Tribute To
Sage E. Puss
Quirky Little Habits of my Cat
Sage was a social animal. When we had gatherings, she would pass through the crowd and greet people with a Meow. She was quite the conversationalist. We often had lively exchanges when I would return home from work in the evenings.
When she entered the house she would always say Hello...so polite!
What my Cat Loved and Hated Most
Sage loved to sit between me and my laptop. I swear she knew what was going on on the screen. Tree would share cat videos on YouTube with her.
She also liked to go up on the roof and had several routes up and down. Often, she would come to the edge, look down and Meow as if to say "look at me!"
What I'll Miss Most About my Cat
Sleeping with her, waiting on the porch and greeting us with a stretch and a Meow, her catnip habit, having her call down to us from the roof, laying in front of the heater, the way she would sit with her back to us as if she was guarding us, how she loved being brushed by Tree, her sweet face.
How this cat became my companion
I moved into a guest house. The owners of the main house had 2 Rotts, a Jack Russell, and Sage the Cat. She was 11 years old. I was never a "cat person" and expected to bond with one of the dogs.
One evening not long after moving in, I was sitting in my easy chair watching TV. I looked to my left and she was looking at me through the glass door. I let her in. She Meowed upon entering even that first time! She did not stay long but sniffed around and went to the door and left. Her visits became more frequent and longer each time, often sitting in the easy chair with me watching TV. 3 months later, she spent the night.
How my cat enriched my life
Thus began our relationship. She chose me to be her person. Ruth had chosen her from the Humane Society and raised her but at age 11 Sage chose me! I fell in love with her gradually. She was waiting for me each evening when I came home. A little over a year later, Tree and I decided to move in together and I asked Ruth if I could take Sage with us. She agreed since it was obvious we were in love!
We had a wonderful yard under a big oak tree. Tree and I loved our garden and Sage would supervise our activities, often pawing at the ground while we dug and planted. She like to sit in the birdbath but I never saw her prey on anything. I wished she would take care of the voles but she was uninterested. I did see her slurp up an insect now and then.
Tree and Sage had a marvelous relationship too. She was the one who brushed her and put the ear wash in when she had an infection. She sang little jingles and Sage would respond with Meow! She introduced her to canned food that she dubbed "cold fish".
We were a family but Tree and I were never "mommy and daddy"...She was our friend and companion. She was our house-mate and confidant. She understood us when we spoke and knew our friends by name. This was a sweet, loving, intelligent creature with a sense of humor. She understood sarcasm (I swear she did!)
We moved only a few blocks away about 4 months ago. The day after we moved in, she went missing. I found her at the old house on the roof! We brought her back to our new home and she never left again.
Lessons learned
- Four days ago, she got hit by a car in front of our house.
- She was 14 1/2 years old.
- She had just finished having a few bites of "cold fish", went to the front door and looked at me to open it. I was playing my guitar so I improvised a song about her. We laughed, and I got up and let her out. That was the last time we saw her alive. She liked to sit on the porch and watch the cars and people go by. She was smart and knew better than to go in the street so we had no reason to fear. We were wrong. Our hearts are broken. I am sorry Sage, my feline friend. I love you very much and I will miss you terribly.
