Deb, first of all im am so soo sorry for your loss. Cats certainly are like family!!!.. take your time to grieve, my dear..
Hubby and i have always owned only 2 cats all our married life. no more then 2 at a time...The oldest cat we ever had ,lived to be 21 yrs old..
Also we too just recently had to put our 14 yr. old fat cat down. he had a bad stroke on his right side. we had no choice but to put him to sleep.
And we now have a 16 yr. old cat left., We are up in our years and have decided when she goes that will be the end of owning anymore cats.. We do not want to die first and leave them wondering where we are.. All our cats have always been indoor cats!!!.
We never let them outside, yet they cope very well just watching the birds at the bird feeder or our neighbors dogs stopping by for a treat... by the way. their poop box is in the downstairs basement in the utility room and gets cleaned every evening, no odor whats so ever. in fact cats are very clean and you see them grooming themselves daily. yes i get hair balls that hide under the furniture but a dust mop always took care of that .. we always had unconditional love for our cats and they for us. We would do it all over again too , if we could...
By the way, We never owned a dog ,but for our exercise . we volunteer at a dog shelter to walk dogs every day , weather permitting,, we go to
Horse creek Animal shelter in Savannah, Tn.. its like walking in a city park.!!. check it out on line..its a beautiful facility... they do not have cats tho. only dogs..
Again , Deb, my deepest sympathy... i know the pain of losing a beloved cat..