For my third birthday, almost seventeen years ago, my parents gave me a little grey kitten. What my parents could not have predicted, however, the love and memories that little kitten would give me.

As humans, we naturally face a lot of hardships in our lives. We go through breakups, failures, loss, and just other generally sucky stuff. Most of us are blessed, however, with a furry companion who will make all the bad times more bearable just by putting their little paw on your hand. And for seventeen years, multiple moves, the separation on my parents, and the growth my family, my little eight-pound cat was there. She laid in bed with me through my teenage mood swings, the loss of my grandma, and some of the saddest days of my life. Little did I know, however, that losing her would be one of the saddest days of my life.

I think I knew going to college, especially so far away, that I would probably not be home when she took her final breaths. She was old, and cats are sadly not immortal. I had hoped that it wouldn't be the first semester of freshman year, but God really doesn't plan around your schedule when it comes time for death, does he?

In all honesty, I didn't even know she was sick. I was home just a few days prior to her death and had no idea that it would come so soon. But when my mom called me the day before she passed away, and told me what was going on, I knew that she had hours left on this earth, and wouldn't be holding out for me to come home. Of course, when my mom and step-dad took her to the vet, I was horribly selfish, all I wanted was for them to say she will stick around long enough for me to see her at Christmas. Instead, that day she died in my mom's arms, knowing full well she was loved.

Truthfully, even though I wasn't there to pet her as she left this world, it may have been for the better. Losing her is one of the saddest things I have ever gone through. I don't remember a time in my life where Truman wasn't around, and being at home, without her, will be hard.

I know my cat was not a human. I have lost family members and friends before, and know the grief that comes with loss. And truthfully, this is almost as bad. It has been nearly a week, and I still cannot fathom that I am living in a world without her. Animals, I truly believe, love selflessly and with their whole heart. I know how much she meant to me, my mom, and my family, and I take comfort knowing she is no longer in pain. But, it still doesn't mean I won't miss her for the rest of my life.