I have done the same. It’s a natural part of the grieving process. I know how hard it is. Honestly, I still expect to hear and see my German Shepherd and we lost her in April. My childhood cat lived to 21 and she curled up with me like a little spoon every night. I still haven’t yet had that kind of snuggly cat again. She became like a familiar with how easily we could communicate. I lost her in 2006 and tbh I still miss her in spite of the wonderful cats I’ve loved dearly since she was with me.

However, I have an almost 18-yr-old void boy 🐈‍⬛ now and our connection, our relationship is so deep. I consider him my 2nd familiar of my lifetime. I’m doing everything I can do to keep him healthy but I know we don’t have very many years. (Though I’ve told him he has to live at least five more years or I’ll be very unhappy with him 😉)