I love my two cats – but would they miss me if I were gone?

My cat follows me around all day (with the exception that he refuses to accompany me into my workshop in the basement- I can't figure out why). When I leave the house, he runs to the window by the door, where he waits for me to return. My girlfriend often sends me photos of him sitting there watching while I'm away. When I get back, he becomes visibly excited. This has been going on for years.

The irony is that this cat won't give my girlfriend the time of day, and she's the one who rescued him from his previous hard-knock life. In fact, not only did I not want him, but I expressly forbid her from ever bringing him or any other cat into our home. Then sure enough, we immediately became best buddies, and he's sitting by my feet as I type.

Related Cats appear to grieve death of fellow pets – even dogs, study finds (117 points, 4 days ago, 109 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41181610

This poor wee pup spent 14 years guarding his owners grave. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyfriars_Bobby

The subhed on the article seems to have it backwards. The actual article says:

"I've been cheered by new research suggesting they might actually register my absence, and even mourn..."