Grief when one loses a pet

We recently had a new family take up residence in our back yard. This family consisted of a daddy cat, momma cat and three kittens who were born in my shop unbeknown to me. You need to understand that we already have seven inside cats of which four are the results of their "families" moving off and leaving them. Where this family came from we do not know and no one would claim them. As they grew two of the kittens disappeared. We have no idea as to what happened to them and were unable to find them. The last kitten became a source of amusement as we watched his unsatiable curiosity. We took all three and had them "fixed" as 10 cats is more than anyone should have to bear in this life, and made sure they received their needed shots. Now everyone knows that kittens are adorable and this little fellow who my daughter called Peter attached himself to her and my wife's heart. Momma cat remained feral and refused to let us approach her, but daddy cat would come to you and let you pet him. The three of them made up a family and they acted like one, all three helping each other. By the way did I mention they were all the same color, in fact pretty identical. So we learned to spend our afternoon watching these three outside cats frolic in the back yard as if there wasn't a care in the world. This all changed this weekend. On Friday night little Peter was no where to be found, the same for Saturday morning. A round noon he showed up on the back porch where my wife picked him up and while holding him he went limp and died in her arms. There were no visible signs of trauma, he just died. As a hospital chaplain I see this way to much with people, but have never encountered this with a pet. Even though he had only been with us for about four months he had attached himself to all of us as if he had been with us for years. Our family is heart broken. In the ministry with Encounters In Joy and our support group for grief I sometimes find those who have lost a pet and are hurting, but they feel that because it was a pet no one would understand. I can assure you my family understands. If you find yourself battling grief over the loss of a pet, reach out and get some help. It is just as real and as devastating as the loss of a person. What is your story? Let me know.