After years of reading posts like this, I'm now writing one. My beloved soul cat, Tang, 14, crossed the rainbow bridge. Please witness him

I posted Tang here a few times. Unfortunately, cancer and heart failure demanded the ultimate duty a cat parent must see through. Tang passed peacefully today at home, where he spent most of his life. My wife and I were by his side. Tang was my first ever cat, and as the oldest, the first death I have experienced. Today has been the hardest day of my life.

Tang was originally adopted by my brother and his new wife. They chose Tang from the other cats at Petsmart because he happened to have their wedding date listed as his date of birth. They saw it as a sign. If it really was a sign, it was a bad one, as my brother divorced barely a year later LOL. He had to move to a new apartment, one that didn't take cats. He asked if I could take Tang just for a little while until he could find a new place. I was hesitant, as I was a single guy in my early 20s. But I agreed.

Tang's journey to my house is a story that gets retold all the time, with great laughter. But if I'm being honest, the memory makes me cringe. I still feel bad, all these years later. My brother said Tang hates car rides and would cry the entire 2 hour drive back to my place. He suggested I should put his carrier in the trunk of my little Honda Civic so I wouldn't be bothered with the crying for 2 hours. At this point, I should mention that this was in the height of summer...but I was young and dumb and didn't know any better.

As I start driving, I could hear Tang crying from the trunk. There was almost no soundproofing. Putting him in the trunk was pointless. But after about 5 minutes, he stopped. I thought, cool, maybe the solitude of the trunk calmed him down. I drove the 2 hours to my house. When I opened the trunk and looked into the carrier, Tang looked like he had a bucket of water dumped over him. He was panting like crazy. I rushed him into the house, toweled him off, and gave him water.

For the next 3 weeks, Tang hid under the couch I had in the formal living room. One night, as I sat on the couch in the main living room, watching TV, Tang came slowly into the room and then jumped on the couch and settled into my lap. And just like that, I had a constant companion for the next 13 years. He was the opposite of most cats' reputation. He was never aloof, but clingey. He never had zoomies or really played at all. He just liked to sleep, eat, cuddle with me all night, and eat some more. He had the best life.

When my wife came into the picture, he included her in his cuddles. He loved to literally lay on top of her head at night. She loved him as much as I did. I wish I could have had several more years with him. But I'm infinitely glad of the years I got.

Tang, we love you and will miss you for all our lives. We are so grateful we got to be your humans. I hope you are already running around and eating as much tuna as you want. We will see you again. Wait for us.