The point is to give someone vulnerable a full life, with safety and warmth.
From your perspective, time went by too fast; from their perspective, it was a long and peaceful lifetime, they were incredibly fortunate to have someone like you.

Also, there is an implicit assumption we carry around that to be immortal is some sort of blessing or state to aspire to, while it may very well be that being mortal is itself the blessing.

In my opinion, the highest tribute one can pay to a departed friend and companion is to again open one’s home to another vulnerable creature and make him/her family.

Do it in your departed friend’s memory and honor. If you could communicate again with them, you would let them know this is part of their proud and gentle legacy, to reduce suffering on the world - “Look what you did, by being who and what you were for me in life, you opened the door for someone else when their turn came.”

This is what I have done, and do not regret a minute of it.

Your cat had a good life and loved you and then died. There doesn’t have to be a point, there’s more good than suffering.

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ive had to say goodby to a few pet friends now. i dont regret having my pet friends.

we got to enjoy each others company, and honestly the pet gets the better end of this deal if their people are sound.

Yeah pretty much. What you do in the meantime is up to you.

Pets are particularly weird because we get them knowing damn well we will outlive them. I view it as giving the little babies as close to a perfect life, and as comfortable a passing as pawssible.

The universe exists and is beautiful. We exist to appreciate and explore that beauty. It sounds like you had wonderful experiences with your cat and both you and your cat benefitted from your shared time. It’s important to remember that getting that time and those memories were worth the pain of parting.

It hurts. I had to put my cat of 18 years down last year and it hurt for a long while. But I wouldn’t trade having her as my friend; the end was sad and rough, but I made sure she had as good of a life as I could give her the entire time she was with me. We can’t do much better than that for our furry friends.

Hang in there friend, it does get better with time.

You sound like an attentive cat carer. Cat was lucky to have you. The point of all this is different for everyone, but cats are a big part of the point for me. Maybe for you, you can give more cats a good life as well. When you’re ready of course, you may need time to grieve.

We live for no other reason than that we can. Against all odds, in a universe that wasn’t trying to make us alive, we became more than the sum of our elements that compose us: to be the thinking and thriving things that we are - for as long as we are. Life itself is an act of defiance against the universe, but ultimately playing by it’s rules with the understanding that we can only do so for a finite amount of time.

Your cat too was one of those defiant and emergent souls that used the universe as it’s playground full of strangers, bullies, and friends alike. Never forget that which it did not know: that its time was short but miraculous in the grand scheme of a universe borne of chaos but twinkling with unexpected life.

This is one of the reasons I don’t want to own a pet

I am so, so sorry for your loss. I understand how you feel, and I’m sorry that I have no words that can help. Nothing can replace them.

We do a little ritual for ours on the Day of the Dead; I don’t know if it helps. I guess it makes me feel a little better the rest of the year, setting time aside to remember the good times.

I’m sorry.

“Just”? No. At least, but we can also do more. Keep going. Choose your own point. Good luck.

Do we just live and suffer and die?

Largely, yes. As far as we know, there’s no grand purpose nor reason of being. We’re all just floundering about, trying to answer the fundamental questions of existence for ourselves. There may be an objective answer, however, which is why I do what I can to push humankind in the direction I believe is most likely to result in that discovery - even though my significance is only comparable to that of an ant.

Regarding your loss, specifically, I was in a very similar boat ~12 years ago. Honestly considered just riding into the sunset in search of Bob Ross, at the time. Today, I’m extremely glad to have stuck around to raise another cat who loves me beyond anything I ever thought comprehensible. In short, when life as a whole sucks, there’s respite in the moment. When the moment sucks, take respite in the whole of life’s experiences.

Go get a kitten from the pound and quit being so dramatic. That cat would have eaten your face off if you died. I love animals but you guys are on an unhealthy level.

You need https://youtube.com/@Exurb1a in your life. Profound thought like yours, performed with irreverent style.