Pet loss grief awareness call as Lostock Hall man speaks about death of kitten Milo

Milo passed away aged two Pic: Matthew Lawson-Hollinrake

Calls have been made for increased awareness around the grief felt with losing a pet, as a cat owner from Preston has spoken about the loss of their kitten.

Grief awareness week is an annual event which creates time for people to grieve their lost loved ones, humans and pets.

According to a survey by pet charity Blue Cross, almost half of UK pet owners feel they have to suffer in silence.

Rowan Armstrong, a grief coach and pet loss specialist, talks about how pet loss and human loss are similar.

He said: “I treat (pet and human grief) the same because the grief is the same, the difference is society.

“When we’ve lost a being that is close to us, our emotional systems don’t differentiate, all they know is something that we’ve loved is no longer physically in our lives.”

Research by Blue Cross also showed 95 per cent of UK pet owners view their pets as family members.

Matthew Lawson-Hollinrake from Lostock Hall lost his two-year-old kitten Milo last Christmas eve and still feels the grief.

He said: “Even to this day now, like even thinking about him, I still feel that sadness.

“I’m going to say it’s the same as losing a child, because you bring them up from such a young age.”

St Catherine’s at Lostock Hall held their light up a life event in honour of grief awareness week on 1 December and 2 December.

The St Catherine’s Hospice Light Up A Light event Pic: Blog Preston

The event aimed to create a safe place for people to grieve their loved ones, both humans and pets during Christmas time. The charity says people are increasingly remembering their pets in dedications.

John Rullo, head of fundraising at St Catherine’s Hospice said: “I was having a look at some of the dedications, and someone had put the name, and they put their surname in brackets next to it and they put ‘my cat.’”

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