Here is the story of a person who lost their beloved cat.
I hope this will be of some help to anyone who is considering making a stuffed animal for their deceased pet.
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I love cats and have always lived with several cats.
Among them, Ten was special to me.
I met this child at a shelter I visited at a time in my life when I was going through a lot of difficult times.
As I was watching absentmindedly in a space where several kittens were free to move about, a black and white tabby kitten climbed onto my lap of its own accord.
I heard it was a 4-month-old girl, and before I knew it, she was purring beneath my hands.
In an instant, I somehow felt, "This child is mine."
I was told that a benign polyp in one of his ears caused his head to tilt slightly and that he often bumped into things, but I had no hesitation in adopting him.
We completed a few formalities that day, took him home, and decided to name him Ten.
Shortly after Ten arrived, I had to be hospitalized for about a week due to a gynecological illness, and I asked some close friends and relatives to look after me during that time.
I remember that when I met Ten for the first time in a long time after he was released from the hospital, he came up to me, who was still feeling tired and unable to move around much, and was just as affectionate as he had been when we first met.
I wasn't feeling well for a while, but all the time she would climb onto my lap or my stomach and stay by my side as if she was concerned about my health.
After that, Ten did very well with numerous checkups and treatments, including surgery for an ear polyp and a tooth extraction to treat chronic stomatitis.
However, when he turned 17, he developed an aggressive malignant tumor in the back of his mouth, and the day finally came when Ten had to cross the Rainbow Bridge.
Since we are living beings, we will surely die someday.
I knew it was true, but it was still a shock, I didn't want to believe it, and it was really painful.
I had prepared myself for that day to come, and had commissioned a stuffed animal to be made shortly before Ten passed away.
Then, about a month and a half after he passed away, a stuffed Ten doll arrived at our house in a white box.
The moment I saw him, who looked just like Ten, I couldn't help but say, "I'm glad you've come back," and I burst into tears...
It has a brown spotted face, white, round limbs, round eyes, and a long tail.
I couldn't help but love all of the marten's features, which I hadn't seen in a long time apart from in photographs.
The stuffed animal was firmer and more elastic than I expected (the real thing was much softer),
When I put him in the cat bed where he used to sleep, it was as if he had really come back there...
I had been feeling depressed every day when I looked all over the house, on the sofa, on the rug, and in the bed and found that Maren was not there, but I was surprised to find how much relief I felt just seeing Maren in his usual bed.
When I think about saying goodbye to Ten, my heart still fills with sadness.
But I hope to continue spending my time leisurely with the other cats, along with my Ten stuffed animal and the countless memories I have.
