Saying Goodbye To Sophie.

Sophie was a feral kitten, born into a colony in March 2013. She and her brother Albert were among the last kittens born into that colony before all the cats were spayed and neutered. Right from the start they stood out. Most of the other cats were tabby or black and white, but Sophie and Albert were pointed kittens with blue eyes.


Albert could have passed for a Siamese, but Sophie had a crooked little tail like many of the other colony cats. The bob-tail gene was quite apparent in her.

I fed them every day and they gradually came to trust me and to spend more and more time indoors. Albert was very shy, but Sophie was very friendly for a feral born kitten. She was soon coming to me from pets and cuddles.


About 18 months ago we moved to a house that had enough space to make a big outdoor enclosure for all the colony cats. It was a dream come true, finally they could go outside safely and come back in when they pleased. Sophie and Albert seemed very happy.


Sophie made a lot of friends. She was always the friendliest of all of the colony cats, even when people she didn't know came over to visit. She was particularly fond of Toby, an abandoned kitten we found.


At the beginning of October I had to go away for a while. There was someone here every evening to feed and take care of the cats, but during the day they were left alone. One day while no one was here the enclosure fence got damaged and lots of the cats got out. Most of them came home again, but Sophie disappeared.

We've looked and looked for Sophie but there is no sign of her. We've started to realise that we won't see our blue eyed girl again.

Sophie, sweetheart, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that I had to go away. I'm sorry that I wasn't here to watch over you. I'm sorry that by the time I got home and noticed you were missing you'd already been gone for two days. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to find you. Worrying about where you are and what has happened to you makes me so sad. 

Most of all Sophie, I'm sorry that we never got chance to say goodbye.

We'll miss you Sophie. You really were a special little cat.


Run free Sophie, I'll never forget you.

The not knowing is sometimes more heartbreaking then knowing the worse. My heart goes out to you, your love and concern are apparent . Try not to blame yourself for something that was beyond your control, it changes nothing and only brings on a broken heart. You cared for and loved that little girl, that is all she ever wanted out of life. Her life was a good one, she would never want you to be so sad when remembering her, but to celebrate that love and let your precious memories of the good times comfort you. Thank you for sharing her story with those who understand what you are going through, your pain is our pain, and I hope by sharing it you will be comforted in some small way. I'll keep you all in my thoughts and prayers. I have had ferals disappear for over a month and show back up, so I'll pray for a miracle for you. You may want to get on the local radio station, they often have a free lost and found for pets, and it would cover a large area. Dear Sophie, where ever you are, I pray you are content and safe, please try to comfort your family in any way you can!

Hi Norachan, I just read your post and truly I am sorry of what happened to Sophie.

I am hoping and praying that she is safe, healthy and will comeback to you soon.

(((Norachan)))

What a lovely tribute.  I'm so sorry.  

don't give up hope yet, she could come back on her own. other cats have been found after several months so try to stay positive and good luck, she is a beauty!

I'm so sorry that she's missing. This thread is particularly sad because I have a Sophie too and because I remember how sad you were when George went missing. She could still be out there exploring. She could very well still show up one day for breakfast like nothing ever happened. I hope that she does. There is always hope that she will be found or that she will come home on her own

I'm so sorry.     Beautiful Sophie, I wish you would return.  I still have hope that our Moses is still alive out there somewhere, even though it's been over a year.

Oh, Darlin, don't give up just yet.  It is amazing how often they do come home, long after we thought all hope was gone.  Candle lit for you and Sophie.

Thank you all so much for your kind words and thoughts.

I really hope that Sophie does turn up again one day, I know cats sometimes show up again months after they went missing. I still have posters of her all over and I walk for a couple of hours every day, so maybe one day our paths will cross.

The last time a cat of mine went missing it took me a whole year to accept that he wasn't coming home. It's hard to come to terms with something like that, you can't really say goodbye if your still half hoping it's not true. I think I lost out on the chance to grieve for George by putting it off for so long.  With Sophie I really felt that I needed to do something as a tribute to her earlier on.

I've made a little garden in Sophie's memory. She always used to be sitting in this corner of the enclosure waiting for me when I came home, so now this corner is her garden.



 The pansies remind me of her sweet little face.

That's beautiful Norachan...I love it!

Please don't lose hope, my girl escaped for more than a week. and she came back to me.

She will comeback to you and maybe she will sits there (garden that you made for her).

(((Norachan)))

Norachan my heart goes out to you. Sophie sure is a beauty. I hope she finds her way home one day.

Keeping the candle lit for a bit yet.  This is the deepest truth I know...even if her body does not return, her spirit will sit in her garden, and she'll be waiting for you when it is your time to join her.  They wait for us.  HOWEVER...we're not giving up on the body just yet, my Friend.

:grphug2: :grphug: :grphug2:
What a beautiful tribute. Sophie was such a special, beautiful girl. I'll still keep hoping for her safe return - with lots of stories about her adventure.
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That's a beautiful tribute to your girl Sophie, and the garden is a perfect way to commemorate her spirit.

I pray that she is on a walkabout and comes home safely. 

Thank you all so much for your thoughts, prayers and kind words.

I have some wonderful news. I found Sophie!

This afternoon I got a call from a farmer who had seen our Lost Cat posters. He said that a cat had been hanging around his field recently. We went down to check and it was Sophie. She came out as soon as she heard us call.

She's lost a lot of weight, but she's unharmed apart from that. She's just polished off two bowls of wet food and now she's purring on my lap.

Thank you all so much for sending positive vibes our way. I'm sure that helped to keep her safe these six weeks.

 Hugs from us and   head bumps from Sophie.

I"M SOOO HAPPY FOR YOU!!!!!!       It is truly a miracle, it shows that prayers do sometimes come true and is what keeps us sane at times. Give Sophie a big kiss from me, and a big thank you to that farmer that took the time to read your poster and to call you. Thanks to YOU too, for letting us all know she is safe and back home. This will truly be a Thanksgiving for you!

Such wonderful news

So very very pleased. You must never give up.

what wonderful news to wake up to. I am so happy for the both of you