Self-published book features tail of area cat

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

Every cat has a story to tell, but very few of them make it to print.

Not so for Mooney the Cat, whose journey from living as a stray in rural Floyd County to finding a forever home on the coast of North Carolina has been chronicled by Bruce and Kris Butterworth.

“Some cats are particularly good at worming their way into your life,” said Bruce.

The Butterworths, who split their time between their home in Virginia and their acreage in rural Floyd, are big animal lovers and met Mooney in the summer of 2022 when the stray sauntered up onto their porch. Purring like a diesel engine, Mooney quickly decided that the Butterworth’s porch was his new home.

“I’ve had cats all my life and I’ve never had a cat like this,” said Bruce.

The Butterworths tried to direct Mooney to a local cat colony, but Mooney kept finding his way back to their farm.

“He kept coming and started staying through the day,” said Kris.

The Butterworths considered bringing Mooney into the family, but it wasn’t the right fit with their dog and other two cats. Instead, they reached out and found some friends in North Carolina willing to take him in. From there, Mooney made the 1,000-mile trip with the Butterworths to his new home.

“He’s an amazing cat,” said Bruce. “He’s not afraid of anything. This cat is just incredibly curious.”

Along the way, Bruce and Kris took plenty of photos, which became the basis for a self-published book detailing Mooney’s adventure, “Mooney Finds a Home.”

Encouraged by his sister and niece, Bruce wrote a kid-friendly recounting of Mooney’s tale, detailing his journey and adventures from a cat’s point of view. With the help of friends and professionals alike, he was able to get Mooney’s story proofed and edited for print.

“It was just for fun,” said Bruce.

The book can be found on Amazon and proceeds will be donated to pet shelters like PAWS. The Butterworths are also working on making a hardcopy version available.

As a retired transportation security professional who still serves as a consultant, Bruce enjoyed the opportunity to write something more lighthearted than papers on airplane hijacking responses.

“When you work in dark worlds, it’s nice to have something that’s light and happy,” said Bruce.