‘Obi’, our gentle lion

In the run-up to Pet Remembrance Day, BETH EASTON writes about the heartache of losing her beloved cat Obi to heart disease when he was just one year old.

There are few things in life that compare to the first time you meet the newest furry addition to your family. It is magical to see the hopeful trust in their eyes as you spend the first few moments bonding, letting them know that you will look after and love them from this point onwards.

This was our experience with Obi, a small 8 week old Maine Coon kitten. He entered our lives on a sunny day in September 2020 after a long drive. Obi was at home as soon as he arrived. He was fluffy, awkward and very bravewaddling straight out of the cat carrier and brushing up against us. That was it.

We were his people now.

My husband slept in the spare room the first night with Obi up sleeping on his chest, desperate to be as close as possible. I stayed with our other cat, 1 year old Astrid, who was intrigued and excited by our new arrival. She spent most of the night inquisitively sniffing the door to the spare room, desperate to meet him.

From the very beginning Obi relied on us, always following us around the house and be fair. He was the cuddliest, loveliest and kindest creature. He had piercing golden eyes that stared deep into your soul and could comfort you easily with a seemingly understanding slow blink. His only failing was attacking wasps in the garden; he just couldn’t help himself. sleeping next to or near us. He was the absolute gentlest of souls and would move between me and my husband for snuggles; straight from the start he felt it was important to

Yet, as he grew we noticed he remained quite skinny with constant ear infections. We had so many trips to the vets and Obi would undertake every appointment with grace, knowing we were trying our best to help him.

Things were looking positive for him but then suddenly in the summer of 2021, when he wasn’t even a year old, his breathing became laboured. Our vet sent us straight to a specialist where we found that the right side of his heart had enlarged.

Seeing his eyes stare at us looking for comfort through his pain was the saddest, most heart-breaking moment. Obi’s eyes were the window to his soul. All we could do was to stroke him and say how much we loved him as we all said our goodbyes. We lost our fluffy baby that day.

It was after his passing that we found his comfort and kindness continuing to impact us. When we ventured out to a pet shop for the first time after losing him, another shopper asked for advice as they had just fostered a kitten. We could feel Obi connecting us with other animal lovers and that small moment of hope of another kitten going to a loving home helped. We stayed in contact via social media - a connection that was so welcome at that time. That night my husband posted on an online forum about Obi and was met with hundreds of stories of people’s love for their pets and how the loss hit them. In times of difficulty and sadness, to connect with others was comforting. It's amazing what our animals can bring to us and where we can sit and remember Obi enjoying the garden. We also helped out at a local cat rescue and rescued another kitten who desperately needed a home. We have found doing all of these things in Obi’s memory has helped us heal. seeing the amount of love we have for our pets was astounding. My husband has since started volunteering for the Blue Cross charity, something that only happened because of Obi.

Many still question how losing a pet is a difficult loss but there is no doubt, our furry friends are family and there isn’t a day goes by we don’t think about Obi. When people may not understand how painful it is losing an animal, take comfort and support from those of us who do.

In his memory we bought a gigantic cat tree with a plaque stating ‘Obi’s Tree’ - a constant reminder of his presence with us and our other cats.

Alongside this we have planted an ‘Obi’ tree in the garden

Although he was still just a kitten, he taught us so much about life, love and connection in his short time with us and his memory will continue as we hope to support more animals and spread the joy of human and animal connection.

Rest in peace our gentle lion x