It’s a sad start to the week with news that Martha Stewart’s adored Princess Peony cat was mistakenly killed by four of her dogs over the weekend after the canine gang mistook their sibling for an intruder.
In an Instagram post shared on April 3rd, Stewart captured a shot of three men digging a hole in the ground as they prepared Princess Peony’s grave.
“Burying the beautiful and unusual Princess Peony. The four dogs mistook her for an interloper and killed her defenseless little self. I will miss her very badly. RIP beauty.”
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A few hours later, Stewart followed it up with another post in which she shared a close up shot of beloved feline friend, captioning it with “This was the Princess Peony.”
According to Stewarts website, Princess Peony was a calico Persian who was born on May 11, 2009. A few months later, she and her sister, Empress Tang, moved in with Stewart and the many other animals she shares her home with.
A huge lover of animals, Stewart once said that she owned “at least 20 cats, 25 dogs, 10 chinchillas, scores of canaries and parakeets, two ponies, three donkeys, 10 horses, many sheep and goats, hundreds of chickens, geese, turkeys, guinea fowl, quail, peacocks, and homing pigeons."
But although she’s a pet parent to lots of creatures great and small, Princess Peony, Empress Tang and her dog Blackie have always held the prime spot in Stewart’s heart. She once described the trio as “gorgeous” and “very special.”
Stewart has been open about her dedication to her pets, once saying that "Raising animals is serious business, and I try very hard to be a good owner to each and every one. Some respond in friendly ways, some are more aloof, and others don't make a show of knowing me at all. But I think they all understand that I care about their needs and recognize their problems."
And while the death of Princess Peony is sure to leave a big void in Stewart’s family, it’s clear that animals will continue to play a huge role in her life. "Each of my pets takes a great deal of attention, and some require more training than others. But the rewards far outweigh the effort."
