As a veterinary nurse I have fostered many kittens over the years. Murtagh came to me at 1 week old in May 2021 after being found on a farm all by himself. He had to be bottle fed and didn’t take to the bottle very well the first couple of days so I was concerned if he would survive or not. But on day 3 he found his appetite and was a little greedy gut after that and I knew he was going to be ok.
Because he was a single bottle baby with no litter mates, I got very attached to him. It took a little persuasion, but I finally managed to get my partner Steve to agree he would be a great addition to our cat family (we already had 3!). Murtagh was a tabby cat with a very distinct tabby ‘M’ on his forehead. We have a tradition of naming our cats after characters from TV shows we watch and wanted him to have a name starting with ‘M’. At the time we were watching Outlander and one of our favourite characters from the show is Murtagh, and so he was named.
Murtagh and I shared a very strong bond because as far as he was aware I was his mum. I was pretty much all he had known. He was a huge part of our lives for many reasons. He had a great personality, always chatting away to us, making his presence known. He would sleep on our bed every night, purring in between us and would snuggle with us on the sofa. He would always greet us when we came home, so excited we were back, smooching and meowing; he got especially chatty at dinner time. One of my favourite memories of him is of him chatting away to me as I was getting his dinner ready. I am so grateful that I have a video of this. He had a very distinct meow. He was always there and filled the house with so much joy.
As it was 2021 Covid lockdowns were still happening. Another of my favourite memories of Murtagh was in August 2021. It was my 30th birthday and we had just gone into another lockdown a few days earlier. Steve had organised a bunch of balloons all over the lounge as a surprise alongside my gifts to make the day a bit more special since I had to cancel my party. Murtagh absolutely loved the balloons. He was batting them all over the place and amazingly didn’t burst any of them. We joked he must’ve been a football player in another life. He played with these for a few days afterwards before they deflated. These lockdowns are also another reason for our bond being so strong with him as we were home a lot, playing with him and hanging out together.
Sadly, in December 2021 tragedy struck, and Murtagh was hit by a car across the road from our house and passed away. He was just 7 months old. It was a devastating time for me. Not only had I lost my baby boy, but I had also lost my childhood friend to cancer just 2 days earlier. The house seemed so quiet without him chatting away to us and we had a constant reminder of what had happened every time we looked out the window and saw the spot where he had passed away. The grief was unbearable, everything reminded me of him, and it took me a long time to get to a point where I could talk about him without bawling my eyes out. It is still a struggle sometimes. My colleagues were amazing and supporting and did some pawprints for me. I got his pawprint tattooed on my arm the following week, so he is always with me.
At the time I wasn’t aware of Reterniti Stones, so he was cremated and returned to me in a wooden casket. I found out about Reterniti Stones a couple of years later and decided I wanted to do one of those instead and so started to put some money aside to do so. I feel that the stone looks far more tasteful for having out on display in the house than the casket and I feel I have a connection with my Murtagh again as he is no longer shut away in the casket but mixed into this beautiful stone.
Reterniti were fantastic. My questions were answered promptly, and they were very helpful. Given that Murtagh passed away the same year he was born, I had asked if it was possible to just have one year on the stone rather that the typical “from and to” years. The response was that “yes this is possible” and that they also had the option to do symbols as well, and I was given an example of these. I opted to have his name with a love heart symbol instead of a year. Once this was decided my order was processed online, a delivery bag was sent to me to send Murtagh’s ashes to them. They gave me regular updates on the process, from letting me know Murtagh had arrived safely with them to telling me the stone was ready and being sent back to me. Murtagh’s stone came back to me beautifully packaged and wrapped in ribbon.
I love Murtagh’s stone and how it has turned out. He is now back home and living in the lounge with us as he did every night when he was still with us, sitting alongside a photo block collage of him.
I would thoroughly recommend Reterniti to anyone who has lost their beloved pet. It is a wonderful way to treasure their memory and keep them close to you.
Emma & Steve xx
