Butterscotch - R.I.P.

Dear Blogspotters,

I've been very quiet lately, and there are a couple of reasons. The other part I will write about when I find the strength, but this part is about our beloved Butterscotch. We had to have him put down today. It's been a horrible day, but what a loving and outstanding cat he was. I'd like to tell you about him.

Well, as you see from this photo, he was a very handsome cat. We have had him since Aug of 2003, when we lived in Tillamook Oregon. I call him "The best thing I ever got at a yard sale". He was. He was very loving, funny, SMART. He was also a kind of caregiver/nurse to my husband, "Speavers" who is battling stage 4 renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer). He used to sit on the bed, next to my husband when he was looking thru his baskets of medications he took every day. As if he was a "Nurse", checking in on him to make sure he was doing things "right". I used to call him "Nancy Nurse" even though he was a boy ('cuz that's what my Mom used to call me, because I've also always been is also a nurturer).

Butterscotch was always a "big cat", I thought (he weighed between #10-12, which was bigger than any cat I've ever owned), but these last nearly two weeks, he'd be loosing weight, not eating or drinking, etc. I don't want to go into details but he was definitely sick. (He only weighed about 1/2 that this morning when we took him to the Vet).

They knew him at our Vet, and said by looking at him, that he wasn't doing well. We are not financially able to run hundreds of dollars of tests to see what was the matter with him other than he was very old (we have no clue how old he was when we got him 8.5 years ago, but definitely an adult cat). The doctor said without running lots of tests on him, it could be many things, actually- everything from kidney failure to cancer/tumors to diabetes. (I thought "the same things my husband has issues with!") We didn't want to see him suffer, so we had him put to sleep. We were with him, and it was very peaceful, which I'm Thankful for.

We brought him home to be buried in our garden. I will make a marker for him at some point. My husband has agreed to bury him for me. I don't think I could do that.

Getting To Know Our Cat- Some Trivia About Butterscotch:

*He came with the name and it suited him. His nicknames were many-- even had a "people" name, of "Scotty". (Also called him Scratchers, Buttercup, etc).


*Was never a very "playful" cat. I mean, you could stick a piece of yarn on his head and it would just dangle there, and he would just purr and go to sleep- all cozy and "whateveh' Mom". But last year I caught him PLAYING with a hair tie on the floor... I ever video'd it because it was so "un Scotty". Guess he was too "cool" to do CAT THINGS, like playing. (He wasn't lazy, just wasn't "cat" I think) Here is the only clip I have of him at his silly hair-tie game.. what a silly boy!



*He didn't like milk or tuna!! (I thought all cats did!) but LOVED--I kid you not: strawberry banana yogurt (small spoons full as s treat sometimes), canned corn juice (yes, he was silly) and FRUIT! He adored drinking the juice out of a cantaloupe and his fave-- watermelon. Silly, silly Boy!


*He was an un-neutered male and NEVER "sprayed" in the house...ever! He didn't even know he was a cat, we think. (He was strictly an indoor cat the whole time we had him)


*OH- and here's a kicker-- he LOVED TO TAKE BATHS AND SHOWERS!!!!! There was a time when he was younger and I heard him meowing in the bathroom when I was taking a shower-- I thought "Oh, the cats in here to keep me company" (I was washing my hair). I stepped back in the shower and almost TRIPPED on him, because he was IN the shower with me, purring, walking around... like he wanted to take a shower WITH me. I didn't know what to think, I just laughed and picked him up and put him outside the shower (again, he's a long haired cat, so you can image what he looked like all wet...sheesh) and said, "Scotty, you are too big to take a shower with Mommy...scoot!"

That was our boy, Butterscotch.

I told him on the way to the Vets today (I had him in cage, but he didn't mind sitting on your lap in the car, he didn't mind them at all) that he could sit on the lap of angels when he got to Heaven, maybe; but please don't try and take a shower with them.

I will be back to blog sometime soon. I just need some "us" time to heal for a bit.

Oh, and our dog, Hershey doesn't quite know what to think of this yet, but he's looking for his cat. (Butterscotch was the Alpha in that relationship as we got Hershey, as a small puppy,in the summer of 2007, but is now a 70# choc lab , so Butterscotch WAS the "big brother" I guess, but not any more of course- but sure acts like it. Over all they got along REALLY well)

Thank you for reading this. I am 48 years old now and I've never had to to have an animal die or put to sleep. It's hard.

Updated little later in the day, 2/13/12- I just came across this "typical" shot of Butterscotch, sitting all lazy on whatever I'm sewing (usually quilting) on Jan 20th of this year... I was preparing a post for my first guest post over at The Turquoise Piano. I'm not sure why I didn't post the photo (probably because the Tut was photo-heavy) but yes, he was a typical cat- always sitting on quilting/sewing projects. This one makes me smile.

Feb 15, 2012
The outpouring of sympathy and support over our loss of our beloved Butterscotch has really touched our hearts. Thank you SO much. He was a wonderful cat, and it was a joy to have him in our lives for as long as we did. I guess I've never pointed out but in the past, I've never had a cat for over 8 years in my life; and he was such a beloved pet, it's been hard for us all. Thank you again for your emotional support.

Sincerely,
Suzanne, Speavers (Kevin) and Hershey (our choc lab) and Sarah (our grown daughter who misses Scotty so much too, even though she's moved out and on her own now)