing a special pet and member of the family. I am sure your loss is great pain to your heart and your family. Our sympathies.

[CarolF Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close CarolF]

So sorry to hear your sad news Emmy. You must have looked after Taffy very well for him to have lived to such a grand age.

[arlene22 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close arlene22]

Emmy,
I'm so sorry to hear that you lost your beloved Taffy. I know how much you loved him and what a comfort he has been to you during Peter's recovery. Once again, you have had to be the strong one-- making the tough call to put him to sleep. It was a last act of kindness for your sweet kitty. I know you will miss him. {{{Hugs}}}

[Denise Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Denise]

Emmy, I am so sorry to hear about your loss .

[Jimbo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jimbo]

So Sorry!

Emmy,

I'm sorry to hear of your loss today. I know you will be blessed with very fond memories forever.

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

Thank you all for your kindness. All pet lovers know how hard it is to put an animal to sleep. I was dreading this day for quite a while as I knew it was getting nearer. It took us three visits that last week to finally let go of Taffy.

Our pet sitter is taking care of our wild animals now that were eating Taffy's left-overs. I couldn't stand the idea of letting them hunger all of the sudden without any food and water. Our pet sitter understood and is willing to do so but feeding wild animals is not really doing them a favor at all. I realize that now and regret my dumb act so had to continue feeding them. How do I get them wild again and fend for themselves?

[RESORT2ME Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RESORT2ME]

... wild animals now that were eating Taffy's left-overs. I couldn't stand the idea of letting them hunger all of the sudden without any food and water. ... How do I get them wild again and fend for themselves?

Emmy, let us know what the wild animals are. When Taffy ate, did they not get food and water elsewhere?
I believe if you ween them over a month, they will find other sources. They need to fend for themselves as you must stop. As you know, it is not in their best interest to go on this way. They need to adapt to what nature provides.

[Jaybee Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jaybee]

Emmy, I'd like to add my condolences for your loss. I know the grief of losing a beloved pet, and it's too bad you had to have another sad thing happen in so short a time. I hope everything else is going better for you. I kind of let myself get behind on the news lately. Hugs, Jean

[Bill4728 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Bill4728]

Emmy,

Sorry to hear about the loss of your beloved pet. I know how difficult the last year has been and sorry that this has added to it.

Thinking of you,

[JudyS Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JudyS]

Emmy, I am sorry to hear about Taffy. Whenever I saw your avatar, I always thought what a beautiful cat he was! 19 is a very old age for a cat, and he was lucky to have a home with you for so long. None of my cats gave ever lived that long, unfortunately. (Although the two 13-year olds we have now are still kittenish, so maybe they'll be around a long time yet. One of them still chases her tail!)

Our pet sitter is taking care of our wild animals now that were eating Taffy's left-overs. I couldn't stand the idea of letting them hunger all of the sudden without any food and water. Our pet sitter understood and is willing to do so but feeding wild animals is not really doing them a favor at all. I realize that now and regret my dumb act so had to continue feeding them. How do I get them wild again and fend for themselves?

I think weaning tthem off gradually is a good idea. Also, most animals find it easier to locate food during the warmer months, so now that it is spring, this is a good time to cut back on the food you're leaving them.

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

Emmy, let us know what the wild animals are. When Taffy ate, did they not get food and water elsewhere?
I believe if you ween them over a month, they will find other sources. They need to fend for themselves as you must stop. As you know, it is not in their best interest to go on this way. They need to adapt to what nature provides.

Yes, I should have never started feeding them but I was wasting so much pet food with Taffy lately that I hated to throw it all out. This had been going on for many months so I had one little opossum come by early and a big one late at night.

When we had Lucky, our feral cat, we had another opossum live around the house for over seven years until he was killed by another wild animal in our backyard. He was injured and couldn't walk very well so never left the premises. Lucky was used to him and I could even stroke him too. He was that tame.

We have seen skunks and even raccoons eat Lucky's food in our garage when the side door was left open. The last few years I had to lock her up at night because there were too many coyotes around and no pet is safe anymore when left outside at night. One coyote even jumped an 8 ft. fence recently and killed a little dog that was left in the backyard. Our pet sitter lost two cats herself to coyotes and so did neighbors in our street.

I think weaning tthem off gradually is a good idea. Also, most animals find it easier to locate food during the warmer months, so now that it is spring, this is a good time to cut back on the food you're leaving them.

Judy, this is what I was planning to do but Taffy died so quickly that I didn't have time to wean them off gradually. Believe me, it gave me sleepless nights until I finally had decided to continue the pet sitter anyway even without Taffy. Most likely, the coyotes will kill them one day if not a car but at least they were not hungry all of the sudden.