Butty: 27th June 1999 - 29th December 2015

Butty was the sweetest tortoiseshell girl you could ever wish for.  

She was born under my daughter, Carey's, bed along with her siblings, Peanut, Flash and Jiffy.  They had just been born when Carey found them under her bed.  She described Butty as being "a big fat slug".  Happily, that slug turned into a swan and she grew into a gorgeous kitten.  She was the quiet one and was lower down in the pecking order.  I can't remember her ever catching a bird or a mouse.  She did, however, join the others in a game of ‘chase up the Christmas tree’ for the first couple of years.  The tree spent more time on the floor than anything else.

Poor girl did have medical problems.  She was allergic to dust and had to have steroids to stop her itching.  She was such a stoic girl and never complained about anything.  She developed the same nasal infection as her cousin Syddy a couple of years ago. This meant even more trips to the vets trying to get her on the right medication to ease the condition.  It was incurable, so all we could do was find a treatment which kept it at bay as much as possible.

Butty loved to follow me around and was not really an "outdoor" cat.  On a warm sunny day, she would potter up the back garden to check things out and have a sit in the sun.  She was always there to assist with the gardening.  Unfortunately, in later years as I became less mobile she was keener than ever on gardening and would stand right behind me.  If I didn't realise she was there I would almost stand on a paw.  She never complained and always accepted my apology.  

She was diagnosed with a tumour on her kidneys in June 2015.  As she was 16 years old it seemed wrong to put her through the ordeal of an operation which was unlikely to be successful as further tumours were felt.  I was warned that I would only have her for a few weeks.  Luckily for me Butty had other ideas.  

She was well and happy in herself and her weight was stable.  She continued her routine of following me everywhere, and on the very odd occasion when the weather was nice enough to sit out, she would get up on the lounger with me and we would settle down together.  

Butty continued to be very well and I began to have some hope, but then she lost weight.  My vet examined her and said the tumour had got a lot bigger.  As autumn approached she would venture out on good days when it wasn't too cold or wet.  By the beginning of December, she started to really lose weight although still very bright and happy.  I did think that she would not see Christmas, but she had other ideas.  She seemed quite determined to enjoy Christmas Day as Carey was coming over.  The two of them spent a nice time together.  She was enjoying having special meals just for her, whilst the others had their usual meals.  Although, of course, they would try to sneak her food if I was not looking.  In the end she became weak and found walking more than a little way a great effort.  I knew then that our time together on this Earth was drawing to a close, and I had to make that awful decision.  

Goodbye my special little girl.  Wait for me at Rainbow Bridge with all the other cats who have lived and left here.  

Love Mummy

xx

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