I am reposting this after my friend Hazel shared it as a guest post on her blog. (Thank you, Hazel!)

Shortly after I arrived in Norway, the cat moved on. He was 13 years old. I spent some time with him the few instances that I visited Norway a few years before. For a few weeks, His Royal Highness The Cat and I kept each other company at home while Mr. Fantastic went to work. The Cat and I sat by the fireplace, close to the makeshift workstation set up on the dining table while Mr. Fantastic and I did not have proper furniture yet. We still don’t. We were even considering couch fabrics based on sturdiness to make sure that the cat will like it and that it would withstand any scratching. I know we will still choose the same fabric we had considered, even when the cat is no longer around.

It was a very sad day when the cat left us. And yet, it was also a beautiful day. It must have been the best weather we had since I arrived in Norway. I was only sad that The Cat did not get to spend it outside, but I thought it meant he was received with lovely skies and tree colors wherever he moved on.

The reality of losing something or someone is the “tidying up” that needs to happen after. Dealing with the grief of being left is already not easy. Going through and deciding what to do with the things they owned and used seems to give you a trace of hope of still having them around, and then realizing that you can’t have them back.

The truth is that I don’t have the power to clean up as I write this. The evening after the cat passed on, I told Mr. Fantastic that the cat food and water bowls made me feel sad, and he kindly cleared them the day after. The cat’s litter and scratching post are still where they used to be. I have a stash of cat toys that he never seemed to use because he always played outside with “real” toys anyway. I still see cat hair and nails around the house.

It will take a while before I can transform my sadness to happiness for the cat, who is finally no longer in pain. Maybe then, I can finally move his things.

I suppose I don’t really have “tips” on how to organize for a pet who has moved on. This post was more for me to process my sadness. If there is anything I can offer, it is to take the time you need.

I also drafted a vlog when we still had the cat and it made me sad that it was being published after he moved on. I decided it was a nice way to keep his memory living on. If you would like to see how sweet of a cat he was, please enjoy the vlog on YouTube. 💚