BILLIE

Annie and I have been together for 22 years and our little family was just us and Billie and Cato, our two cherished Burmese cats. 

Billie and Cato were inseparable

We had Cato for 17 years before he passed away three years ago and yesterday having had 20 wonderful years with her we lost our beautiful little one, Billie. 

Billie and Cato were inseparable during there 17 years together and when he died it took her at least a year to get over it. She was a spirited little cat and eventually she settled down into her old age. 

As she progressed into her 20th year, a bit stiff from arthritic limbs, she was set in her ways, sleeping on her favourite chair in the spare bedroom (her room) as well as in a tent made out of the end of a duvet at the bottom of the spare bed (her bed). She'd even complain if it hadn't been made for her after she'd eaten her breakfast.

She always enjoyed life

What made yesterday all the more hard to bear was how abrupt it was. It was a shock as she had been fine up until the weekend, a happy little thing, but her diminishing eyesight took a dramatic turn for the worse on Monday.

It's hard to take in we had been giving her a reassuring cuddle yesterday morning and then an hour later after the vet told us the news we didn't want to hear, she was gone. Our original little family of four had then been just the three of us for the past three years.

But now the house, for the first time in 20 years, seems empty. While we would not change those 20 years for anything, our little family is no more. We feel lost and utterly heartbroken.

Billie in her 20th year on Christmas Day

Bless our little Billie Boo, we love you and will miss you always. xxx