After our senior cat passed away, the house didn’t just feel quiet — it felt hollow in a way that was hard to explain. The silence almost echoed. We kept reassuring ourselves that this was how things were supposed to be now. We told each other we didn’t need another pet, and my husband would often say, “We’re not young enough to start over with kittens.” Our children have their own lives now, and we were slowly adjusting to a slower pace. No claw marks on the furniture. No bowls on the floor. No