Obituary of Belle Bateman
Belle Bateman ~ August 2, 2004 – November 9, 2018.
A week ago from yesterday our home lost its matriarch. Our beloved Belle, friend to all, earned her angel wings and joined Baci, Dale, Dascher, and Bree at the Rainbow Bridge. Some of you may recall that we lost our beloved Baci very suddenly at the age of 7. His unexpected passing left an enormous hole in our hearts and void in our home. He was unlike any cat we had ever met before nor since. Days after his death I stopped in a random pet store I’d never been to before to pick up something for the dogs. There was a sign on the front door with a black cat which immediately caught my attention as Baci was a solid black Persian cat. As soon as I entered the store I spotted the most beautiful, petite Tortoiseshell kitty in a crate next to the register. Though we had zero intention of welcoming a new cat into our home and hearts at that time I was immediately drawn to her. The store clerk said she had been there for months and not a single person had paid her any attention. I couldn’t understand as she was stunning and incredibly friendly. I left the store and immediately called Mike to tell him about “Willow”. He was extremely caught off-guard by my excitement and insistence. I told him I just had a very strong feeling about and connection to this cat. I asked him to come and meet her so he could see for himself. We did and he did. We put in an application, passed the background check and did a home visit. Willow, who had been picked up as stray, came to stay with us forever in August 2005. As is often the case with cats, Bengal and the now named Belle did NOT hit it off at first. Bengal and Baci had been extremely close. He was not thrilled with this new girl and the feeling was mutual. There was a lot of hissing, growling and groaning the first few days. Things simmered down and by Bengal’s standards his tolerance turned acceptance of her as his new housemate was huge. Things were rosy between Belle and the dogs from day one. She loved them and they adored her. Over the next eight years Belle and her boys were an inseparable trio. We never did figure out if she thought she was a small dog or they were huge cats. Either way she was exceptionally dog friendly and the dogs were incredibly cat friendly. It made for more smiles and photographic memories than we could keep track off. Just one example is the routine she had of picking out a toy for Dale every evening, bringing it upstairs in her mouth chirping the whole way and dropping it directly in front of him. He’d collect it in the morning and take it downstairs to play with after breakfast. She’d also wait in the front door while we walked the dogs and if she lost sight of us or we were too long she’d get visibly upset and start meowing. From the get go Belle was an incredibly perceptive kitty who always sensed when someone wasn’t well and needed her attention. She helped nurse Dascher back to health as he recovered from major spinal surgery. We realized much later on that she realized Dale was ill long before we did and he was diagnosed with IBD at the age of 10. He was critically ill for several months before we made the heartbreaking but necessary decision to release him from his suffering. She was by his side every single day, softly purring to provide comfort to her friend. She was there for all of us when we let Dale go, especially Dascher who mourned the loss of his best friend more than we even knew. She had started to pull her fur out a few months before we were aware Dale was ill and she continued to do that until just after he passed. She never did that before and never did it after. When we unexpectedly had to let Dascher go mere weeks after we said goodbye to Dale she once again was there by our sides making every attempt to calm and care for us the best way she knew how. When we welcomed a temporary foster quickly turned family member, Mlle Bree that summer Belle was the first to welcome her to her family. Belle was equally excited about the addition of Beau shortly thereafter. A year and a half later when Beau developed idiopathic epilepsy Belle once again donned her self-appointed nurse’s cap, always sensing a seizure was about to happen and there by his side for the hours and in some cases days after as he recovered from each and every seizure. She looked after Bree as she recovered from an extremely painful full-mouth extraction and was again by her and our sides as she quickly slipped away from us after the sudden onset of a very aggressive cancer. She once again welcomed a new canine companion when we adopted Bianca. Belle never met a dog she didn’t love or want to try to love as is in the case of a friend’s grey who had the highest prey drive of any dog I’ve ever met. Belle made attempt after attempt to greet Cheer up close and personal despite the fact Cheer only wanted to hug Belle with her teeth. (FYI, Cheer was muzzled, kept on a very short, taut leash and under constant supervision for what felt like the longest hour of our lives until she was picked up by her Mom). In addition to her never-ending adoration of the furry members of our family, Belle also provided on-going support to her humans as well. She was there for both Mike and I during the past two-plus years which were the most difficult and darkest days of our lives to date for a myriad of reasons. She never failed to shower us with extra attention when she sensed we needed it (and she was always right) or make us laugh with her antics, often food related. She had a very hearty appetite for both her food and ours. With a special fondness for dairy she went to great and at times hilarious lengths to steal melted cheese off of our pizza, shredded cheese from our tacos and mac-n-cheese by tiny mouthfuls. She also enjoyed milk from both glasses and cereal bowls, often to the shock and amazement of the dogs who looked on with the saddest puppy eyes as tiny Belle got what they wanted, including bites of blueberry muffins, yet again. There simply was no telling her no. She always got what she wanted when she wanted it and that was fine by us. We indulged her even more once she fell ill at the end of December 2017. The results of her biopsy were not what we wanted to hear. We’ve known our time with our beloved girl would be shorter than we hoped for so we made the most of every single day since. She was her normal silly self running around, jumping up on everything and interacting with everyone up until two days before we let her go. She seemed absolutely fine until she wasn’t. Though we’ve known in the back of our minds that the day would be coming we weren’t ready for it and never would be. Mike and I agreed when we decided to adopt Belle that she was picked by Baci to help mend our broken hearts and that she did. For 13 of her 14 years on this earth she brought everyone under our roof immeasurable joy. Saying goodbye to someone so special was difficult beyond words but what we had to do to honor what was in her best interest. We made her a promise that we wouldn’t let her suffer. She had always taken the best care of everyone in her charge and now without further options available it was our turn to do what we could to make sure her pain and discomfort was as minimal as possible. With grateful but broken hearts and tear-stained faced we held our little girl as she took her last breath and peacefully made her way from her family on earth to her long-lost friends in heaven. Our home will never be the same without her larger than life in the littlest body presence yet we take great comfort in the thought she is back with all of her boys and Bree. It must have been an incredible reunion with wagging tails, a very loud roo by Dale, and a low but strong purr by Baci who knows he picked the perfect angel for us on earth. We love and miss you so much baby girl and always will. Thank you for EVERYTHING our precious princess!
Love, Mom & Dad, Bengal, Beau and Bianca
