Neatnik Yarns continues to be overseen by two extremely competent (overqualified, really) supervisor cats (Pete and Poppy), but we are sad to announce that we said goodbye to our third, head supervisor, supremely kind Sophie cat last week. This is a tribute to her, because that's how we crazy cat ladies roll.
Sophie's Tale (2006-2022)
The year was 2007. Sophie was a teenage mother cat, barely surviving a bitterly cold winter in Edmonton, when she made the excellent choice to take a rest in my sister-in-law's backyard. My husband and I lived a few blocks away at the time, and would often visit. This was in before-children times. My memories are few. But I remember the first time we met Sophie.
Accompanying Sophie were her two kittens - and she was just a wee kitten herself! Sophie's trust was gained, and later that summer we adopted her. Her kittens were adopted by a friend of my sister-in-law's, and they live relatively close to us to this day.
Sophie's manners reflected her lack of upbringing - she tried to use the plant pot as her litter box initially, and she successfully defended our 1950's era house from a mice heist (and left us a beheaded corpse and a mouse crime scene worthy of CSI) after we'd been out late one night.
Sophie had the gentlest temperament. It took her a while to trust humans, but once her trust was gained, you would be the lucky recipient of sweet Sophie trills and leg rubs. She was our polydactyl-toed, door-opening, catnip-loving winter cat who created a dome of warm energy everywhere she napped; and there were an abundance of naps these past few years.
I see now that a positive aspect of the pandemic (too soon?) was the opportunity to spend far more time with Sophie during her last years with us. There were laps to warm aplenty, and we would often find her close by and assessing which lap to choose, when we were all at home together. Which was all the time. It was hard. For everyone. But there was always love. And she warmed our hearts (and laps) and helped us through it.
❤️ Love your fur babies