I'm heartbroken. We found out he was FIV positive shortly after we got him, but that doesn't make the loss any easier. He was only 1.5 years old. Hold your cats close for me tonight.
Edit: I fell asleep, so I'm sorry that I didn't respond to everyone. I'm very thankful to everyone for the kind words and support.
I lost my 19 yo 10 months ago. I think about him every day. I'm still heart broken.
I tell everyone that it’s both, “I had her for TWENTY years!” with excitement and joy for how long I had her in my life, and how lucky I was to have her such a long time. AND, “I had her for twenty years,” so I don’t even remember who I was before her; she was so much of my life and it is so much harder to live without her now.
I’m sorry you’re also dealing with this kind of pain. It sucks. <3
Ditto!! <3 He was my best friend. He was so special. He tried telling us of our miscarriage before we knew. He knew when his adopted brother was going to die. He got me through a lot of past trauma. He was invincible; it was his name (Muteki, invincible in Japanese). But he couldn't beat his failing kidneys. We buried him in our back yard. I still bring him pistachios to play with; they were his absolute favorite "toy".
Thank you for responding and may the memories of yours live forever.