Butter Kitty

Many will say they are loyal friends,
but who can find one who is truly reliable?

ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD AIMEE was excited to move into a new house—although technically it was not a new house. It was an old farmhouse. But with its weathered white paint, cheerful blue shutters, and cozy fireplace, it looked a lot like something from one of Aimee’s storybooks. Aimee hoped, with all her heart, that this move would be the beginning of a happily-ever-after for her family.

“Do you think Mom and Dad will fight as much, now that we’re in a bigger house?” Aimee asked her older sister a few nights after moving in.

Her sister simply shrugged and said, “Probably.”

The next morning while Aimee was playing outside, she saw a sign across the street for free kittens. Aimee ran back into the house.

“Can I please have a kitten?” she pleaded. “I’ll do everything to care for it.”

Her parents agreed, but on the condition that the cat stay mainly outside. Aimee ran across the street to look at the kittens. They were several months old, and Aimee giggled as they tumbled over each other. She eventually decided on a female orange tabby cat and named her Butterscotch. Aimee made a cat bed from old towels and set it beside two bowls on the back porch. Butterscotch quickly took to her new home, but her favorite place was always in Aimee’s lap.

Over time, Butterscotch—or Butter Kitty, as Aimee soon started calling her—started venturing farther and farther into the yard with Aimee. Butter Kitty hunted for mice and chased anything that fluttered by while Aimee enjoyed the quiet of the woods—far away from her parents’ arguments.

“Butter Kitty!” Aimee would call as she closed the door on the latest confrontation taking place inside the house.

Without fail, the little orange cat would come running right to Aimee whenever she called.

“It seems like all they do is fight,” Aimee whispered to Butter Kitty one day as the pair lounged under her favorite tree.

Butterscotch nuzzled closer, then eventually crawled onto her lap. Aimee loved feeling the steady, rhythmic movement of Butter Kitty’s breaths. Oftentimes, when she was upset, Aimee would try to breathe in and out exactly like Butter Kitty.

But when her parents announced they were separating again, Aimee cried so hard that even Butter Kitty’s soothing breaths couldn’t calm her down. She cried until she had no tears left. Butter Kitty never moved from Aimee’s lap. Through the flood of emotions. Through the mess of her friend’s runny nose. And even through the temptation of a taunting squirrel.

Aimee thought her heart would break when her mom delivered the news that she and her sister would be moving out of the farmhouse and into an apartment with her. That meant Aimee would only get to see Butter Kitty on alternating weekends and holidays.

“Who will care for her and love her? What if she leaves?” Aimee expressed her worries to her sister, who tried to reassure her that everything would be okay. Still, her words did little to allay Aimee’s fears.

But Butter Kitty never left. In fact, every time Aimee returned to the farmhouse and called for the orange tabby, the cat would come running—many times springing from a nearby bush or hedge as if she had been awaiting Aimee’s return.

With each visit—no matter how much time had passed—Aimee and her feline friend would pick up right where they left off.

“I love you, Butter Kitty,” Aimee would often proclaim while the two played together outside.

And she did. She loved her cat so much that when Butter Kitty got hit by a speeding car and had to have her jaw wired shut to heal, Aimee spent several weeks out of her summer caring for her. Since Butter Kitty couldn’t eat normally, Aimee would dip her finger in high-protein canned food so the cat could lick it off. Butterscotch made a full recovery.

Years later Aimee went off to college. But every time she returned to the farmhouse for a visit, Butter Kitty would come running when she called.

“I think you’re happier to see that cat than you are to see me,” her dad would tease.

And while Aimee would disagree with him, deep in her heart she knew that there was a bit of truth to his statement. Butter Kitty had been her constant companion and safe place for more than half her life. It was a love so strong that when Aimee got married after college, Butter Kitty came to live with her and her husband in their new home.

After all, Butter Kitty had always been home to Aimee.

PAWS & PONDER . . .

Who came to mind when you read Proverbs 20:6? What makes a loyal and reliable friend? Why are those types of friends so important? How can you be a loyal and reliable friend to someone today?

Paws & Pray

God, thank you for the faithful friends you have placed in my life. Help me to be a loyal and reliable friend who keeps confidences and asks for forgiveness when I fail. And Lord, thank you for being the one Friend who will never leave me or forsake me, no matter what I’ve done.