Simba was one of our cats. He was a very good cat and he was very friendly. He loved being pet and getting attention, he loved getting little treats. He often would sleep in my bed, not all the time, but I'd not uncommonly wake up with him sleeping in my bed next to me or he'd just leap into my bed to take a nap.

And last night - he died.

It was so sudden, it literally came out of nowhere without any warning that something was wrong with him. He wandered into my den (as he often did, one of his favorite spots to nap recently was this random plastic tub on the floor in my den) and then he just, he just collapsed. He collapsed and started breathing rapidly and he peed on the carpet where he was lying and then after another minute or two, he was gone.

I was there when it happened, I was witness to his final moments on God's Earth. It was shortly after 9pm when it happened, I was just on my laptop and watching Star Trek: The Next Generation on H&I when I saw what was happening.

Truth be told, I didn't know what was happening at first. I didn't even realize it was Simba for a second, I thought it was one of our female cats (specifically Samantha) and I thought she was starting to give birth. Either way, I checked on them and I realized it was Simba and I gave him pets and asked if he was okay. I prepared to tell my sister what was going on when I checked him again and I noticed he wasn't breathing, wasn't reacting to my touch, if I lifted front leg and let go, it just dropped.

He was gone. Just like that.

I truly don't know what happened with him. He had no health issues we knew of, he was still a young cat - I actually don't 100% know when he was born because he was born outside and Luna (his mum) didn't bring him and the rest of that latter out to meet her humans until they were all already eyes open and walking, so probably 5-6 weeks old. This was back in the autumn of 2024, so he was probably around 1 year 6-7 months old. Either way, he was very much still a young cat and had such a long life ahead of him.

The worst he'd had was, a bit over a month ago, he accidentally got a scratch at the base of his tail from climbing a tree (he loved to climb trees)...and then he reopened the scratch after it scabbed over because he got out of the house and tried to climb a tree again. But surely, that shouldn't have caused him to die? We were treating it with antibiotic ointment for pets, making sure it was staying clean, and making sure he was feeling better. He even was getting better, the scratch had basically all healed up, he was behaving normally, all that was 'wrong' was he needed to regrow his fur where that scratch had happened.

Yet, he still died. I can only assume he had some hidden health issue none of us knew about and his time had just come.

I don't want this journal post to just be about his passing, I want to remember him as well. He really was a good cat and friendly too. He wasn't one of our super affectionate will just randomly come up to you because he wanted to give you some love and affection ones, but he was one where if you gave him love, he'd give it right back to you.

I still remember when I first met him, before he had his name, when Luna brought her litter out from wherever she was hiding them outside to basically meet her humans. He was such a cute little kitten back then.

For some reason, when all the other kittens of that litter started coming indoors, he stayed outside. Him and two others - Sabrina, our black kitten (who ran away a year ago and I miss her so much she was one of my closest cat friends) and MJ, our tortie kitten (who is healthy and happy and still with us today, she recently had kittens herself a few weeks ago - her second litter [sadly, she lost all the kittens of her first litter]).

Of course, eventually they all started coming inside too and Simba, Sabrina, and MJ all become indoor and outdoor cats, just like the rest of our cats (except for Lulu who is only an indoor/outdoor cat when the weather is nice. Winter hits? Nope, she stays inside 24/7 where it's WARM)

He got along with most of our other cats, too. I'm not going to say there was never tension between them, but he was usually friendly to them.

The one exception was Tigger (yes, we still have Tigger). Honestly, this wasn't even Tigger starting chases and fights with him all the time. Sometimes, Tigger wouldn't even be doing anything and Simba would just start growling at him and eventually would swipe at Tigger if he got too close and that would start a scuffle. This wouldn't always happen but it still happened periodically.

He often would cuddle with Creamsicle and Morris, our two resident orange idiots (by the way, for anyone who wants to know - what happened with Morris and his injury back in January? He's all healed up and fine now.)

He really got along with Mozzarella (my absolute best kitty friend who loves me a lot and is awesome). Whenever they'd see each other, they'd start rubbing their heads against each other as a sign of their friendship (at least until Simba started doing it too much and Mozzarella would have to give him a light tap with her paw to get him to stop).

They'd also often sleep together in my bed, because my bed was a safe spot for Simba and many of our cats.

We have not yet buried Simba, we are waiting for my mum's husband to get home from work for it to happen. When it happens, I will update this journal post with a photograph of where he is buried. Just as a marker of his forever resting place.

I will truly miss Simba. He didn't deserve to die so young. But, I am comforted knowing he is at peace now with God and that during his final moments, he came to my den and me - a space of comfort for him and a space he loved to hang out in. I know he didn't understand what was going on but he knew, subconsciously, 'something is wrong, I should go to the person who is nice to me. They'll make me feel better'. I only hope me asking him if he was OK and giving him gentle pets during what turned out to be his final moments alive did give him the comfort he needed.

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UPDATE 7 MAY 2026

We buried Simba later same day I made this journal entry. But it was the evening so I could not take a good photograph of his grave. And, well, even though I went out to see his grave the next day, it hurt too much to take a photograph of it.

It still hurts even now, but this is where we buried Simba. The final resting spot of a sweet cat who deserved so much more, he deserved so many more years on Earth, so many more cuddles, so many more pets. But this is his final resting spot.

I visited his grave today a couple hours ago while getting some fresh air outside. I cried when thinking about how he is there and how unfair this all is. Because it is unfair, he didn't deserve what happened to him. I just wish I could tell them that because I still love him.