Q:   A couple of days ago I lost my cat when I was out walking her. She got lose from her collar and she ran in the woods. She had dont this before, so I did all the same things I did before. I called her name, got a trap that closes when the animal went in for the food. I heard her each day but she wouldn't come to me. Then yesterday I was getting on the bus and I saw something in the road. I ran down there and she was dead. It looked like she was nicked by a car, not run over, but it looked like the car hit her on the side of the face. I was crying at this poiint. My mom picked her up and buried her. I miss her a lot. My other cat is lost. How do I cope with her being dead? She would follow me everywhere. We had a really close relationship. My other cat won't eat. What's going on with her?

A:   My sincere sympathies on the loss of Shadow. I wish I could say something that would make it easier, but your grief process is natural and necessary, and time will soften the pain. Your other cat is most likely also grieving in her own way, so you can help each other by paying extra attention to her.

Try to concentrate on remembering the good times you had with Shadow. You might also want to read some of the articles linked in my Coping with Loss resources: http://cats.about.com/cs/copingwithloss/index.htm

Although it may not seem like it now, in time the pain will go away.

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