I know, I know. That's why it's so hard for instructors to dismiss these things. Sometimes they are real. Also, I'd have to say that anyone who says "it's just a cat" would upset me more than someone who lied in a moment of stress. My cat died last summer, and I still miss her, still think I see her out of the corner of my eye--you know what I mean. They're beautiful, expressive, warm, faithful, and intelligent. You did indeed lose someone very close to you. My deepest sympathy on that loss.