John & Deb ~ I am so sorry for your loss.
Most of us here have experienced the loss of a loved child. No one here thinks "It's just a cat".

I'm sorry that such a sad occasion brought you here, but welcome.

Fragile Circle by Irving Townsend

"We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own,
live within a fragile circle, easily and often breached.
Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way.
We cherish memory as the only certain immortality,
never fully understanding the necessary plan."