Loss and grief of a pet: How do you cope?

I lost my friend and my company last night. My cat marina was with me for 15 years. I held her and cried when I lost my son I talked to her every day now she’s gone.
Everywhere I look I see remnants of her makes me cry all over again.

I've had to endure the loss of a pet and companion when my cats have died over the decades, and it really hurts. They become another member of your family, and it can be gut wrenching watching them suffer before they finally succumb and are no longer with us.
In August of 2020 my older sister died after spending a month in 2 different hospitals, she was barely 64 years old. Less than a week after her passing, I lost my cat MOLLY to a congenital heart condition. She was less than 10 years old at the time. I think I cried more after losing MOLLY than I did for my sister's death. MOLLY was the perfect companion for me, I had to retire and go on permanent disability, which meant I was at home by myself all day while my wife was at the office. She kept me company like she was a dog, she'd just hang out with me inside or outside the house, and always did what she was told. She never wandered off or went into the street, and loved sitting in my lap. I still miss her very much, and my suggestion to you is to adopt another adult female kitty to keep you company. It won't make you forget about your loving kitty Marina, you get to keep those memories.

Here's something that helped me a lot when my beloved dog died.

@mrmacabre thank you very much your words are very soothing. I’m not ready for another I’ve had her since she was a baby.

@marym123 We all feel that way, but getting another kitty isn't to replace your lost companion, it's to give you someone/thing to interact with, and to keep you company. If you don't have to be alone, and have the ability to have a cat I think you should. I wish that I could get another cat to keep me company while my wife is at work, but our current lease won't allow any pets, so I haven't had the company of a kitty cat for a few years now. It sucks.

so sorry for your loss. it's a loss like no other. I have been there too many times to think about and I remember them all because they live in my broken heart. HUGS!!

@mojosteve1961 I am truly grateful for this topic. I have lost my share of family, friends and pets (domestic and wild.) I was 10 when my grandpa (mom's dad) passed away. He taught me everything especially being one with nature and the cycle of life and death-> he meant the world to me < - that was a hard pill to swallow. Then when I was 15, July of 1992, I had and lost a daughter. That was an even harder pill to swallow. I literally felt like a part of me died with her. Every loss of life seems to have taken a piece of me with them. At a certain point in my life I became numb to losing a life, barely scraping a tear together especially where people were concerned. But when my bestfriend of all time paases away in her early 30's on Valentine's day, the numbness disappeared and I sobbed for almost a year. Then I lost my boy Max (Maximum Maximus,) a rotti/king shepherd, weighing in at almost 200 lbs (I'm 85 on a good day,) who I'd had since he was 6 weeks old. He was 14 years when he passed 4 years ago March, a little over a month after the one year anniversary of my girl Daphnee. It was as if I'd lost another child -> because I had! I could not stop crying... the hole he left in my heart was so big and empty. I couldn't see that I was headed down a very dark path, again. I still cry whenever I think about him or talk about him and Daphnee too, but July 2022 (that same year,) I was standing with a friend of mine in a grocery store check-out line, when a text came through from his son that his dog had just had puppies and sent a photo. Ed wasn't going to open it but I made him and when he did, one little soul spoke to me. I pointed. I want that one! The only blonde in the litter. The rst were dark gray or or blueish black. His name is Trigger, you can find him on Tiktok. He isn't a replacement, nothing can ever replace Max, he spent 14 years by my side, through oh so much. I don't know where or who I'd be without him. Trigger fills a huge hollow in my heart, without him I really don't think I would be here.
Even though there are never ever any words spoken on their end, there is definitely communication between human beings and "pets." There is a bond created stronger than any human bond which can be even more devastating when broken for whatever reason.