Holidays Without My Sweet Girl, First Christmas without my cat Options

[Precious26]

Coming home tonight from my boyfriend's family's dinner, I knew my sweet cat of 20 years wouldn't be here to make Christmas eve complete the way I have always remembered. It was very hard looking at our porch where she always was. I just wanted to go outside and grab her, but it broke my heart she wasn't there.
It's been a month now since I had to put her down for kidney failure and it still hurts. I still miss her terribly, despite having a new kitten in the house. I wasn't ready for a new kitten, and still am not some days, but my mom was hurting just as much from the loss of our old cat, so she needed a new friend. It has helped some, but this is the first Christmas I will remember without my sweet girl.
I am not sure how to deal with this situation this holiday. I've lost family members and have missed them at Christmastime, but this is different. She was always there to help me through missing those family members, but now I don't have anything to help me through missing her this holiday.
How do we cope with the loss of our furry friends and companions through holidays? She should be going to sleep with me tonight, but instead I'll be going alone. I am just not sure how to deal with these feelings. If anyone has any advice, it would be much appreciated.
Merry Christmas.

[Precious26]

Hi, Gizy's Mom,
Thank you for sharing your story of your beloved pet. I am so sorry for your loss, and my thoughts and prayers are with you as you go through this difficult time. The first several days after the loss of my cat I thought for sure I would never smile again. I cried for at least a week every morning, day and night. It was by far the hardest thing I've ever had to go through. I also lost one of my very best human friends to a car accident in September, and my sweet girl helped me through that loss, which at that point I thought would be the hardest thing I ever went through. But then I found my cat to be in pain with no option, really, except euthanasia. My heart still weighs heavy, and I know when she left this earth a piece of my heart went with her. My life just isn't the same without her. There are still times I come home from a weekend away or a bad day at work and just want to hold her, but I know I can't. To help with that, I hold her blanket or look at old pictures of her in her prime.

But, even though this has been one of the most trying things I've ever been through, trust me when I say you will smile again. The heartache won't go away completely, but eventually the tears we shed over the loss of our pet will turn into smiles, just like moon_beam said:

"In your own way and in your own time there will come a moment when you will be thinking of your beloved companion and you will find yourself smiling - - truly smiling - - and the deep sorrow in your heart will not feel quite so intense."

And moon_beam, I can't thank you enough for your encouraging words. I know without a doubt her spirit is with me each and every day. Sometimes I like to think she is still on our porch, encouraging the new kitten to do things she used to do to get attention, which makes me laugh. Christmas Eve and Christmas day were extremely difficult, as many other holidays will be and just like my birthday will be. I got her when I was so young I don't have a memory without her in it. The holidays can, without a doubt, be a very, very difficult time of year. I'm thankful to have had my family close and also to have had this forum as an outlet to express my grief when it feels as though my friends and family don't understand. I look forward to the day when we will meet again and I will be able to be with her eternally. Until then, I just cry when the pain is too much and that really helps me to get out some of the crazy emotions I feel. I'll still hold on to her blanket and photos and the memories she and I share.

Thank you both again for your kind words and encouraging thoughts. Moon_beam, I tried to attach a picture of my sweet girl, although I'm not sure if it worked. I love showing her off, still! Pictures really, really help me! Hope you can see it.