• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Subscribe
Pawesome Cats helping cats live happy, healthy lives

Pawesome Cats

helping cats live happy, healthy lives

  • Home
  • Cat Health
  • Cat Behaviour
  • Life with Cats
  • Raw Feeding
  • Cat Breeds
You are here: Home / Life with Cats / Grief & Loss / 16 Creative Ideas to Help Children Grieve the Loss of a Pet

16 Creative Ideas to Help Children Grieve the Loss of a Pet

BY Pawesome Cats | UPDATED ON 17 February 2023

241 shares
  • Share240
  • Tweet
  • Email

This article may include affiliate links. If you make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

The loss of a beloved cat, dog, or other pet is always a difficult time, and it can be even more confusing for children. It’s important for the whole family to grieve in their own way, but for children, talking about what’s happened and being open and honest is a vital part of the grieving process. Depending on the age of the children, they may not fully understand what’s happening, but they’ll almost certainly feel sad, confused and sometimes even angry about the loss of their fur-friend.

Finding creative ways to help children grieve the loss of a cat or dog can help enormously during the grieving process | 16 Creative Ideas to Help Children Grieve the Loss of a Pet

Finding creative ways to help children grieve their loss can help enormously during the grieving process, so here are a few ideas for children of all ages:

Creative Ways to Help Children Grieve the Loss of a Pet

  1. Draw a picture of your cat, and display it in your child’s chosen room.
  1. Frame a photo of your child (or children) and the cat. They might want to keep it by their bed, or in the lounge room – somewhere where they can look at it and remember the good times
  1. Write a poem about your cat – it can be funny, rhyming or more thoughtful and serious in style.
  1. Donate money in your cat’s name to your favourite animal rescue organisation.
  1. Hold a memorial service in your garden. You could plant a flowering tree to remember your cat by, choose a memorial stone to put in the garden, or light a candle, and have every member of the family say a few words about him. Create a place where the family can come to sit, relax and remember your cat whenever they want.
  1. Make a photo album of your cat, or a collage or photos to hang on the wall.
  1. Get your children to write your cat’s life story from his point of view – this is a lovely way to remember his life and emphasise how important you all were to him.
  1. If your family has musical talent, why not write a special song about your cat?
  1. Create a memory box – your children can decorate the box themselves and put mementoes such as photos, a lock of fur, their brush, their favourite toy etc. inside it.
  1. Decorate a plant pot with craft supplies and paint, and plant a special plant or flower to grow in it.
  1. Using clay (or coloured play dough) make a sculpture of your cat.
  1. Write an ‘acrostic’ about your cat – put the letters of his name down one side of a piece of paper, and write one word or sentence to describe him that starts with each letter.
  1. Make a scrapbook that contains photos, drawings and anything else that you can remember him by.
  1. Use your cat’s favourite blanket to make a stuffed toy for your child, depending on their age they can get involved in the process of making it.
  1. Name a star after your cat – you get a certificate confirming your star, which your child can frame and hang in their room.
  1. Purchase a piece of memorial jewellery that you can personalise with your cat’s name or engrave with a few special words.
RELATED:  How to Find Your Missing Cat

May the pets you have lost, remain forever in your heart!

How have you helped your children cope with the loss of a beloved pet? What other creative suggestions do you have to help kids cope during the grieving process?

Image: FED x via Flickr

241 shares
  • Share240
  • Tweet
  • Email

Filed Under: Grief & Loss, Life with Cats

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. GLOGIRLY CATS says

    12 April 2015 at 3:29 pm

    What beautiful ways to help not just kids, but anyone through the grieving process.
    xo

  2. Aimable Cats says

    10 April 2015 at 6:52 am

    Misty died when I was 8 1/2. We buried her in the back yard and made a cross for her. (Shortly after that, we got Samantha.)

  3. Sylvia van Bruggen says

    9 April 2015 at 6:19 pm

    What a wonderful post. I have always made donations in the memory of the pets that passed over, and poetry.

  4. Tenacious Little Terrier says

    9 April 2015 at 6:40 am

    Great ideas. We have an art therapy workshop here for people who are grieving pets.

  5. The Swiss Cats says

    9 April 2015 at 4:17 am

    Those are lovely and thoughtful suggestions, for kids and for adults as well. We agree with Layla, the most important is validating their feelings. Purrs

  6. Ellen Pilch says

    9 April 2015 at 4:14 am

    THose are wonderful ideas and many of them can be for adults as well.

  7. Cathy Keisha says

    9 April 2015 at 12:57 am

    Great post! You left out an important way: rescue another cat to steal your child’s heart. TW coped with the loss of her families first cat by snuggling with a neighborhood stray cat.

  8. Wendy says

    8 April 2015 at 10:42 pm

    We are just not pet people. Our daughter had a hamster – and you know how they are: not very long-lived. We did the burial and funeral in the backyard. I do like your creative ideas for “real” pets like cats and dogs that truly do become members of the family.
    ~Visiting from AtoZ

  9. Marg says

    8 April 2015 at 8:37 pm

    That is a terrific post and some really good ideas. I think the memorial service is a great idea. I remember once when we had a fish die and one the kids that hung around the barn was with me when I found it and she insisted that we have a funeral for it. But those were all good suggestions.

  10. the PDX pride says

    8 April 2015 at 5:33 pm

    Those are all awesome ideas! Our Mommy had a woofie sister growing up, and she remembers grieving after her Trixi died. The librarian, who was also a close friend of her parents, gave her a great book to help. It’s called The Tenth Good Thing about Barney. It’s a really great one about remembering what made the pet special.

  11. Rachele Baker, DVM says

    8 April 2015 at 1:54 pm

    This is a nice post, Tracy. I agree that talking with your child about what has happened and being open and honest is very important. And I like your ideas on how to memorialize a cherished pet.

  12. meowmeowmans says

    8 April 2015 at 11:08 am

    What great suggestions. It’s so hard to lose a beloved family member, and these are wonderful ways to help little ones cope with the grief. Thank you.

  13. Robin says

    8 April 2015 at 10:07 am

    I love this post! It is hard to loose a pet, but it is even harder when you are a child that is still forming an understanding of death. I lost several pets when I was a child and it was horrible every time. I like the idea of writing/singing songs about your pet. I’ve always been a singer, so I did that a lot as a child.

  14. Sharon Seltzer says

    8 April 2015 at 9:44 am

    Great post . Creating a tribute to a pet that has passed is a wonderful way for a child to remember the animal and start to feel the loss. Thank you for discussing this important topic.

  15. Layla Morgan Wilde (Cat Wisdom 101) says

    8 April 2015 at 6:40 am

    Kids all grieve in different ways like adults and it good to provide options. In the grief counselling I’ve done, the most important thing is validating their feelings and assuaging guilt. Sometimes before a pretty pet pic is drawn, a scary/ugly monster comes out first as emotions are expressed. Pinned this.

Primary Sidebar

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Latest Blog Posts

close up of ginger cat sneezing

Why Is My Cat Sneezing? 10 Possible Reasons

4 June 2023

grey cat walking on path alongside flower garden

How to Keep Cats Out of Your Garden and Flower Beds

2 May 2023

cat walking with small fish in mouth

Can Cats Eat Fish (Like Tuna, Salmon, Prawns, and Sardines)?

25 April 2023

ginger cat in garden with bird in mouth

Why Do Cats Bring You Dead Animals as Gifts?

18 April 2023

light grey cat about to claw and eat tree plant

How to Keep Cats Away from Indoor Plants

11 April 2023

tabby cat with green eyes laying on blue sofa

Depression in Cats: How to Recognise the Signs

5 April 2023

ginger cat playing with red dot

Cats and Laser Pointers: Are They Safe?

26 March 2023

tabby cat drooling in arms of person wearing orange sweatshirt

Why Is My Cat Drooling? When to Be Concerned

21 March 2023

Footer

Disclaimer

All articles are based on our personal opinion and experiences. Information on this site should not be considered a substitute for professional veterinary advice, care and treatment. If your cat is unwell and you are concerned for any reason, please contact your veterinarian immediately. Unless otherwise credited, all images and content are copyright to Pawesome Cats.

Affiliate Disclosure

Pawesome Cats is a member of affiliate programs that provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products sold online including the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Associate the owner of this site earns from qualifying purchases. For more information, refer to our Disclaimer page.

Privacy

This site may collect anonymous demographic information when you visit our site, click on a link or leave a comment. For more information, read our privacy policy.

Quick Links

About   |   Contact   |   Subscribe

Copyright © 2023 Pawesome Cats - All Rights Reserved.

241 shares
 

Loading Comments...