HIYA!! SAVANNAH HERE!!
This is a bit of a long blog post but I am hoping you will stick with me and Mom L. I am going to allow her to start off. We have a story to share and in my next post, some news about my recovery progress of which The Kid Sage has become an important part.
First…Mom L has to start off…this is about Pawing It Forward in the Spirit of one of the greatest Cat Leaders ever…Leader Otis, The Blog of Otis. You see, Leader Otis’ blog and his web site were the very first cat blog we found. His leadership and wisdom has meant a lot to all of us; Dad P follows his blog just like I do.
Savvy: “Mom L? Your turn now”
Mom L: “Thanks Nana…I appreciate you letting me start off.”
So everyone, Mom Linda Here.
I have waited 6 months before I attempted to share our story about bringing The Kid Sage into Savannah’s castle.
Peter and I missed having Cuzin Leo and Peter so wanted a cat who would not be as timid of him as sweet Nana is. She shows Peter lots of affection, but she is, and likely will remain, more wary of men than women for whatever reason.
We decided to wait patiently for a black panther cat…from research we knew that gender was less a consideration than personality and age. We needed a non-dominant cat, outgoing, but calm and the age needed to be between 10 mos to 2 years. Nana is about 7-8 years and we wanted a cat who was still young enough to not be quite territorial. And a black panther because we know from our volunteer work that black cats truly are not adopted very quickly.
We visited cats whenever we found a likely candidate…we started searching about September, 2013–but no one fit our need. Contra Costa Humane Society, where you all know we found our very special and precious Princess Savannah *Mom L blows Nana a kiss*…and we volunteer there as well…well the adoption manager Miss Chrissy knew of our search and kept an eye out for cats she could pull from the county shelter who might fit our needs.
She called one day in last October, two sisters were pulled from the county…they were coal black, no white anywhere, and about 15 months old. They had been left by their former guardians in a box inside a Pet Food Express store. We learned later that the guardians had cared for these two girls so well, and had socialized them to be perfect little calm lady cats. Those first guardians were being forced to live on the street and did not want their two girls to have to live like that. We are fortunate to have been able to adopt Sage….her sister was adopted quickly as well.
Back to my story. We visited Kitty Corner, our CCHS free roam cat shelter…on Monday, October 28, 2013. Here is our first encounter with The Kid Sage…
Peter and Sage
Yea! She likes men!
We stayed a while to see her with the other cats, to play with her and get to know her…she was so affectionate right from the beginning…you can fast forward to about 1:26 and you can see her head butt Peter…won his heart right there!
So we went home to ponder adopting another cat knowing how timid and lacking in self confidence Nana is. Unknown to us, on that very day Monday October 28 2013, Leader Otis took his trip to The Bridge after a very long battle with a nerve disease.
We did not know until Brother Henry posted on Wednesday, October 30th that Leader Otis had passed from our world…
His Guardians cared for him so well and loved him so very much. On Thursday, October 31, 2013…Leader Otis’ Guardians posted his final message to all his followers…here is the part he said that forever changed the lives of Peter, me, Savannah and Sage:
The miracle that saved My life happened seven years ago when two humans looked out into their yard and saw a desperate, starving kitten looking back at them. They didn’t know who I was or where I had come from. They didn’t know what potential lay within Me, or the cat that I could become. They only knew that I needed their help. The miracle happened when they made the choice to rescue Me.
Although My spirit has departed, a part of Me will remain. When you look out into the world without walls and see a cat in need looking back at you, I will be there by your side. You will feel My soft breath on your cheek and My purrs of encouragement in your ear. Listen closely, and through the purrs you will hear My final commandment come to you in a whisper.
Be the miracle.
Friday morning, November 1, 2013, as soon as the adoption manager arrived at work…we accepted Leader Otis’ whispers we could already hear in our heads, and his purrs we were feeling in our hearts…and we took Sage home with us to her personal Promised Land. We fostered her two months to make sure we thought we could work with Nana to accept another cat…and on January 3, 2014, we officially made Sage part of our family.
We thank Leader Otis for encouraging us to Be The Miracle for a cat who started out in limbo in a box in a pet food store…a cat who has changed our lives forever.
That is how Sage came to be in her forever home. I felt it was time to share how much Leader Otis’s passing and final message meant to the final motivation to make a life changing decision for all of us. What true joy!
Thank you Savannah for allowing me space and time on your blog to tell Sage’s story…Leader Otis is not forgotten…he continues to be a guiding spirit in bringing many cats to their forever homes…with safe, loving and healthy living environments…
And I appreciate you all for hanging in until the end of this very long post…June is Adopt a Cat month…please encourage others to “Be The Miracle“…perhaps you know someone who might want to Be The Miracle for this precious cat…
Scuttles
What? You said you want me???
Please click HERE to learn all about here…she is waiting…desperately…for her future guardian to recognize her and to Be The Miracle for her…don’t let her languish without knowing her true home…please share her urgent plea for a home. Thank you for sharing
Many hugs, Mom Linda and Savannah
peeEss please be sure to return on Thursday for those promised photos of the progress Savannah and Sage are making
Savannah's Paw Tracks 