When she lost her beloved cat Alaska, Pam Robinson was heartbroken. But the way she found out that her pet was gone was the most surprising part, as her husband delivered the news with an unusual text.

Robinson, a middle school teacher, recently recounted the sad yet oddly humorous moment her husband informed her about Alaska's passing.

Alaska, who had been part of their family for over a decade, had been at the vet after showing signs of illness. While Robinson stayed home with a severe migraine, her husband offered to take the cat for a follow-up visit.

At around 10 a.m., Robinson asked her husband for an update, texting, "Well?"

The response she received was unexpected. "She's moved on..." her husband replied. Confused and still hoping for good news, Robinson responded with "Huh," expecting a clarification saying their cat was on her way home. Instead, she got this: "To the big litterbox in the sky."

Devastated, Robinson instantly burst into tears. "There was almost still part of me that hoped he would come home with her. So when he arrived home 15 minutes later, empty-handed...I just started crying again," she told Newsweek.

Her husband, whom she describes as "really bad with emotional topics," later explained that he panicked and tried to use humor to soften the blow.

"He knew I'd be devastated, and he wanted to at least save me from having to make the decision," Robinson said. "He just thought since we always laugh together, that humor would work.... It did not."

Despite the initial heartbreak, Robinson has since found some humor in the situation, even sharing the story with her middle school students. "One boy almost fell out of his chair laughing," she said.

She also shared the unusual text conversation on Reddit's /rmildlyinfuriating subreddit, where it has received more than 70,000 upvotes.

In the comments, people shared their experiences of having pet deaths broken to them in unusual ways.

One wrote; "When I was little, my hamster died when I was out of town. When I got back and looked for her, my uncle said that she's in her hamster ball. After I couldn't find the ball, he said that she's in her hamster ball in the clouds. I cried."

Another Redditor thought that Robinson's husband had shared the news pretty well. "I'd be even worse. I don't know how to do these things at all. I'd just say 'She's dead' and leave it at that. Probably too blunt," the person wrote.

Reflecting on the experience, Robinson said that while the situation was painful, the text message is likely something they will laugh about in the years to come.

"He asked me to put some leftover pizza in the oven the other night and I asked him, 'Or would you rather I send it to the big oven in the sky?' He groaned out of fear that he'll be hearing about this forever. He will!" she said.

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.