Do we just live and suffer and die?
It hurts. I had to put my cat of 18 years down last year and it hurt for a long while. But I wouldn’t trade having her as my friend; the end was sad and rough, but I made sure she had as good of a life as I could give her the entire time she was with me. We can’t do much better than that for our furry friends.
Hang in there friend, it does get better with time.
We are approaching exaxtly this. Got her as a palm-sized mini-furball 17 years ago. A true lap-cat, always on top of us. It won’t be much longer; I am absolutely not looking forward to that day. Well, she will be the most cared for elderly cat in the region. That’s about all we can do. It’s insane how a mostly asleep tiny creature that never learns anything can affect one’s life.
18-years is damned rough OP. Jesus, I feel for you. But 18-years is a hella life for a cat, so good job fellow human. You did your part. Can’t say if I’ll ever have a relationship that long, but my kids are young, who knows!