death of an old friend

Just needed to share that today we lost our oldest cat. she was about 15 yrs. old. Her mother rejected her and we fed her on a syringe. Yesterday, we noticed her having somewhat labored breathing but didn't think too much about it. In hind-sight, I could kick myself for not having taken her to the vet. It is such a great loss to me and the friend with whom I live. We have and have had many cats and the loss of one over all these years is as painful and the first.
I don't know why I'm writing this other than I'm needing to verbalize my sadness. Owen buried her in the pet cemetery where there are at least 25 graves from the ones we've lost over the years. Some might think it silly but we decorated it with flowers and will order a marker for her grave. Orvis is usually the company from which we order them.
Thank you for allowing me to write about this as it seems to help. People who are not animal lovers seldomly understand. Lee