'Games of Thrones' Ser Pounce Confirmed Dead: All the Animals Brutally Killed Off So Far

The Red Wedding. The Purple Wedding. Ned Stark's beheading. Jon Snow's betrayal. Holding the door. None of these shocking Game Of Thrones deaths had quite the same impact as the devastating news on Monday that Ser Pounce, Tommen Baratheon's beloved pet cat, has been killed.

Showrunner David Benioff confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that the ill-fated feline had met his demise at the hands of the Queen Cersei Lannister, in the aftermath of her son's suicide.

"Cersei hated the name 'Ser Pounce' so much she could not allow him to survive," he explained. "So she came up with her most diabolical [execution]. Ser Pounce's death was so horrible we couldn't even put it on the air."

He joked that if fans buy the "super-extended, super-charged Game of Thrones box set that comes out, the death of Ser Pounce will be in there — just one whole episode devoted to the death of Ser Pounce."

Ser Pounce, of course, isn't the first and is unlikely to be the last creature to die in a show that famously offs its main humans like they were cockroaches.

TooFab takes a look back at the animals and mythical beasts Westeros has loved and lost over the past seven brutal seasons, while hoping against hope that at least one of Ghost and Nymeria survives.

Lady: The first of the Stark direwolves to meet its maker, Sansa's pet was put down by her own father Ned as a result of a heartbreakingly unfair exchange to appease Cersei Lannister. After the bratty Joffrey was attacked by Nymeria in defence of Arya, Arya drove her own dog away in fear of reprisal... which is exactly what Lady got in her stead. Ned regretfully carried out the death sentence himself, since she was from the North, she "deserved better than a butcher"

Grey Wind: Just one of the many Stark victims of the Red Wedding. Locked up in a cage ahead of the feast, he was unable to come to his master Robb Stark's aid when he was betrayed and butchered by the Freys and the Boltons. His head was decapitated and sewn onto Robb's body.

Summer: Another poor mutt who died defending a Stark, this time the crippled Bran while in the Three-Eyed Raven's cave. He was torn to shreds when the White Walkers and their wights attacked the cave.

Shaggydog: The darkest of the direwolves, he was charged with protecting the youngest of the Stark kids, Rickon. Sadly, he was slain by the Umbers, who despite pledging fealty to the Stark's, switched sides to the Boltons out of anger against Jon Snow's amnesty to the Wildlings. They gifted Ramsay Bolton Shaggydog's head along with the captured Rickon and Osha, whom Ramsay ultimately killed too.

Direwolf mom: In one of the first scenes in the entire series, Ned Stark and his children happen upon a recently deceased female direwolf surrounded by her five still-living pups. Ned is about to put them out of their misery when Jon suggests the number is a sign, and that he should gift one each to his children. A sixth white runt even shows up for Jon.

... and the stag that killed her: The cause of the direwolf's death didn't need CSI to discern; a piece on an enormous adult stag's antlers were embedded in her throat, with the rest of the stag lying nearby. The death embrace was a not-very-subtle sigil allegory for the upcoming storm between the Starks and the Baratheons

Viserion: While not technically dead since he was somewhat brought back to life by the Night King, Dany's former dragon is certainly not feeling himself these days. After flying into battle on the rescue mission to save Jon Snow, Viserion took a spear to the neck, calmly flung by javelin champ himself, who then dragged up his body from the lake and resurrected him as an ice dragon, which he summarily used to destroy the wall. The fact that he had those spears and chains on hand, didn't even flinch when the dragons arrived, and totally knows how to fly a dragon, all suggests that the Night King might be as good at seeing the future as the Three Eyed Raven is at seeing the past.

The Mountain Who Rides' Ride: Who could possibly beat Ser Gregor Clagane in a joust? The Knight of Flowers, that's who... but only because he himself rode a mare in heat, which sent The Mountain's stallion into a bit of a frenzy. Clegane was none too happy about it, hacking his own horse's head off in frustration, before trying to kill Loras Tyrell, too. Talk about a sore loser!

That Other Deer Tywin Skinned: speaking of not-so-subtle deer allegories, Papa Lannister's introduction to the show was an unforgettable one, chastising Jaime as he expertly gutted and skinned a deer with his own hands.

That Goat Drogon Toasted: Being the terrible mother, or mhysa, that she is, Daenerys lets her kids run around the streets of Meereen, doing whatever the hell they please and eating whatever they want. Seeing that her children are fully grown dragons, this includes other people's goats and sheep. She finally locked them up after one of them kills a goatherd's daughter. About time!

Lady Whiskers & Boots: While we are not actually sure what happened to Ser Pounce's siblings, it is pretty safe to assume they met the same fate as him.