I miss her. She is my best friend, my entire heart. It hurts to be away from her. I miss her beautiful little face and her big round eyes. The way she wakes me up in the morning and cuddles with me every night. Sleeping alone is such a big adjustment and not listening to her heartbeat keeps me awake. It has been two and a half weeks since I’ve left her, and I don’t think I can go on like this much longer. Long distance relationships are so hard. I don’t know how people do it and don’t go absolutely insane. I need her back in my life, I need to hold her in my arms, and give her treats and listen to her purr… Oh wait I forgot to mention I was talking about my cat.

This is Layla. She is my best friend and my baby girl. She is eight years old and still has the same energy levels that she did when I first adopted her from the shelter. She is so sassy, loves to play, but loves to cuddle even more. I know not everyone is a cat lover, and some are cat haters (I don’t understand you people), but I promise she is adorable and if you met her you would love her.

But that is not even the point. The point is that it is literally so hard to be away from a pet for so long and I hope that other people agree with me. Whether it is a cat, or a dog, or a bird, or even a fish. A pet is a member of the family and (for me at least) a best friend.

If you are like me and are away at school then you will understand how I feel when I say that being in a long distance relationship with my cat is literally the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I have now been at school for two and a half weeks and I already miss my cat so much that I genuinely get sad when I think about her. I constantly text my mom asking for pictures and videos of her just so that I can feel like she is with me for about 30 seconds. If you are a pet owner and you say you don’t do this well then 1. I don’t trust you and 2. You’re lying.

I am now a senior in college and I have been enduring this torture for a full three years. It’s a vicious cycle. Going from seeing her tiny face every day and loving every second of it, to one day having her watch me pack up my life, and realize that I am going to be gone for a few months. You can always tell that she is so sad when I begin to pack, and then when it is finally time to leave she refuses to even look at me. It breaks my heart every time I walk out my front door knowing that I won’t see her for a while, but I know that she is in good hands. And you know what? I’ll even admit that when I say goodbye to her I tear up a little bit… Okay a lot but it’s fine. If you don’t get upset when you say goodbye to your pet, then again I don’t trust you, and you’re lying.

Leaving your best friend behind is always so hard, but the good news is that we can always go back home to see them. Whether you go to school far away or pretty close to home, you always know that they are just a car/train/plane ride away. And thank God for technology because I don’t think I would be able to survive without daily pictures and videos of my cat, and I know all you other pet lovers out there feel the same way.

I love my cat more than anything in this world and if you have a pet I know you can relate. I cannot wait to see her again, but I guess the infinite amount of pictures and videos on my camera roll will have to hold me over until then.