Places to turn when you miss them

The Meadow Post is a quiet place, not a substitute for support. If the days are heavy, here are people, books, and sounds that have helped others who loved a cat.

People who will listen

• Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement (APLB)

  Free moderated chat rooms and a directory of grief counsellors who specialise in pet loss.

• Pet Loss Support Hotline — Cornell University

  Veterinary students and volunteers who will simply listen, by phone or email.

• Lap of Love — Pet Loss Support

  Weekly online support groups, remembrance ceremonies, and a library of grief articles.

• Blue Cross Pet Bereavement Support (UK)

  A free UK phone line, email and webchat staffed by trained bereavement volunteers.

• Ohio State Honoring the Bond

  Counselling, memorial ideas, and guidance on helping children through a pet's death.

Books for slow evenings

• The Loss of a Pet — Wallace Sife

  The classic companion to pet grief, written by the founder of the APLB.

• Goodbye, Friend — Gary Kowalski

  Short, warm chapters on ritual, memory, and letting yourself mourn an animal.

• When Your Pet Dies: A Guide to Mourning, Remembering and Healing — Alan D. Wolfelt

  Gentle, practical guidance from a grief counsellor — good for the first weeks.

• The Rainbow Bridge — Niki Behrikis Shanahan

  For readers who find comfort in the idea of reunion.

• Cat Heaven — Cynthia Rylant

  A picture book — the kindest way to explain a cat's death to a child.

• Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World — Vicki Myron

  Not a grief book, but a warm reminder of how much one cat can matter.

Music to sit with

• Erik Satie — Gymnopédies & Gnossiennes

  Slow, unhurried piano. The closest thing to sitting in long grass.

• Max Richter — On the Nature of Daylight

  Strings that let you cry without asking anything of you.

• Ludovico Einaudi — Una Mattina / Le Onde

  Simple repeating piano figures, good for the quiet hours of the morning.

• Debussy — Clair de Lune

  For evenings when the house feels too still.

• Ólafur Arnalds — Living Room Songs

  Small piano and strings, recorded at home — warm rather than sad.

• Cat purr or soft rain recordings

  Many people find a looping purr track eases the silence where one used to be.

These are suggestions shared in kindness, not endorsements, and The Meadow Post is not affiliated with any of them. If you are in crisis, please reach out to a local crisis line or your doctor.