Little Butternut

Judith

Rest in Love and Peace, Little Butternut

On May 2, our new kitten Butternut was diagnosed with Feline Leukemia Virus. He was born on the streets and picked up from a feral colony in February. We adopted him in early March.

The FLV took him quickly. He went from 4.8 pounds to 4.3, down to 3.4 lbs., and on his vet visit last week, he weighed in at a mere 2.1 pounds.

Butternut passed away quietly early this morning. We are thankful for the care he received and for all the love everyone gave him.

In his short little life, he got to run and play, climb the old apple tree, and drag home a dead bird.

We know he’s safely home with the Great Cat Spirit in the Sky now, but our hearts are broken.

16 Comments

  9. So sad, I am sorry to hear this….we have two cats we adopted off the streets of Philadelphia – they do tend to come with health issues aplenty. Butternut may have had a short life and a tough beginning, but, he left this earth, well loved – by you! and that’s a BIG DEAL ❤

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. As sick as he was, and as short as his little life was, at least he got to do a few “cat” things. He got to slowly stalk a squirrel, climb the old apple tree, and drag a dead bird in as a gift. We miss him so much. I’m glad though that he’s not suffering now.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Maybe, after a while, you will want to adopt another one….I don’t know about you, but, if it weren’t for the vet bills I would totally have a few more cats than I have now and they would ALL be rescued from the streets. That’s not to diminish your grief, at all, though, Judith….many people mourn their pets a great deal and some feel they never can replace that one special animal.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. We do plan to bring another kitty into our home. We have 3 now — 2 adult females and 1 adult male (all fixed). We previously had 4 — we had “Buddy Boy” — a gorgeous long-haired boy with a lot of health issues. He was diabetic, had to be on a anti-viral for FIV, and was the most beautiful, most loving cat I’ve even had. We rescued him from the streets when we was starving. I often wonder if he’d been abandoned or dumped because of his health issues. We took care of him, he was doing great with his diabetes, and then one evening last December he went out for his evening walk — and disappeared. I still cry over him every day. No idea what happened to him! We never found his collar, no fur, no blood, no sign of any accident. We put posters up all over the neighborhood (for several blocks) and contacted Animal Control and every vet in the area, in hopes that someone might find him. But he’s gone. So, 3 months later we adopted “Butternut” — in Buddy’s memory. He was almost like a miniature little Buddy Boy, and we looked forward to seeing him grow up. So, losing 2 cats in less than 6 months has been devastating, especially on top of all the health/vision/family health issues we’re dealing with. Our female kitties were very fond of Butternut, and it’s obvious that they miss him. So, we’re lookinng… but we haven’t found the right one yet. We definitely want another long-haired male, and I know my husband wants a kitten rather than an older cat. A lot of shelters do “foster-to-adopt” and send them to their prospective owners before they’re even tested for FeLV, and we simply can’t do that and take a chance on falling in love with and then possibly losing yet another kitty. Plus, right now, driving is a huge issue for us, so until one of the shelters nearby has a kitten available… well, all in all, yes, we dearly want another kitty to love, and we’re trusting that the right one will come along at the right time. Meanwhile we cry over Buddy Boy and little Butternut every day. That’s never going to change. We will miss them forever.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Aw – thank you for sharing your story. That sounds very hard indeed and so sad. I hope you have better luck with the next kitty who enters your lives. We only ended up with 3 because our one, long time, family pet – a tuxedo cat named ‘Frodo’, passed away at the age of 12 from very advanced oral cancer and our 3 kids (and I) were highly devastated. So we took on the foster cat (Bubba) intending to give him back after one year and then, we took on the two kittens as well. Then Bubba’s owner did not want him back and told us we could find him a new home….and….we’d become attached to him, by then AND then poor Bubba passed away anyway. They all leave a pawprint on our hearts and a story and memories of all their funny little ways – I hope the next one you adopt will live for years and years to give you a break from the heartache. I have really enjoyed having this little kitty, chat with you, Judith – I hope it has been comforting for you to tell me all about Butternut and Buddy and thank you, again, for shareing!

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Cats are very special, and they have such distinct personalities. We love our furbabies, and we know that we’ll find one more that needs our love.

        Like

I'd Love to Hear Your Thoughts!