(cw: discussions of pets dying, grief (pre-grief?))

i’ve had my cat, loki, for about 4.5(?) years. we got him as a stray, and he seemed fairly young but definitely not a kitten. there of course has been no sign of ill health in him, but i know that one day that could change.

so my question is: how do i cope with the fact that he will get sick and die in my lifetime? i have never experienced major loss before, and i just know it’ll break me when he gets old and dies (just typing that was awful!). i get anxious a lot about finding him dead one day, and it pops into my head whenever i can’t immediately find him when i come home.

it hurts my heart a lot that my little familiar won’t be around forever. is there any way to, like, prepare myself for it, as morbid as that seems?

i pretty much love him more than i’ve ever loved anything or anyone. he makes every day worth living and i don’t know what i’d do without the little goober ❤️