Cuddle Clones Review [Grieving a Pet Cat]

This Cuddle Clones review shows how these adorable custom stuffed animals helped me through losing my beloved cat.

In June 2016, I had to help my cat, Tina, cross the rainbow bridge. I’d say this is a universal experience for cat parents since we outlive them. I love all my cats, but this one was particularly unique and extremely special to me. I was devastated.

We knew the day was coming. She was 15 years old and had developed a cancerous tumor in the back of her mouth. So, weeks before she passed, my spouse placed an order for a Cuddle Clones custom stuffed animal. They make these to order by hand from photos of your pet.

I thought it would be nice to have a replica of Tina that I could hold and cuddle with when I was missing her. The Cuddle Clone arrived a few weeks after she passed.

Cuddle Clone review: To be perfectly honest, the fur on the replica was not as soft as I had expected it to be. While the likeness was good, the stuffed animal wasn’t really something I wanted to hold. So, I decided to place it in the heated bed that Tina used during her final months. I didn’t realize when I placed it there that it would turn out to be such a comfort to me.

This bed was in our living room in a place that was visible from almost any spot in that room. Any time I walked in or out of the room, or glanced around, I would catch the Cuddle Clone of Tina out of the corner of my eye. If I was busy, or if I wasn’t really thinking about it, it was as if she was still there. I soon discovered how comforting it was not to be constantly reminded of her absence. It was a great relief to have the Cuddle Clone there.

Tina’s Story

I hadn’t planned on adopting a cat.

In 2002, I had recently gotten separated, and I had just been diagnosed with cervical cancer. I was feeling down and decided to go to the local no-kill shelter and spend some time with their cats.

A very nice young man with a slight mental disability was helping me. There were about 10 or 15 cats in cages in a free-standing building. The young man was giving me info on some of the cats I was paying attention to, and he took out a black kitten (about 4 months old) for me to hold and play with.

I don’t remember why, but he left me alone in the building. It was taking quite some time for him to return, so I did something I would not recommend you do at an animal shelter: I proceeded to take ALL the cats out of their cages.

After they were all free and running around the room. I sat down on a sofa that was there, and I just watched them. Before I knew it, there was a cat in my lap, and she was purring like crazy. I didn’t even see her coming — she was just suddenly there.

I knew instantly that this was my cat.

She had always been my cat, she was just waiting for me to come and take her home.

The young man who had been helping me came back. He seemed surprised that all the cats were out of their cages, but he didn’t say anything about it. I asked him about the cat that had gotten in my lap. He told me her name was Tina, and she was free to adopt because nobody wanted her.

What? Why did no one want this precious, loving cat?

She had a benign polyp that had been surgically removed from her right ear, and it was growing back and would surely need to be surgically removed again. She had some minor balance issues and always tilted her head to the right. The young man told me she used to bump into things when she was a kitten.

“I’ll take her,” I said, without hesitation.

I had already been on the phone with some of my close friends who advised me against adopting a cat. I didn’t care.

I took my cat home and we quickly bonded.

But I only had her for about 3 weeks before I had to have major surgery for my cancer. My oncologist was at a major hospital in another town about an hour away. I was in the hospital for about 5 days and stayed with my friends in that town for about 2 weeks after that.

I didn’t want to board Tina since she had spent the first year-and-a-half of her life in a cage. She stayed at home, and I had several friends coming in everyday to feed her, clean her litter box, and spend time with her and play with her.

When I came back home, she jumped in my lap. She sniffed me and she knew I had been to the “vet.” She got on my chest and barely left my side while I was recovering.

I still needed help for the first two weeks I was home, and I had 2 relatives come and stay with me. When they had to leave and go back to their own lives, I still had my cat to “care” for me. I was glad I had adopted her.

The Most Expensive “Free” Cat

She ultimately became the most “expensive” free cat I ever adopted. Throughout her life, she needed 2 more ear surgeries, a surgery to correct an eyelid that was turning in, teeth extractions, a super-expensive radiation treatment for hyperthyroidism, and numerous vet visits. I didn’t care about that.

When she was ultimately diagnosed with the cancer in her mouth, I gladly would have paid to have that treated as well, but the cancer was aggressive and treatment was not likely to change the outcome. The treatment would have caused her more suffering than the disease, and I did not want to put her through that.

Cuddle Clone Review: A Special Replica of a Special Cat

Tina was beyond special, and I will never regret having adopted her.

I still have the Cuddle Clones custom stuffed animal in the place where Tina used to sleep. No longer in a heated bed but something similar in color and shape.

We adopted a new kitten a couple months after Tina passed in August 2016. Her name is Munchkin, and she almost immediately started sleeping with the Cuddle Clone of Tina.

She still spends time there almost daily. She has chewed the whiskers off Tina’s Cuddle Clone, and it has become a bit ragged because she sleeps with it. I will say, however, as part of this cuddle clone review that the product has been quite durable considering what it has been through.

I don’t care. It pleases me that our little Munchkin gets so much enjoyment and comfort from sleeping there.

The real bottom line of this cuddle clone review: This custom stuffed animal has been a comfort to all of us.