How does one cope with the death of a beloved pet who’s been a constant companion for 30 years? “I have made myself stay real busy to adapt to it,” Alisa Morris, the owner of Caterack, a 30 year-old cat who died last Thursday, told Paw Nation. “It’s been hard and I miss her terribly. I’ve had several animals in my life, but Caterack was the icing on the cake.”

In 1979, Morris adopted a 5-week-old feral kitten found near her mother’s house in Texas. Morris’s mother claimed that there was “something special” about the kitten that was blind in the left eye, and begged Morris to adopt it. Morris agreed, and named the kitty Caterack.Sadly, as Caterack got older she developed kidney problems, then arthritis. Morris started feeding Caterack wet food because it was the only thing the elderly cat could keep down, reports PEOPLEPets.com. In Caterack’s final days, “she wasn’t doing good,” Morris said. “She wasn’t bathing herself or keeping herself clean and she laid down real slow.”

“It was time,” Morris recalled, her voice trembling. Last Thursday, October 22, Morris drove with Caterack to the veterinary clinic. As the veterinarian euthanized Caterack, Morris cried and laid her head on the table next to her beloved cat of 30 years. “I kissed her goodbye,” said Morris. “I feel better now that I know she’s not hurting.”

Adjusting to life without Caterack has been difficult. “I keep thinking I see her out of the corner of my eye,” said Morris, who was unable to bring herself to launder Caterack’s blankets until today. Chloe, the kitten, has also been acting strange and not adapting well. “Chloe didn’t really hang around Caterack when she was alive, but in her last few days, Chloe stuck real close to her,” said Morris. “She knew something was going on.” With the older cat gone, Chloe has been inconsolable. “She’s been walking around crying, looking for Caterack,” says Morris.

Morris decided to have Caterack cremated and awaits her ashes, which will be arriving this week. “I feel like I’ll see Caterack again,” said Morris. “I feel like she’s with my mom in heaven.”

(source)