title: Paw Prints in the Butter: A Clowder of Cats Curious and Comical
author:  Patricia Feinberg Stoner 
description: Patricia Feinberg Stoner began her career as a graduate trainee with the Liverpool Daily Post, and since then her career has revolved around the written word, as a journalist, advertising copywriter and publicist. For many years she was international press officer for Granada Television, leaving to set up her own publicity business, The Good Word. Now retired, she devotes her time to writing short stories and poetry (mainly humorous verse) which have been published in various print and online anthologies. Patricia lives in West Sussex with her husband Patrick, also a writer, and a lunatic Brittany spaniel who loves cats. Proceeds from Paws and Whiskers are donated to WADARS, a local animal rescue and rehoming charity.
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  ## ![C01](../Images/C01.gif)
  
  
  
  
  
  When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out,
  seeking Prim’s warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress.
  She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she
  did. This is the day of the reaping.
  
  
  
  
  
  I prop myself up on one elbow. There’s enough light in the bedroom to see
  them. My little sister, Prim, curled up on her side, cocooned in my mother’s
  body, their cheeks pressed together. In sleep, my mother looks younger, still
  worn but not so beaten-down. Prim’s face is as fresh as a raindrop, as lovely
  as the primrose for which she was named. My mother was very beautiful once,
  too. Or so they tell me.
  
  
  
  
  
  Sitting at Prim’s knees, guarding her, is the world’s ugliest cat. Mashed-in
  nose, half of one ear missing, eyes the color of rotting squash. Prim named
  him Buttercup, insisting that his muddy yellow coat matched the bright flower.
  I le hates me. Or at least distrusts me. Even 