I'm so sorry to hear about you cat. I know how horrible it is to loose an animal that you love so dearly. My Miss Ginsie (my pup) passed about a year ago. It does help a lot to bury them - you have a physical place to visit and know where they are even if they aren't with us anymore.

And yeah, it will take a long while before you manage to break all the habits you've built up around your animals. If I'm really tired in the morning, I sometimes still go straight to the front door to open it and let the pup out.