The next day was Sunday January 25th, my 8th day without Sadie. I just had to get out of the apartment so I made plans to have breakfast with Iris and Kat. As we ate at Nate and Al’s, I heard something whispering to me, some drive propelling me toward some mission but I didn’t know what it was. I had this feeling that I was supposed to be somewhere that day. So we looked in the Pet Press and I noticed that a rescue group I had inquired with just a week before Sadie’s passing was holding pet adoptions at the Westwood Boulevard Petco.
On a whim, Iris and I went there but the rescue group wasn’t due to arrive until 3pm. Instead we drove to other adoption events, but nothing felt right. We even drove by the home of one of my clients who was feeding a group of feral kittens. But nothing felt like the place I needed to be. I took Iris home, and by then it was 3pm. The adoptions at the Petco would be starting, so I headed back over there.
When I arrived, there the pet adoption area was quite busy. Several pens with cute puppies and dogs were in the front of the store, and a bank of stacked cages sat behind the dog pens. Inside were several nervous cats. I walked over to someone I though might be a volunteer and asked if they needed help. “Sure,” Mercedeh told me. “Diana always needs help.”
A lady named Diana, owner of the rescue group “Save-a-Life“, was sitting at a small folding table, interviewing perspective pet parents. This group looked like they needed more help. I stayed the rest of the day and jumped right in, helping Mercedeh and another volunteer care for the cats while Diana took care of the people. I told Mercedeh about the loss of my Sadie just 8 days before, and I could see her eyes fill with tears as I fought back my own.
I was still counting the days…
It was toward the end of the day when I noticed someone bringing in a beautiful brown tabby Maine Coon cat. I saw one of the volunteers take it out of its carrier and gently message the cat. People bring their pets into Petco all the time so I thought nothing of it, until I saw the people leaving the store. I stopped the man who had brought in the cat, and he mumbled something about the cat having health issues they could no longer afford to handle so they were giving the cat back to Diana.
After they left, I asked Diana about it. By that time Mercedeh had introduced us and she knew I was a new volunteer. She also knew I had just lost my beloved Sadie and that I had six other kitties at home. Diana told me that Abby, the Maine Coon, had been adopted from her rescue 4 years ago, and that the people returned her because of her medical issues. They could not afford the cost of her care any longer. I was told that Abby has Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and Diana was going to have to keep her segregated from the other cats due to her special dietary needs. She didn’t even have the proper prescription food for Abby’s condition, and she was trying to figure out what she could feed her in the meantime.
Just like with Sadie years before, I heard my voice telling Diana that I would take her. “I know you don’t know me, I just walked up here and started volunteering today, but I would be happy to take Abby home. You know I have six cats, I had seven until I lost Sadie last week, so you know I can handle that many. Why don’t you think it over and let me know.”
As we started packing up the cages, Diana came over to me with a Petco gift card and said “Let’s find Abby some food.”
Abby is a wonderful cat; gentle and calm, she gets along with my other cats beautifully. She really has no issue with her IBS aside from some loose stool, and that is much better since my vet suggested adding Benefiber to her food. My other cats readily accepted her into the fold, and although she does not replace our Sadie, Abby made the hole in our hearts a little smaller. If you compare Sadie’s face with Abby’s, you will notice the marking are virtually identical.
I regularly volunteered with Save-a-Life every weekend for many years. Although I was still counting the weeks since losing Sadie, being with other animals and giving them love and affection was helping the pain to lessen. I felt her steering me toward something that Sunday, and I now know this was where she was taking me.
It wasn’t long before I began fostering three kittens for the Save-a-Life Rescue. I first acquired Boo-Boo and Pinky, a brother and sister pair, when they were 8 weeks old. Just two weeks later, at the age of 7 weeks, I took in Peanut. They were not meant to stay, but these babies livened up my household! All the cats loved the babies, taking turns acting as momma and daddy to the tiny ones. They bathed them, slept curled up with them, played with them and even chased them through the house. Abby, who I never really saw play much, adored chasing them around, playing with their toys, and giving them baths.
So here they stayed, and they are still here to this day. After adding Pinky, Boo-Boo, and Peanut to my cat family, I stopped counting the weeks since Sadie left me. I actually see a bit of Sadie in my Boo-Boo boy’s face and the way he interacts with me, and I have to wonder…
Could it be that Sadie is still here with us somehow?
For a time after her passing, I considered closing my cat sitting business. I really wasn’t sure I could continue; part of why I started my company was because of the love I have for her and for felines in general. I now know that through Sadie, and the love she gave me during her 6 years and 10 months on earth, I have found my life’s true calling; caring for these wonderful creatures and helping others to love and understand them is so much more fulfilling than my 22-year corporate career had ever been.
The decision to become a Feline Behavior Counselor was also born of my love for Sadie and my life long affection for cats.
