I lost my cat recently, the first one that was truly mine. he was only about 2.5 years old, but when me and my partner moved into the city together, he went missing shortly after we started allowing him outside access (he was born feral and always loved the outdoors).
a few weeks later he was hit by a car some kilometres from our house, and a couple of weeks after that, his microchip was scanned and tracked back to us.
I sobbed for about half an hour when I first got some time alone after finding out. I still tear up thinking about him at odd times. I've never loved any animal quite as much, and I wonder if I ever will again. thinking about coming home to him was all that got me through many days of work. sometimes thinking about him just makes me feel like I don't want to be alive anymore, despite my partner and the two lovely kittens we still have.