What Happened to Bertie (Corinne's first blog post)

This is our older daughter's first blog post. She wrote this story about the death of our cat, Bertie, as part of a project and as a way to heal after his tragic death. He was poisoned and died a violent, messy death and she witnessed most of it. She shared it at her school with a teacher that was working with a group of students raising money for and awareness of the cat overpopulation problem in Cyprus. 

Bertie, our Arabian Mau, was poisoned on May 22

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BERTIE

What Happened on Tuesday Morning

I woke up and heard a lot of meowing. I went down the stairs and saw small bits of brown poop all over the floor. Daddy was trying to get Bertie in his carrier. Bertie was making usual sounds. He sounded like he was hurt. I was scared and worried.

Daddy told me to stay on the stairs, away from the cat. Toffee, our dog, was barking from the kitchen where Daddy had locked her to keep her away from the cat. Daddy and Mommy sounded concerned. They were calling the Vet and getting Bertie’s thing ready really fast. The carrier Bertie was in was shaking and I told Mommy he sounded really bad. Daddy took Bertie to the car and was talking to the Vet. Then he stopped and walked slowly back to the house because he saw that, unfortunately, Bertie had died. Later Mommy took Bertie to the Vet. The Vet confirmed he was poisoned.

Why Bertie Was Important/What We Loved About Him

Bertie is short for the Arabic word burtuqaliu, which means orange. We didn’t name him, his name was Burtuqualiu, but we were lucky because we name our pets after food and drinks. Bertie was orange, so his name made perfect sense. We are not sure what breed he is, but he is an Arabian Mau. I had a very strong bond with him. Some people thought he was evil when he wanted to be petted, so when he came to me I petted him. People thought he was evil because he would scratch and bite sometimes, and I would always be there to pet him. I loved his stripe and spot pattern.

How I Feel Now

Bertie in a piano bench

I feel angry because it was a crime to do such a thing to any animal. I was also sad because he was so important to me. Everyone who knows me understands that I miss him. I am also scared because we have a dog and she could get poisoned as well. From now on, Bertie will remain forever in the hearts of those who loved him.

What I Think Should Be Done

I think cats should be spayed and neutered to keep the population under control so people won’t think they need to put poison out. The government should pay for a program to spay and neuter cats. Encourage people to spend money spaying and neutering cats instead of spending money to poison them.

At the Vet's office after poisoning was confirmed

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