Do nine lives equal nine ghosts?

Sometimes it's a rather innocuous thing that makes you realize things have changed.
I left my shoes on the floor yesterday.
I don't think it gets more innocuous than that.
I was getting ready for bed last night, and as I was putting my shoes in the usual out-of-reach place I'd been putting them for years, I realized, that as of my cat dying last friday night, I guess I really don't have to do that anymore. A realization that all those workarounds I made to counter my cat's curious quirks were no longer required.

My cat, Galileo, used to love to remind me that he had claws. Whether it be destroyed carpets (I count at least five), countless scratches, or leather shoes, he almost always found a place to test his claws that was decidedly inconvenient for me. After many of my shoes had developed little claw marks, I realized that for their own safety, they needed to be hidden from his view.

Some other, not necessarily claw-related quirks:
* I haven't been able to completely close my bedroom door for the last 11 years. Galileo had this weird phobia about being in locked rooms. Within five minutes of a door being closed, he would be scratching at the door, and more annoyingly, at the carpets by the door. No matter what tactic I took to try to get him to stop, it never worked. The bugger would keep doing it, to no end, until the door was open. He'd step out, and then right back in. Basically, he won, as my patience was no match to his single-minded stubbornness.
* My glasses. I would never be able to keep my glasses on the night stand next to my bed. So, if I happened to be watching TV or reading in bed, I'd have to get up and put them on my desk, because he always slept on the nightstand, and most likely would not have cared about sleeping on my glasses.
* He didn't care for milk, but he loved yogurt and, stranger still, fresh bread. All other human food he didn't care for.
* I had to buy furniture and clothes thinking how much of Galileo's fur said item would attract and retain.

I'm sure there's a whole bunch more, and I'll most likely be reminded of them over the course of the next few weeks. Galileo actually scared people, and he certainly had a personality. It'll be strange not having him greet me at the door.