...my cat passed away because of a tumour.

I know some might find it odd still mourning the death of a pet long after it happened, but to me animals are just as important as people to have as company, my cat was like a sister to me, a warm, fuzzy, purring companion, and cats don't have the emotional complexes that humans have.

It was also the closest experience I've had with death for a very long time. I can't really remember when my grandfather and aunt passed away as I must have been five at the time, but my kitty's passing is so vivid. That last stilted purr she gave me at the animal hospital was such a sorrowful sound, the way she looked so pained and couldn't move made me cry, and will haunt me forever.

My mind still sometimes thinks she's not 'dead', but she's just moved on to a place that's inaccessible to me, but where she'll be happier. I'm still not clear cut on my ideas of what happens after death but when she passed away, that came to mind almost intuitively, that she's in a place that's intangible to the living, but still there, in a way. I also believe she's still visiting me in spirit, in dreams, in some of those dreams she actually protects me from anything malevolent. And one thing's for sure, the memories will stay alive for a very long time.