In memory of Mali

I got Mali when she was 15 years old and hoped we'd have longer together. I often called her my familiar because she followed me everywhere. I would come home from work and she would jump out of bed, run to me and put her head in my hands. She deteriorated very suddenly, and the day I intended to call the vets she hauled herself out of bed for our morning snuggle, which she hadn't done in days. I think she knew that would be the last time. I had to have her euthanised the very next day and I felt like a hole had been punched through my heart. She was the sweetest cat I have ever known, and I hope she realised how much I loved her and how sorry I was to let her go. I feel so lost without my shadow.

by Lauren Wright