THE TALE OF BUTTON

By Karen Lawrence

Back in October of 2007, I completed judging at a cat show in Rochester, NY and headed to Dr. Betsy Arnold's veterinary clinic to have a look at her latest litter of Abyssinian kittens. Imagine our shock upon arrival, to find that the back door was ajar and a head count indicated 2 of the clinic cats were missing!

It was dark, but we searched the rural area around the clinic with flashlights. We had no idea how long the cats had been gone and didn't hold out much hope of finding them in the dark. We put food out on the small patio, and kept our fingers crossed that they'd get hungry and come back on their own overnight.

The next morning, the random-bred household pet was patiently waiting on the patio for more food! However, Button, a blue point Siamese neuter, was nowhere to be seen. We had hoped that they would have stayed together, but it was not to be.

The local neighborhood was canvassed by clinic staff asking if anyone had seen Button. The residential area was plastered with posters, and people kindly checked their property looking for him. Unfortunately, no-one had managed to catch even a glimpse of him.

Days, weeks, months passed and the staff at Caring for Cats came to accept that he was indeed gone. He was missed by both the staff and by clients who were used to being greeted by him when they visited.

Fastforward to August 17, 2009 .... "LOST" posters are still up on street posts to this day.

The clinic's last appointment of the evening was for a new client to examine a stray cat she had found on the previous Saturday. The cat had wandered into the backyard of this caring person who had called all of the local rescue groups looking for someone to take in the cat she had found. Unfortunately, all were full. Thankfully, she refused to even consider taking him to a shelter where he would be euthanized.

Not knowing what to do, she sought advice and was referred to Betsy's veterinary clinic, about 15 miles from her home, because it specialized in cats. She thought she'd found a seal point female, but as Betsy was getting the cat out of the carrier she thought "this is a blue point and he looks familiar" and then, " ... it couldn't be Button, could it?" A full examination left her totally convinced that the "newly-found" cat was indeed the long-missing Button!

A battery of testing all proved that while he's a little on the thin side, has a few scars and no teeth, he is in pretty good shape after his almost 2-year ordeal. He looks older, needed a good grooming, but otherwise he looks wonderful and is as sweet and loving as he ever was.

The oh-so-kind rescuer gladly left Button where he belonged. She's flabbergasted at learning "the rest of the story", but Button has indeed found his way home with her help. Betsy says, "he was so excited to check out the clinic, sniff the other cats to reacquaint himself and he even has a bounce to his step!!"

The next morning, Button could be found in his regular spot -- the reception area of the clinic -- happily riding shoulders and greeting clients as if he'd never been away. Betsy is, of course, astounded, and needless to say she is deliriously happy at his safe return.

Looks like miracles do occasionally happen.

Comments from our readers:

LOVE this!!! My eyes filled up and I got chills reading it. What a sweetheart he is (from looking at the pictures). It must be nice not to have to search for food :)

I loved the Button story. I have shared his story with so many people. It is the dream come true for people who have lost cats.

This is really cool!

That was a wonderful story with a very happy ending. I loved the photographs. He has really come home!!!

Reprinted courtesy of Fanc-e-Mews

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