In Honor of National Cat Day - My Cat, Sophie

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

It would seem unnatural, and even wrong, if I were to continue with today's blog without taking a moment to talk about Ethan Van Leuven - the little guy who was the subject of my last post. Little Ethan died yesterday morning after a long battle with leukemia. Ethan may have only lived just short of five years, but in his short life, he touched the hearts of so many. When I wrote the blog, I had no idea there was a fundraiser page for him on Facebook. I'm sure that his family is facing a mountain of medical bills to contend with, on top of their immense grief. At the bottom of this post, I will leave a link to Ethan's page in case you wish to contribute. Godspeed Ethan and prayers for his family and friends.

It has come to my attention that today is National Cat Day! Who knew?? And who makes up these days? Well, I looked it up and here's the answer (from Wikipedia) "National Cat Day was founded by animal welfare advocate Colleen Paige. It is a celebration that takes place on October 29th every year in the United States. The National Cat Day website states that the holiday was first celebrated in 2005 "to help galvanize the public to recognize the number of cats that need to be rescued each year and also to encourage cat lovers to celebrate the cat(s) in their life for the unconditional love and companionship they bestow upon us." The day is supported by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a nonprofit organization which also works to encourage pet adoption. An international cat day was created in 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare." In honor of National Cat Day, I thought I'd take this opportunity to introduce you to my cat, Sophie.

Sophie was adopted as a kitten in October 2009 from the local animal shelter. We already had an elderly cat, Taffy and a younger cat, Chloe. When Chloe died Taffy became despondent. It seemed Taffy needed a new friend and after an exhaustive search for a tabby cat, we found our girl! From the very beginning, Sophie was spunky and fearless. It didn't matter that Taffy was older, larger and downright mean at times, Sophie made it clear that she was the new queen of the kingdom and made herself right at home. Taffy quickly surrendered her place as 'Ruler of the Roost' and until she died a couple of years ago at 19 yrs of age, they were pretty good buddies.

Sophie was not shy about claiming Taffy's 'Spot'.

Sophie is not your typical cat, in fact, there are days when I'm pretty sure she believes she's a dog. She became very much of a protector when Elena, our granddaughter, was born and would quickly hiss, scratch or bite when visitors got too close to Elena. When we are away, people who come in to feed her are challenged when they try to enter as Sophie stands at the door hissing. She even does this to our daughter and my mom who she knows well! This obviously makes getting away difficult for us. Sophie won't let anyone pet her except me and John, but when it comes to us, Sophie is extremely loveable and affectionate. She's a purring machine and is happiest when she's on a lap or somewhere nearby - such as on the computer desk in front of the monitor...which is not necessarily helpful, but accomplishes her goal of being Numero Uno and hogging all of your attention.

Like most cats, Sophie likes to 'help'.............checking out the new baby equipment for safety...


Yup....this basket works fine!

Even helping assemble her own cat tree!

She also gets along with other pets.........

Sophie is a cuddlebug who brings joy and laughter to our lives everyday. She is at my side all day long (even now as I type), follows me around like a dog, sleeps as close to me as she can get and insists on being brushed several times a day. It's no wonder today is National Cat Day! Cats are loyal and loving companions who bring endless joy to the humans who are fortunate enough to share their life with them.