Smokey the super cat is honouring beloved son’s animal-loving legacy

The precious fortnight that terminally ill Hobart schoolboy Kyle McCarthy spent with his Maine Coon kitten, Smokey, were the best days of his life. How Kyle’s memory is now being honoured.

Heather McCarthy with Smokey the cat. Smokey or his pedigree name Aithusa Indiana a Maine Coon was her son Kyle's cat who died at the age of 15 after only getting to spend around two weeks with him. Kyle had cancer and Smokey was his wish through the Starlight Foundation.

The precious fortnight that terminally ill Hobart schoolboy Kyle McCarthy spent with his Maine Coon kitten, Smokey, were the best days of his life.

Smokey was a gift from the Starlight Foundation, an Australian charity committed to making the wishes of sick children come true.

Fifteen-year-old Kyle loved the social, super-sized breed, and it was his dream to have a kitten of his own to raise into a show-winning specimen.

After Kyle passed away late last year after losing his battle with bone cancer, his mother Heather decided to honour her son’s memory by continuing to tour Smokey at cat shows across the state.

“My son was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in June last year, and went to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne for cancer treatment, including chemotherapy,” Ms McCarthy said.

“One of the Starlight gifts can be a furry friend, and Kyle had been wanting a Maine Coon cat for years.

“Kyle asked that the cat could be shown, so the breeder put through the paperwork allowing it to happen.”

Kyle McCarthy 15 with his cat Smokey before he passed away from cancer. Picture: supplied by the family

Heather McCarthy with Smokey the cat. Smokey or his pedigree name Aithusa Indiana a Maine Coon was her son Kyle's cat who died at the age of 15 after only getting to spend around two weeks with him. Kyle had cancer and Smokey was his wish through the Starlight Foundation.

Smokey arrived in the McCarthy household in mid November, but Kyle passed away just two weeks later on 3 December.

The Hobart High School student was still waiting for a prosthetic leg to be fitted, after having the limb amputated as part of his cancer treatment.

Ms McCarthy said that despite the short time her son and Smokey spent together, the kitten had filled Kyle’s final days with joy and comfort.

“Kyle absolutely loved having him,” Ms McCarthy said.

“Smokey was such great company, and one of the best things that happened to Kyle before he left us.

“It’s hard to lose anyone, but especially a 15-year-old who was already telling us what he planned to do after high school.

“So now we are showing Smokey for Kyle, because that is what he wanted to do.”

So far, Smokey has picked up awards at shows across the state, and next weekend will appear before judges at the Tasmanian Feline Association’s Easter Show to be held at the Sorell Memorial on 21 April.