Okay, so this is going to sound a bit like a Sean Wookie thread. ;)

I am sure there are plenty of better ways to get the information I am seeking, but I know there are plenty of pet owners here, which means I am sure plenty of you have lost pets.

My problem is I have never been extremely attached to an animal and had to suffer losing it. I've lost pets, and it has made me sad, but that isn't the same as loosing that pet that you have had from childhood into adulthood, has been there with you through all your life's hardest moments and greatest challenges, and at times felt like your only friend in the world. I have never had this kind of attachment to an animal, I can try to imagine what it would be like, but having never gone through it myself, there is really no way.

My problem is that someone I am very close to is likely going to be going through that very thing quite soon, and I really need to know what I can do or say or not say and not do after it happens, in order to be as supportive and as understanding as possible. Their cat is very elderly, and had been very healthy up until things started to rapidly decline a few weeks ago, I don't think it has long now. They are very attached to the cat and have had it since they were a teenager.

Any serious advice would be nice?