Losing pets sucks, but 16 years is a long life. Have content in that.Now, go get another kitten!

So we got home from a 2-1/2 week vacation tonight. It was the best vacation I've ever had (Southeast Asia), but after a bunch of flight delays and traffic getting back into the city, we were so happy to be home. On the 22 hours of flight time and cab ride home, we mentioned often how much we were looking forward to seeing my dog and my cat Mimi, whom my boyfriend refers to as "Fat Cat". We got home, and oddly Fat Cat didn't come out to greet us. We were a bit worried but thought maybe she was just hiding from the noise of two people and a bunch of luggage. After an hour, we called my friend who had been housesitting to make sure nothing had happened. He said he wasn't sure he'd seen her on Saturday but definitely on Friday. About half an hour later, I remembered that when she has been scared she has gone into this little crawl space between the dishwasher and the kitchen cabinets, so I got a flashlight and looked back there. Sure enough, I saw the back half of her, so I reached in and nudged her with the flashlight to let her know it was OK to come out.She didn't move.My boyfriend ended up pulling the dishwasher out and confirmed that she was dead. He thought from her condition that it had been no more than a day. He pulled her out and put her in a couple of bags, and we took her to the 24-hour vet for cremation.We're both devastated, and I haven't been able to go to sleep. Because of our long flight time getting back home and the fact we had to get up at 3:30 am to get to the airport, I haven't slept more than an hour in the last 72. And I don't know when I'll be able to.