We had to say goodbye to Lincoln today

One of our cats, Lincoln, passed away today.  It was a bit of a shock.  This morning, Andrew mentioned he seemed like something was wrong.  Catherine heard us, hopped out of bed and checked him out, then scooped him and took him to bed with her (she still had another hour+ to sleep).  He seemed to settle in with her.  Before she left for work, Catherine set him up in her room with a comfy bed, and his own food, water, and litter box.  He took a turn during the day, and when Catherine got home she instantly knew something was very wrong.  She said he sounded like he was gasping.  She called me sobbing, but I was in the middle of carline.  I had her call her dad.  He called the vet, who was willing to see them right away.  Catherine cradled Lincoln, went to pick up her dad, and then they went to the vet.  We all knew at this point that Lincoln wasn't coming home.  The vet said she heard a heartbeat when they first got there, and then he was gone.  She assured us that bringing him in earlier today would not have changed today's outcome.  I'm so grateful it happened fairly quickly and his suffering was hours instead of longer.  But I sure do regret I didn't think to be more aware when I left this morning and give him a quick pat on the head or tell him I loved him...because of course I did.  He'd been with us for eleven years starting when he was just nine-months-old with his sister Rosie.  Those two had to be adopted together as it was clear they had a special bond.  After she died, Lincoln lost a lot of weight, and he had lost his cuddle buddy.  We all agreed that we are so glad he gets to see her again.  My daughter's heartbreak is always the part that hurts the most, but I'll be honest, I'm pretty sad myself.  Losing our furry family members really sucks.