I've lost a very special cat named Rhythm

Question:
 I've never posted on a board like this before, but I'm really hoping it will help me to deal with the heartache that I am feeling. A little over seven years ago my soon to be wife and I found two wonderful kittens at a pet shop which we named Rhythm and Blues. I'm a dj, thus their names. About two years later we had a pretty good snowstorm up in Michigan at about 4:00 one morning, and we awoke to discover Blues having a severe seizure (she had never had one before). We had to try to locate an emergency vet at that time and ended up having to drive about five miles with over a foot of snow on the unplowed roads (it seemed like forever). The vet kept her for about twelve hours and notified us that everytime Blues started to come out of being sedated, she would go back into a seizure. The vet recommended putting her to sleep. It's been five years since then and it still hurts. God and Blues forgive me for saying yes to ending her life. I know it was the right thing, but it doesn't soften the pain (she was my baby girl). Now, sadly, we have lost Rhythm (my wife's baby girl). She has been with us for seven years and has been so spoiled by my wife. Rhythm loved to be held, or lay on a lap or chest (she really loved any male visitors that came to our house). One of her most endearing personality traits was that she loved to touch. If she was laying next to you or on you, she would almost always make sure she had a paw touching your skin. Because of her being so spoiled, she never meowed, she actually whined. She liked to make a grand entrance if she could. If a door was not closed all the way, she would get on her hind legs and use her body to push the door wide open. She believed in cleaning only her front paws immaculately, but for the rest of her, she always enlisted our other cats to clean her.....and periodically a bath from my wife which she wasn't fond of as you can imagine. A very finicky eater. Out of six cats (yeah we have a few), she was the only one who wanted nothing to do with canned cat food or any people food. Dry food was it for her. She was very expressive in her dislike of food that wasn't up to her standards. She would attempt to bury it as if burying something in the litter box (pretty cute actually). She loved to lay on plastic bags and get inside boxes (even an empty cereal box that was too small for her. Plastic bags were her all time favorite though. After grocery shopping we would put a bag on her like a cape (she was totally into that). She loved laying on and occasionally grabbing and kicking her pillow with tassles. She was pretty smart too. Out of all of our cats that I played with the laser pointer with, she was the only one who figured out that I was the one controlling the the light. She would just sit there and look at me like "You might have them fooled, but I'm not that easily suckered". After a few minutes though, she'd feel like she was missing out since the other cats were going crazy chasing the light, and then she would put a half hearted effort in. Sigh.....I could go on about how incredibly wonderful she was, but it won't help me to hear her purr again. I'm sorry if I've bored anyone with my post being so long. To shorten it a little, we lost her yesterday afternoon. She was at the vet and we weren't there with her. She had gotten sick in the last week and for the past four days we had been taking her back and forth to two different vets trying to find out what was wrong with her and to get her better. She had stopped eating and had lost quite a bit of weight in a very short time. The last memory we have of her is dropping her off at the vet at 10:00AM yesterday and seeing her scared face as the nurse carried her to the back room and we left. The only positive I can pull out of all of this is that I am glad that I didn't have to make the decision again to have a pet that I cared so much for be put to sleep. Unfortunately, my wife and I both feel guilty because we couldn't be there in her last moments and we miss her terribly. God bless her soul. I know she's in Heaven with her sister now but also deeply in my heart.
Answer:
 Dearest Michael and Laura, I am so sorry for your loss. The Rainbow Bridge There is a bridge connecting Heaven and Earth. It is called the Rainbow Bridge because of its many colors. Just this side of the Rainbow Bridge there is a land of meadows, hills and valleys with lush green grass. When a beloved pet dies, the pet goes to this place. There is always food and water and warm spring weather. The old and frail animals are young again. Those who are maimed are made whole again. They play all day with each other. There is only one thing missing. They are not with their special person who loved them on Earth. So each day they run and play until the day comes when one suddenly stops playing and looks up! The nose twitches! The ears are up! The eyes are staring! And this one suddenly runs from the group! You have been seen, and when you and your special friend meet, you take him or her in your arms and embrace. Your face is kissed again and again and again, and you look once more into the eyes of your trusting pet. Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together, never again to be separated. Author unknown.
Answer:
 Sounds like a very special kitty. It's neat to know that there are other interesting cats out there. I thought mine was the only one. Misty was very affectionate, and she had an attitude that made her a lot of fun. She liked to play fight with us. And she liked to be held like you would rock a baby. She also liked it when I'd lay down on my back and put her on my feet and give her an airplane ride like you do to little kids. She was very expressive in her meows and had a loud purr, and she just loved to snuggle and rub her nose against yours and try to bite it a little bit. Misty was the only cat I've known very well. I've had her for 21 years (since 2nd grade), and I just had to have her put down. She had mouth cancer and was in pain. I am so sad because I'll never get to see her again, and she is so close, just buried in the yard. I feel bad that she is now in a deep dark hole and who knows what is happening to her. She had a good life over all and I thought it would never end. And now I can never pet her again and hear her purr. I feel guilty too. For lots of reasons. I think it almost always happens when you lose a pet. I think of all the times I could have been nicer and spoiled her more. And yesterday was her last day alive and I feel like I should have spent more time with her. The day went by so fast, and when I wanted to lay with her I forgot I had to go pick up my husband and my time was cut short. I spent a lot of time with her over the weekend, but I still feel like I should have spent more. Now that she's gone I can't get that time back. If I could do it again I would just sit with her for days on end and not do anything else but lay by her. I'm sorry you couldn't be there when your cat passed away. I know that has to be hard. Even though I was there when my cat died, I still feel bad. Its like you can never have enough of them. All the time and petting in the world isn't enough when they are gone and you can never do it again. I just hope our pets know we loved them. I hope my kitty felt she had a good life, and I hope there is a heaven that cats go to.