Ellen DeGeneres experienced a loss in her family this week. The daytime talk show host revealed on Twitter Friday that her cat Charlie died. She shared two amazing photos of herself with Charlie, inspiring thousands of fans to send their condolences. DeGeneres rescued her when she was already a full-grown cat.
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“We had to say goodbye to Charlie today,” DeGeneres wrote on Twitter and Instagram. “She was an amazing cat and gave us so much love. One of the hardest decisions to make but so glad we could end her suffering.”
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DeGeneres included photos of herself sitting on an outside lounge couch with Charlie.
“To love and let go is the greatest gift we can give them,” one fan replied. “But our heart break isn’t any less devastating. Condolences on this loss.”
“Aw! I’m sorry for your loss,” another wrote. “Saying goodbye is always so hard. RIP Charlie.”
“I feel your pain,” another fan shared. “Had our cat for 19 1/2 years and had to do the same thing. We miss him so much, but his memory & his love will remain with us forever. Rest easy, Charlie.”
Back in 2009, DeGeneres told PEOPLE Charlie was one of three cats she rescued, and all three were fully-grown.
“They all have their different personalities,” DeGeneres said of her pets at the time. “Charlie has a dog personality where she has to be wherever people are and follow you from room to room.”
In 2018, she also told Good Housekeeping Charlie was her favorite pet.
“I have three dogs (Wolf, Augie and Kid) and three cats (Charlie, George and Chairman),” she said at the time. “I would tell you more about them, but like any celebrity parent, I think it’s important to keep them out of the press. Do I have a favorite? I couldn’t possibly answer that! It’s Charlie.”
DeGeneres joked that she and wife Portia de Rossi often sleep with their pets.
“It’s more like they let us sleep in bed with them,” DeGeneres said at the time. “Portia and I are allowed about one-third of the mattress, and they have the rest. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since 1987.”
In September, DeGeneres and de Rossi adopted a new poodle puppy named Mrs. Wallis Browning. They adopted the three-month-old from Wagmore, a Studio City, California rescue where other celebrities have adopted pets from.
“She’s so cute, I can’t even take it,” DeGeneres said on her show of Wallis. “She’s very adorable, pretty and precious. And she knows it.”
Photo credit: David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
