"Almost as bad" ??? WHAT IS YOUR FRIEND'S PROBLEM!!! Some people are close to their pets and it sound like he/she loved their cat. I am not saying that animals lives aren't as meaningful as humans, but pet deaths aren't nearly as hard to deal with. I am very sorry.

I am sorry. I don't think that he was a friend thoguh.

Sorry for your loss. And aww the poor cat :(

Others have said similar things already, but I'll put it succinctly: While a pet-person relationship can be as close and dear as a person-person relationship, saying 'that is almost as bad as' shows complete disregard for OP's grief. It is so disrespectful and conceited to say that one's sadness is greater than another's in comparable situations.

Sow people are very attached to their pets

It doesn't sound to me that they did it on purpose, but yeah it was insensitive and uncalled for. I'm so sorry for your loss, OP.

Losing a pet is bad... But a brother? Me and my brother get pissed but every once and a while I imagine what I'd do if he died, and I hope I die first

Animals ARE family too. I'm sorry your brother died but in my eyes it's the same if he had the cat for a long time.

People try way to hard to sympathize and turn death into a competition.

Cats are more important than humans