Three — almost four — years ago, I adopted my two furbabies. He is the cuddliest good boy and she was the sweetest girl. If you read my previous article on them, you would've seen they are cats that literally act like dogs. Tummy rubs. Following you around. Unconditional loyalty. They possess the kind of attributes that a lot of people only give to dogs or even humans. They clearly love me so much, and I love them right back. Which is why when I lost one of them, my heart broke.

The truth is, not everyone understands the heartbreak of losing a pet, especially a cat. Some people see a pet simply as an animal, not as a best friend, not as a family member. And more specifically, some people see cats as reserved animals who do not really care for their human owners.

For crying out loud, dogs are called a "man's best friend," not kitties. For some reason, cats have a negative stigma I will never understand.

But I will clear the air right now and tell you that cats love you unconditionally, even if all of them are not the best at outwardly showing it, so please love them back.

My sweet furbaby who is prancing around Heaven right now showed me that kind of unconditional love, always. Anytime I was sick, she never left my side, constantly comforting me. Anytime I had a tear roll down my cheek, she was jumping up next to me to cuddle. Even when nothing was wrong, her sweet little voice was always filling my ears, rubbing her head against my hand, begging for love and attention.

She was also one of the smartest animals I have ever seen. She never had to be trained to do anything impressive, she just did it, somehow teaching herself. One time, I bought her a light-up ball, and she learned to pick it up and drop it down just hard enough to light up the foyer of our house with the flashing red and blue lights

She was also so incredibly loyal. I have brought up many instances that already exemplify that, but one of the coolest "non-cat-like" things she did was to greet us at the door when we came home. She was excited to see us, jovial to be with us.

Even in her final moments, she lifted her head at the sound of my voice, a brighter light shining in her pained eyes because I was there with her. Even in her final moments, she proved to be a best friend, a family member.

It's so hard to not have her in my life. And even though not everyone understands the pain of losing a pet, I hope this short and sweet tribute of my sweet kitty — who was taken far too soon — gives a glimpse into my pain, into the pain anyone who has lost a pet feels. Because we did not just lose an animal — we lost a member of our family; we lost our best friend.