Thanks guys. It means alot. I never have gotten very attached to pets after my first dog - Bambi ironically - was hit by a car, that was extremely devastating to me as I was the one that found her - so I've tried to keep that gap between me and a pet. Butter and I never had that "bond" but he was a good cat and kept me company during my last surgery and Britt was always sneaking him in the house while she was home after school doing homework (he was an outdoor cat).
Liz - like you Butter had been there through thick and thin with Britt - through my divorce, alot of separation anxiety with various things, through my mom's death, and any upsetting problems she would have at school or with her friends and her dad. As I told our Associate Director (I work in a counseling center), he was her therapist and a mighty good one at that!!!! She is gonna miss him so much!