Animal lover, actor, and comic Ricky Gervais revealed a beloved pet has died.
The self-described “animal avenger” Ricky Gervais used his Instagram account to share the news that his beloved pet cat Ollie died.
The British star then paid tribute on both his Twitter and Instagram feeds, posting photos of the beloved feline, expressing his sadness.
Ollie was a short-haired Siamese cat that, according to the dates provided by Netflix’s After Life star Gervais, was almost 17 years old.
His 17th birthday would have been July 9, 2020.
Ollie the cat is gone
On the visual medium of Instagram, Gervais was able to express his sorrow the most dramatically with touching photos showing the star laying down with his pussycat for a nap, saying: “Naps won’t be the same.”
He also posted an image of Ollie curled up where he wrote: “Just had to say goodbye to the sweetest little soul I’ve ever known. RIP Ollie July 9th 2003 – March 10th 2020.”
He then wrote: “A heartfelt thank you for all your lovely tributes to Ollie. I can’t quite bring myself to respond at the moment, but your kindness is very much appreciated. ?”
Ricky is a devoted animal lover and his friends at PETA, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, headed up by Ingrid Newkirk, also posted on his Instagram feed.
They wrote: “We are so sorry for your devastating loss. You gave her a beautiful life full of love and happiness. The precious memories you shared with sweet Ollie will live on forever in your heart ❤️”
Ricky’s friends at The Kangaroo Sanctuary also posted: “So very sad to say goodbye to family. We are thinking of you. ❤️”
Jane Fallon also shares news of the loss of Ollie
Ricky’s partner Jane Fallon, too, was devastated by the loss of her fur baby, Ollie the cat.
On the Twitter Feed called “My Left Fang, Jane wrote a progressive Tweet that said:
“Ollie’s mum here. I wanted to explain a bit more what happened to our beautiful girl. The outpouring of love for her on here has been unbelievable and we’re so touched. As many of you know she’d had progressive renal disease for the past year…She was being monitored and treated. Her vets (contrary to what Oll would have told you) are the kindest, most caring people and we’re indebted to them for the way they looked after her. Her kidney values had got a bit worse recently and she was having frequent UTIs…But she was fine in herself. Her usual feisty funny affectionate self. At the weekend though she stopped eating. Refused every thing we offered her. She retreated into herself. The vets had her in all day Monday, giving her fluids…We brought her home on Monday night with the intention of repeating the same procedure the next day, but it was obvious something was very wrong. She was still refusing food. She wasn’t responding to us at all. They say when you know, you know. And we knew.On Tuesday morning Ricky and I made the awful decision that we couldn’t put her through it any more. We didn’t want her to suffer for one moment longer than she had to. We said goodbye and I took her in and stayed with her till she went to sleep.”
She added:
“It was the hardest thing we’ve ever had to do, but we had to think about her, not ourselves. I’m going to leave her account open. I can’t bear to close it. And once I feel a bit better I’ll come back and post more pictures of her. Thank you all for your incredible love & support”
Jane also used her official Twitter feed to share lovely photos and more news, including their reactions to Ollie’s passing:
I have awful news. My smart, funny, feisty, beautiful sidekick of the last 16 & a half years @myleftfang has passed away after a sudden down turn in her health at the weekend. My heart is broken in two. I have no idea what I’m going to do without her by my side. #Ollie pic.twitter.com/UOF1Phm5sq
— Jane Fallon (@JaneFallon) March 10, 2020
The loss of Ollie struck a chord with fans all over the world who empathize with the loss of a beloved pet someone loves with all their heart.
Fallon tweeted her thanks to all who expressed their condolences to the couple for their loss:
She would have loved all this attention https://t.co/HgDnNmzF9Q
— Jane Fallon (@JaneFallon) March 10, 2020
Hopefully, the couple will take comfort in the worldwide expressions of love and support that are being sent their way.