Trigger warning: animal loss, mourning

A man recreated a picture taken 20 years ago of himself as a child holding his cat, honoring his furry friend one last time before putting him to sleep. The touching collage, showcasing the original photograph and the last, prompted emotional reactions on social media, especially from those who could relate to this type of loss.

Taking to the Interesting As F*ck Reddit community on Friday (May 3), a man posted a collage of two pictures showing himself cuddling an adorable furry cat. 

The photograph on the left showed the man as a young boy, wearing an orange shirt and getting cozy with the cuddly kitty, while on the left, the man appeared all grown up, yet still wearing a similar orange shirt and holding his dear four-legged friend.

As it turns out, the collage was a bittersweet ode to a two-decade-long love story nearing a heartbreaking end.

A man recreated a 20-year-old photo with his childhood cat as a final tribute

Image credits: TrevorIsTheGOAT

“Putting my childhood cat to sleep today, and did my best to recreate a 20-year-old picture,” the original poster (OP) wrote. “I will always love you Gandalf.”

The poignant tribute elicited heartfelt responses, as a Redditor commented with a moving quote: “‘How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard,’ Winnie the Pooh.”

A person wrote: “Only cats with good lives get to live this long.”

Image credits: Freepik

“Unless they get the cancer or the sort of. 

“Point is you made it worth it. 

“And he shall wait at the white shores for his friend.”

Replying to another person, the OP revealed: “He actually came with a brother, he was brown and we named him Mordor lol.”

The photo he took of his furry friend, Gandalf, before saying goodbye sparked emotional reactions online

Image credits: Esra Afşar

“We bought them together from a bordering state – idk why my parents decided 9-year-old me needed a purebred ragdoll haha, but that’s what he is. 

“Mordor tragically got cancer at only 3 years old and had to be put to sleep. 

“Gannie has lived enough for them both now.”

With The Lord of the Rings being an obvious theme within the Reddit post, a Redditor penned: “‘I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil,’ – Gandalf.”

“Worst part of having pets is having to let go,” a reader commented

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