What a beautiful majestic boy he became! Love the little baby meow.

Definitely seems like a gauge issue. It should essentially be a tube that stretches a bit to fit on your head for it to slouch like that, if it’s any wider it will mushroom like you said.

That’s the most aggressive wink I’ve ever seen!

That looks like a nice project! I definitely have many bags of yarn and fabric around for projects as well… one day I will get through them all.

I just went through a loss myself. My boy was 17 and I had him since he was a kitten and honestly it still hurts many months later. There is no easy fix. I still start crying at random times if I happen to see his favourite toy or a picture of him. You just need to let it run its course I think and slowly it gets better, just be there for your partner and offer support and hugs.