I uninvited my mother-in-law from Christmas because she was not only unsympathetic at the loss of my pet, but made comments about how "Now I won't have to see that disgusting creature". Explain to me how I'm ruining Christmas by not having her there?

My husband is on the same page but his brothers are not. Last night, my 8 year old guinea pig died of old age very peacefully in my arms. He just fell asleep while we were cuddling and passed away. We've had 6 guinea pigs before him and I've never seen one go so peacefully.

Our kids, 3, 5, and 7 are gutted. I rescued our guinea pig from a horrible situation when he was just a baby and he never got along with any other pigs, so he lived alone. He was very happy! He adored my kids and my husband and I, and was incredibly healthy. Even our vet said he's never seen such a healthy senior guinea pig!

He had a big 2-level 3 foot by 4 foot cage that took up part of our living room, and he was incredibly spoiled. He never smelled because we used fleece bedding that was changed all the time. People were amazed at how he really did not smell and he loved all the attention he got!

My mother-in-law HATED him and when we told him he died, she called us to tell us that she was sorry, but that we must be so happy to have so much space again in our living room. We said our pet just died... What the hell is wrong with you?! She said, "It's a stupid guinea pig. Get over it. Now I won't have to look at that disgusting creature and its obnoxious cage every time I come to visit which better be gone when I come for Christmas."

My husband and I said that her comments were unnecessary and incredibly rude and hurtful, especially right before Christmas. She told us she just meant that for such a tiny pest he took up a lot of space for a "stupid rodent".

My husband told her that she's not coming to Christmas and she threw a fit and called his older brothers. They're all "but she's your mom and your kids need their grandmother" but we are sticking to our guns. We told them that if they don't see how wrong her comments are then that's also a problem.

His brothers and their families said they're not coming since we're excluding my mother-in-law. We told them that's their choice, but we will not have such a heartless person in our home during a season of love and hope. Her comments were unnecessary and disrespectful and she continued with them after being called out. My father-in-law agrees with my husband and I and apologized for her behavior and said that what we're doing is right. He's still coming to dinner!

We told our children that we're doing Christmas with just Papa and my family, who have been more than kind. My mom (hospice nurse) came early today and read the kids a story about pet loss and has been chatting with the two oldest kids and making sure they're ok. My 5 year old doesn't really understand, but my nearly 8 year old is heartbroken.

I just don't understand how people make comments like that, especially around Christmas. We've been ignoring my husband's brothers and his mom today but there's a barrage of texts about how we're ruining Christmas. Whatever. Until they can all act with at least a modicum of sympathy, or else keep their mouths shut, I will not have them around my kids while they're vulnerable.

Edit: I'm not mad that she isn't sad. I have no expectation for her to be sad. She was completely insensitive and regardless of her feelings, she could have kept her comments to herself. It would have been nice if she had said something like "Sorry for your loss. I know he meant a lot to you" and leave it at that, but if she couldn't, simple silence would be fine.

Edit: unknown: he had a great diet of veggies, pellets, and Timothy hay. We gave him red pepper slices every day and a vitamin C biscuit every morning. He was allowed to roam supervised in our house pretty often. A huge cage also helps. I think a lot of it had to do with his clean environment and fleece bedding. We used vinegar to clean his cage too, which is very cavy friendly. Follow Saskia or Cavy Corner (Facebook and YouTube) because they're great resources. We also made sure to have him go to the vet yearly.