I miss my cat

Toffee, adopted in 2000 as a black kitten, died peacefully in late October 2018 after eighteen years with the family. He was the speaker’s constant companion during lonely years, surviving accidents, stomach surgery, a pond fall, cancer, and amputation. After worsening incontinence and suffering, Toffee died in the green room; the speaker regrets being abroad and missing his final moments.

Loss turns a long-standing source of companionship into guilt over distance and missed reciprocity.