This is Sophie, my 23-year-old special friend and soulcat. She was a Norwegian Forest Cat, smart as could be, and quite the little princess. I'm not sure who owned whom! She was there for me through thick and thin, and those who tell me cats can't communicate just don't know nuttin' from nuthin'. Certainly they've never met a Sophie Cat.

Sophie picked me.  I was at a barbeque quite some years ago.   During the festivities, this raggedy, matted, filthy feline arrived to partake of the salmon.  Everyone suggested I take her home, but as I had three cats already, I said no.  When I left (at about 3 a.m.), she was sitting on the roof of a car, and as I passed, she gazed at me with her huge green eyes and turned on one of the loudest purrs I've ever heard.  I petted her, and told her I was sorry, but that I didn't think the others would be too pleased if I brought home another cat.

That night she came to me in my dreams, and said, "If you take me home with you, I promise you I'll be just the best little cat ever, and you can call me Sophie."

The next morning, I called another cat-crazy friend, and asked her if she'd go with me to fetch this poor little cat home.  Of course, she did.  Turned out Sophie's name really was Sophie, too.   And so Sophie came to live with Calypso Cat, Kit E. Kat, Pam Puss, and me.   (They were not amused, but they did get used to her eventually.  All of those cats have now gone to the Rainbow Bridge.)  It took three baths to get her clean, but I knew she was used to being looked after, 'cos when I got the brush out, she came and rubbed her head against it.  She didn't like baths, but she certainly loved being brushed (and fed)!

Sophie went everywhere with me.  She was a good little traveller, and loved being in the car with me.  Over the years, Sophie visited my grandparents in California, went to see my friend Peggy in the palliative care ward of the hospital, travelled around British Columbia, and hardly left my side over the months when I went back to my hometown to settle my dad's estate.  When I cried, she'd put her little paw up on my face, as if to say, "It's okay.  I'm here."  I could tell her anything, and the sweetest sound was her purring on her pillow beside me on the bed every night.

  

 And it's true--she was the best little cat friend ever!  Y

 

jNstxt.png (11583 bytes) .  .  .  friends forever.

Sophie went to the Rainbow Bridge on May 15, 2002, at the age of 23.
The vet came to Sophie's garden and helped her cross over.
My life has never been the same since, nor will it ever be.
I miss her madly, and sometimes the emptiness is almost unbearable.
Sophie was absolutely extra-ordinary, and I am so glad we had each other.
People say she had a good life, and that she lived a long time,
but it's no comfort, for I can tell you that forever would not be long enough.

Send Sophie an e-mail!  
Now my family consists of Thumper Bumper, Tigger, and Taffycat (who has his own page), and four birds:  Bandit the talking cockatiel, Peter the singing budgie, plus the lovebirds Rainbow & Sapphire.
 

 

Sophie the Actress

A Star is Born--It's never too late!  Anyone can start a new career at any time, and Her Sophieness is no exception.   She performed in the comedy, You Can’t Take It With You.  Her photo appeared in the lobby with the rest of the cast, and she even had her own dressing room (with a star on the door, of course!) 

raymond burr performing arts centre
presents

You Can’t Take It With You

A fun-filled new theatre production
at the Burr Theatre, directed by Ellie King,
May 31 - June 23, 2001

New Westminster, May 11, 2001—You Can’t Take It With You is the hilarious new stage production by the Raymond Burr Performing Arts Society. The play—written by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart—revolves around an eccentric New York family in the 1930s. Grandpa Martin Vanderhof reigns over a delightful household filled with his children, grandchildren, their spouses and various other people who, strangely enough, came to visit but never left.   All of them are writers, dancers and artists who live amidst an ensemble of curious objects, ranging from a xylophone, snakes, kittens, a printing press and a full arsenal of fireworks.

  

The Cast:   Wanda Sturtevant as Penny, Robin Ruel as Essie, Trish Adams as Rheba, Terry Wade as Paul, Chuck Walker as Mr. De Pinna, Mike Wild as Ed, James Milvain as Grandpa, Zi Paris as Donald, Carolyne Maraghi as Alice, Ted Friend as Henderson, Michael Fenwick as Tony, Allan Kipling as Kolenkhov, Teresa Weir as Gay, Jef Pruce as Mr. Kirby, Marianne La Rochelle as Mrs. Kirby, Nik Perry as Man, Neil Taplin as Jim, Mel Frost as Mac, Trish Adams as Olga, and Sophie Schoennagel as Miss Garbo, the cat.

The play premiered at the historic Burr Theatre on
May 30, 2001, and ran Thursday through Saturday from May 31 to June 23
raymond burr performing arts centre
530 Columbia Street, New Westminster, BC   V3L 1B1

Back, back, I sssssssay!