Butterscotch
Butterscotch, also known as Little Mother or Mo, died yesterday.
She was thirteen and had a tumor in her lung.
We buried her in the garden, close to where we buried Beauty last October.
He was 4 when he died of a respiratory illness.
Meredith had owned a large sheep dog when she was living in New York and had grown up in a house full of pets.
I had never owned an animal until after we bought this house 21 years ago.
I was fond of Aunt Mary–she’d taken me to Lords in 1948 to see Bradman bat for the Australians, which won’t mean much to people now, but was tremendous for a cricket-mad six-year-old.
All I remember about Mary–the cat–was that she was black and white.
I didn’t realize then that all cats are different and have singular personalities and foibles.
Little Mo was a rather solitary figure, who sought out quiet spots away from the general hubbub of the house.
We’d find her comfortably curled up in a large bowl or shopping basket or buried under a bedcover in a spare room–a visible lump, gently rising and falling with each breath.
Perhaps she was hiding from Lucien–our orphan Tabby–who is roughly the same age and her unrequited suitor.
Poor Lucien never stood a chance–she was disdainfully uninterested.
Kids though, she loved. Meredith says she’s the only cat she’s known who approached children and paid no heed when they unwittingly treated her roughly.
She seemed fearless–remaining unconcernedly on her chair while the hoover wailed round her, or unmoved while swapping curious looks with a troupe of cows surrounding her, in the field behind the house.
Her step was an unhurried plod and she thought long before leaping, like an athlete preparing for the high jump.
Just occasionally–and not so much recently–she would surprise us on a short walk with a sudden burst of speed–a sort of exlposive expression of joy–and then revert back into “plod mode”.
On my return from the market, she’d “plod” towards me, her tail would go up and she slowly rolled over.
I felt flattered–singled out for special treatment.
She was more social in the evenings, watching TV with us–from the comfort of a convenient thigh.
But she reserved for Meredith her most open show of affection, often settling down for the night flat out on Meredith’s chest.
We loved her. She’s at peace now and life goes on.
We spotted this young fellow at lunchtime. We rarely see hedgehogs here –and we’ve never seen one as young as this.
For Meredith it was a sign that all was well with Mo.
Robin Ellis 
I’m so sad for Mo and thought tearfully of my cats, Zakia, Sasha, Ziggy, Ulysses aka Poilu and the wild one that took 9 years to pat without fear Ceasar…all buried behind our house. We now have a wild(?) stray(?) abadoned(?) very fearfull(!!) calico I call Lucy that has captured my energy and love. Vive les chats partout! Mo is dead, long live Mo!
Oh dear. My condolences to you both on the loss. We have had two dogs in our family, and they were dear companions. Very different each of them and both missed to this day.
You are right. Life goes on. It goes on here on earth and in heaven. x
A beautiful reflection on Mo, Robin, and we send our condolences. Yes, life goes on, but to take a special moment to offer such a loving reflection is very meaningful. I am glad that she was buried in the garden….
So sorry to read of Butterscotch’s demise. I am a huge “yellow cat” fan and have owned several over my 64 years. I love how you describe her and I can see her little antics from your words. As you are well aware, I’m sure, time will make the loss easier. I love the picture with her in the love in a mist flowers…my favorite little wildflower that I have all over my Pacific Northwest garden.
thanks Helen–she looked so resigned and peaceful in amongst the “love in the mist”.
Having lost four felines of our own, the Rudds of Bethesda feel your pain.
I’ve found that the best way of dealing with it is to get another kitty ASAP.
As a T2 diabetic I also look forward to consulting your food blog.
Jon Rudd
Well Jon, we have six others–(3 indoors and 3 outdoors)–we’ll see…
Oh I am so sorry. :’-( Our family didn’t have a cat till 1993 when a stray (who had obviously been a house cat, she had no front claws and who had obviously been “thrown away”) came into our lives. Mieze was the one that showed us to the fact that animals DO have personalities, and “moods”. When we first brought her in, she was very scared and had a mean expression, but over time, as she realized that we loved her, and was part of our family, her features softened, and she really opened up to us. On New Year’s Eve Day 2003 we had to have her put to slept due to congestive heart failure and to this day my mom can’t talk about her without becoming emotional. These little furry balls – they steal your heart. I hope that Butterscotch didn’t suffer too much. Perhaps she will run into Mieze in kitty heaven. {Hugs} to you and Meredith.
Thank you, Paula–very touching story.
The kitty in my avatar is Emma, who we adopted after we realized how quite the house was without the pitter patter of furry paws.
Thanks, everyone, for your sympathetic and caring comments. It helps to know that other people understand the loss….
Hello Robin and Meredith, Lucy and I are not all that far away, in Madrid. Though we are having a terrible time receiving our luggage, have been in the same clothes now for four days! Your beautiful post about your kitty population made my day, I remember your cats, though not their individual personalities, so thanks for those warm details. I am sorry that Butterscotch (and previously Beauty) passed. Lucy´s dad passed a couple of months ago, and that was hard (Lucy and her dad were very close), and for the service I had the sad honor of reading the final passage of Watership Down (at the request of Lucy´s dad), the bit when the main character/rabbit finally passes. It´s a beautiful passage, and something about your writing reminded me of it. If you haven´t read it before (or in many years!) I do recommend it.
And Madrid is still wonderful, despite our lack of ropas!
My best to you and Meredith, peace to all of us traveling on the outbound train (which is the only way it travels, isn´t it?)
Steven (and Lucy)
Hope your clothes catch up with you–what a bore.
Thanks for the thoughts—we’ll look out Watership Down..
Love to you both.
Hello Robin, I found your blog through A Taste of Garlic and just had to stop by! We have 2 lovely cats who are 13 and have been living with us in France since 2004, so I was really sorry to hear this news. They may be a small animal, but they take up a big part of your heart.
Jacqui
Spot on Jacqui–they are such a joy.
thanks.
So sorry to read your sad news, though I was thinking only yesterday when I read your blog, “I wonder how Butterscotch is”. You’ll both miss her, and expect to see her in all her favourriite places.
Fern, our very large, beautiful tabby and white cat, (who also choses to sleep on my chest at night) lost her appetite recently as a result of antibiotics given for an abscess on her tail. That was really quite worrying as she was losing weight very quickly and cats can be so stubborn. Crouching in front of a bowl of food but refusing to eat. But after ten days she’s started to eat again, though she’s not nearly as large. I think I’ll be able to stop her diet!
Much love to you both, Vicky
Thanks Vicky–kind thoughts.
I trust Fern will be back on form–though retaining a little of her new shape perhaps–soon!
Love to you and Mark.
Hello Mereidith & Robin I am so sorry to hear about your beautiful butterscotch my condolences to you both, I am sure that you will be strong for each other, you know cats are very knowing about the people they live with & only give their affection to the ones they consider worthy.
My thoughts to you both – Elaine
Thanks for those kind thoughts, Elaine–much appreciated.
Dear Robin:
I was delighted to find your blog, but saddened to read about the loss of your kitty, Butterscotch. What a lovely story you shared. It reminds me of one of my four cats, who like Little Mo is rather a solitary figure. Our kitty, Ozzie, is a Maine Coon. Every night he sleeps by my feet. Just like Meredith, his only open show of affection is his brief snuggle on my chest early in the morning. My most sincere condolences to you both.
Thanks for those kind thoughts, Christine.
Give Ozzie a chuck under the chin from us!
I was curious, are your other kitties (esp. Lucien) missing Mo to? Our neighbor had a brother and sister and, when the brother died, the sister went around the house crying for him. She passed away not too many months later.
Her brother–Marmalade–looks a little lost.
The others are unaffected or being stoic.
Hi Paula,
It may sound macabre, but I made a point of showing Butterscotch’s body to her brother, Marmalade and our other male cat, Lucien, so they understood.
Marmalade reacted–but not as strongly as when his young pal, Beauty, died. That was a sudden, unexpected death and he pined for many weeks, even though he saw the body.
In this case, I think the cats realized that Butterscotch was very ill. Pippa (mother of Marmalade & Butterscotch) hid and never saw the body–but she seems unaffected.
The cats are staying very close. For a few days I awoke to find all three cats on the bed! This morning, no one.
It has been consoling to have shared this loss on the blog and have had so many kind, compassionate reactions. Robin and I have been really touched by the responses.
Ah. I’m so sorry. What a lovely wee girl she was.
She was–a special presence.
Oh – my sincere condolences. As a former cat companion, I truly sympathise. Cats really bond with their families and I don’t think people realise it until they adopt a cat or two of their own. I know I was devastated when we lost our cat, Butch. Poor Butterscotch (and poor Robin and Meredith.) My best to you both.
Thanks YDU!–we are missing her gentle presence.
so sorry for you both & the rest of your cats.Keep being positive.They are your joy & solice at this time(.Still enjoying your blog.)
HI Meredith 🙂
Thank you for sharing that. And no, I don’t think it was macabre at all. I truly believe that cats bond with each other too. The sister and brother, that I mentioned to Robin earlier, the sister would always give her brother a hard time when he got to close to her, but when he passed, she truly missed him.
Robin, You write so beautifully about Mo. I know the pain of the loss of a beloved animal. My heart goes out to both you and Meredith. Love, Francia
Thanks, dear Francia.
R.I.P. little moggit xxx L
So sorry to hear about Butterscotch. I wondered how she was doing. My condolences to you and Meredith. I had a cream colored tabby too once, Cinnamon. He was a real lap cat, I could get nothing done when he was around but I loved him to bits! He was irreplaceable. Still, it doesn’t matter how many times my heart gets broken when they go, I’ll always have a pet or two around me, even when I’m old & feeble.
Regards
Hello Robin, found your bog through my sister. We both are great Poldark series fans. So sorry about the loss of your cat. I have had cats my entire life. Love them. And yes they are all so different. I also have two buried in the back yard of our present home. We have only been on this lovely Farmstead in the country in North Dakota for two years but lost my black persian Panda Bear here. She was 19 (very old for a Persian). But I felt sad I had to leave her brother Honey Bear (a red Persian) at our other farm. He was buried in the trees at our other place. You wrote such a lovely tribute to your cats. thanks 🙂 Rosie V.
Thanks, Rosie-it is a help to read other people’s experiences.
I`am so sorry to hear about this, Robin. It`s always hard to lose a beloved pet. If it helps, remind yourself how loved this cat was and what a good home she had for 13 years. Not all cats are as lucky.
I liked always her name “Butterscotch”!
You are absolutely right, pets have different personalities and they have a good feeling for the atmosphere at home. We have a white sheperd and she always surprises me, how smart she is.
Thanks Martina–you are right, Little Mo had as good a life as we could give her here.
O, Robin, That’s bad news, I hope she did not sufered too much.Cats are so special and the love they give in return is real.
R.I.P dear Butterscotch.
Wishing you all the best in these bad tidings, from Puskepuske & Chantal.
Thanks for your good wishes, Chantal.
And R.I.P Little Mo.
Sniff!! 😦
Dear Robin and Meredith,
So sorry about your loss. I know what our cats have meant to us over the years, and how deeply it hurt when we lost one of them. Our hearts are with you–God bless and keep you both–
John & Bobbie O’Bryon
Thanks, John and Bobbie–for your kind thoughts.