10/07/2026
Today was a sad day. Today, I finally said goodbye to Burton. 💔
Some of you may remember him from when we pulled him from ACCT almost a year ago. I still remember his first night home with me. Even in his terrible condition, he was such a goofy, affectionate love.
We thought he needed dental surgery—something we love helping cats with because relieving that pain can change their lives so quickly and so significantly . We even secured an emergency dental appointment for the very next morning. But once Burton was sedated and examined, we learned that he had a multitude of problems but his teeth weren’t one of them 😂. He had severe muscle wasting and advanced kidney disease. The veterinarians encouraged me to let him go that day, while he was already asleep.
Right or wrong, I couldn’t do it. Not that day.
I wanted him to have at least one week of the best life I could give him. Good food, warmth, comfort, and more love than he knew what to do with. I wanted him to know what it felt like to be someone’s cherished cat before we said goodbye.
But Burton surprised us and with lots of supportive care, he improved so much! And what I thought would be one week became nearly ten months.
There were plenty of ups and downs, good days and bad days but I truly hope those months were the best of his life and I hope he know how much he was loved 💔💔💔.
Burton must have been magnificent in his prime: a big-framed boy with long, dark orange fur. By the time he reached us, his body was so depleted that his back legs barely worked, and his eyes were deeply sunken. But underneath all of that was the sweetest, silliest soul.
When my husband and I sat on the couch, Burton would move between us, pawing at us for pets. When one of us stopped, he simply moved to the other. He had a system, and he expected us both to do our part. ❤️
He embodied so much of what I love about cats—their strength, their gentleness, their quiet endurance. I just wish I’d had more time. I wish I’d known him before life had taken so much from him.
My understanding is that this incredibly affectionate, declawed boy spent more than ten years living on the streets of Philadelphia. That makes me physically ill. To think of him out there, growing weaker and weaker, struggling to get through winter after winter, makes my heart hurt. He so clearly just wanted love and belonged in a home. God, I wish I had known about him sooner and how disappointing that nobody took him on during all that time 😢😢.
Today was actually one of the best days Burton has had in a while. I don’t know whether that makes me more sad or more relieved. It made saying goodbye harder for me and I came really close to putting it off for about the 20th time. I had to continue to remind myself how many really bad days he had been having lately. However, I hope it made his last day easier for him.
I’ve always tried to live by the belief that I would rather let an animal go a month too soon than a day too late. But that doesn’t stop the questions. Was today the right day? Should I have waited a little longer?
I don’t know that I’ll ever stop questioning it. What I do know is that his body was struggling, that even being picked up could cause him discomfort, and that I made this decision with nothing but love for him. I wanted to spare him a worse day, even if it meant breaking my own heart on a good one.
Rest peacefully, Burton. Run on strong legs again. Find the softest beds, enjoy all the best food, and eat every Churu your heart desires—without the explosive diarrhea that so unfairly followed your favorite treat here 😢😢. You deserve nothing but the best, buddy.
I love you. I’m already missing your aimless wandering around the house and that paw reminding us it was time to pet you.
You will always have a piece of my heart. ❤️🐾
