Justin,

I lost my best friend "koshka" this past July to kidney disease. She was
only 12, and I was very angry that she didn't get to live to be 16 etc. or
an older age. You must be feeling some of the same thing, that 7 is just
too young!

I can't believe how much I cried over this little cat - I really *love*
animals and even I was starting to wonder what the heck was wrong with me,
because hey - it wasn't a person right? Well.... don't think that!
Whatever you feel, you feel and don't judge it. It will take some time but
you will stop crying about it - and you will have great memories of your
best friend. 5 months later and I still get very sad about not having my
cat around. Sometimes it feels like an aching pit in your gut, but it's not
that crushing pain that you feel in the beginning. I have pictures of her
up, and they're not going anywhere! They make me feel better.

Do whatever it takes to work through it - write your cat a letter (sounds
nuts but it helped me), keep her photos around, write in to this group. The
amount we miss them when they're gone is just a measure of how much they
touched our lives. :-)

Take care,
Meghan
"Justin Clarke" wrote in message
...
I've just lost my beloved cat Squirm after 7 years. She truly was my best
friend and her sudden loss feels more than I can bear. I keep expecting
her
to turn up at the front door or see her sleeping on the couch. The thought
of never seeing her again is so devastating that I can't stop crying. Why
do
our little friends have to be taken from us? How will I ever get over
this?

Justin