In case you missed reading it in Saturday’s post, we said goodbye to Sugarbutt last Wednesday.
Thank you all so much for your kind words – they help more than I can say. Many people asked how Tommy is doing, and to be honest Tommy seems to be doing just fine. I’ve been spending a lot of time with him, and his calm, sweet energy helps a lot.
Like I did with Miz Poo, I am going to edit the description of Sugarbutt from his permanent resident page, and add some more pictures, because I am once again having a hard time finding the words to describe that silly, wonderful boy.
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Sugarbutt
June 28, 2005 – July 8, 2015
Sugarbutt came to us in September of 2005, in a litter of four kittens that included his brother Tommy. His name was “Sad Eyes” at the time (I didn’t name this litter). The whole litter had giardia and coccidia, but in addition to that, poor Sugarbutt had what we thought was a slightly prolapsed rectum. He also had a horrific case of diarrhea, so bad that it “burned” the fur off the backs of his legs. Despite being so sick, he was sweet and playful and active. I had to bathe him at least twice a day and he hated it, but as soon as I let him loose in the foster room again, off he’d go to play.
At one point, his back end was so swollen and painful looking that I asked the shelter manager if there was anything I could do to make it less swollen. She said that she’d heard you could take a warm, damp cloth, dip it in sugar, hold it against the swollen part, and it would help the swelling go down. I tried that several times, and it seemed to help a little bit.
That’s how he got the name “Sugarbutt.”
When the rest of the litter (except Tommy, who was faking a leg injury) went off to Petsmart, Sugarbutt went with them. He was actually adopted pretty quickly, and then a few days later the guy who adopted him brought him back saying that he’d found blood on Sugarbutt’s back end. The shelter manager called me, and I went to pick him up at the vet (the vet said he had another round of Coccidia going on, o joy).
There was really no question that Sugarbutt was going anywhere; he and Tommy had a good time playing with each other, and I loved Sugarbutt so very very much (and had from the very first moment I saw that hot little mess of a kitten) that it was a given that he was staying with us.
I always said that if he were a human, Sugarbutt would be a pot-smoking surfer dude. (Not to pigeonhole surfers but, y’know, come on.) He was such a happy, happy boy. Sometimes he sat in the cat bed next to my computer and gave me the Love Eyes, reaching out with one paw to grab my hand and pull it to him so I’d pet him. (Sometimes he did this using his claws, which is why he was the one cat in the house with regularly trimmed claws.)
Sugarbutt had no use for any other cats except Tommy – every now and then I’d see Sugarbutt snuggled up to Tommy, but most of the time he was a loner. He liked to hang out on top of the fridge with his paws dangling over the side so that I had to pick them up and move them when I need to get into the freezer.
He loved loved LOVED feather teasers, especially Da Bird. If he wasn’t leaping up after the teaser himself, he was watching the other cats do so.
For the first few years of his life with us, Sugarbutt would come up on the bed with me in the middle of the night and knead on my arm while licking my neck. It wasn’t my favorite thing (cats have REALLY rough tongues, you know), but I didn’t mind it. He stopped doing that on his own soon after we moved into this house – he would have been about 2 years old – but every now and then, maybe a couple of times a year – I’d wake up in the middle of the night to find him kneading and licking. It was painful, but so very sweet. He always had a loud purr, but that was when he purred the loudest. He did it just a few months ago; I wish I’d known it would be the last time.
He loved catnip, especially when I brought it fresh from the raised flower bed. He’d roll around on it, rub his face against the leaves, and then eat some of it, purring the entire time.
He wasn’t a very talkative cat, but sometimes he’d walk around the house saying “Mehr? Mehr? Mehr?”, clearly asking a question we didn’t understand. He never held our lack of understanding against us, though.
Goodbye my sweet, happy ornj boy. I can’t imagine there’ll ever be another like you.
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If you’re of a mind to, donations can be made in Sugarbutt’s name to Challenger’s House.
They accept donations by mail (check or money order), by phone (Mastercard/VISA), or there’s a Paypal button at the bottom of the Petfinder page.
Challenger’s House
112 Tristian Rd.
Toney, AL 35773
Phone: 256-420-5995
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Previously
2014: No entry.
2013: They’re fond of the sunshine, is what I’m saying.
2012: Stompers and Jake size each other up.
2011: Ciara pretty much always looks appalled by whatever we’re doing.
2010: No entry.
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: “I just don’t see what all the fuss is about, lady.”
2006: No entry.
2005: So, it is done.