When a momma cat abandons her kittens under a family's house, only one baby survives: Butterball. Black, white, and beautiful, the cat grows up to be a stubborn but lovable scamp who struts to the beat of his own drum. When the narrator's mother spies a pregnant momma cat in their backyard, it's clear their family dynamic will change for the better. The momma cat has her kittens under the family home and then abandons them, leaving only one able to survive. The family then adopts the last remaining feral kitten, naming him Butterball. Butterball is a fiery, auspicious, finicky cat with a reputation for starting fights in the neighborhood and refusing to be held (besides by the family's aunt Mary Louise). When the narrator's mother decides to move, Butterball refuses to leave the home-going as far as running for the top of the house when someone tries to capture him! The narrator and her friend, Billy, return to the old home for weeks, desperate to find and capture Butterball to bring him to his new home. A few months turned into four years, with the family continually thinking about saving Butterball from living on the street. One fateful day, the narrator returns to the neighborhood to find Butterball much worse for wear. What follows is a tearful and perseverant story of love. This is a wonderful gift book for spiritual readers, children, and animal lovers.
