I was not expecting to be writing this today. She was only 4 years old. I am absolutely gutted and need to vent, but I also want to share just how wonderful she was.

I've put the details of her passing behind spoilers.

I heard her walking around in the bedroom, then suddenly a thud, followed by her letting out long cries. I rushed in from the other room, and found her laying in the middle of the floor, still crying but not moving. My other cat was in the bed, staring at her. She went quiet within a few seconds, but we wasted no time scooping her up and going to the vet 5 minutes away. She had a faint heartbeat on arrival, but then lost it. They did CPR for 20 minutes until calling it.

Since was acting completely normal today and had no signs of trauma, so the vet believes this was likely an embolism. The vet emphasized that if that was the case, the only way to have known she was predisposed was if we had taken her to a cardiologist, but at her age and with her being healthy, that never would have been recommended. So there was nothing we could have done.

Her name was Papoula. She was a 6.8 pound standard issue kitty - green eyes, tabby coat, with all black bean toes - rescued from the streets by another kind soul (who spoke Portuguese) when she was just under a year old. She was the sweetest girl ever - always purring, always kneading. She loved pets and scritches and damnit we made sure she was always getting them. She loved small, light toys that could be thrown by us, and carried to our feet.

She was extremely vocal, often greeting us whenever she entered the room. She bonded immediately with our second cat, teaching him her playful ways when he was a kitten. She also disciplined him with the occasional hiss and paw batt. These were the only times she ever utilized these social cues - she never once hissed at her humans, vets included. If she didn't like something, her penchant was squeaking.

Though her life was short, every day was spent with her tail in a happy hook, a full tummy, a playful younger brother, all the toys she could ask for, multiple cat trees with window views of birds, and two humans who never once took her sweet nature for granted.

Please hug your babies tonight.