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You are here: Home / Cat Birthdays / Happy Birthday, Sophie!

Happy Birthday, Sophie!

May 21, 2014 Leave a Comment

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Today we are celebrating Sophie’s 2nd Birthday! Today actually doubles as her Birthday and her Gotcha Day. We adopted Sophie in May of 2013 (a year ago), but she was already a year old when we got her. What a fun and wonderful year it has been! Sophie has been a huge blessing in our lives, and the day she joined our family is definitely one to celebrate. 

As part of the celebration, we will be continuing our series on cerebellar hypoplasia. If you’ve missed the first two posts (“What is Cerebellar Hypoplasia?” and “How We Help Sophie with her CH”), feel free to check them out. Today, in celebration of Sophie, we will be focusing on how Cerebellar Hypoplasia makes Sophie a uniquely special kitty. 

As I have mentioned in the other posts, Sophie can’t jump very well, which is a common characteristic of cats with CH. She also can’t run very fast (or in a straight line ;), and she stumbles and falls a lot. Because of all of these characteristics, she has developed into a fearless cat. She is uninhibited and just goes for anything and everything she puts her mind to. She isn’t scared of anything. Though some might see these characteristics as “problems,” I see them as blessings in disguise. Because Sophie can’t jump or run like a normal cat, and because she isn’t scared of anything, she is able to do many things that normal cats don’t get to do or wouldn’t even want to do. We can take her outside in the back yard to play without worrying about her running off or jumping the fence. We can take her to the pet store without her freaking out and getting scared. We can even take her on boat rides…

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Click the picture to read the original blog post about Sophie’s boat ride
A couple of weekends ago, we even took her to an outdoor concert. People bring their dogs to those kinds of events all the time, so I thought, “Why can’t I bring my cat?” She LOVED it. She played and rolled in the grass, she ate up all of the attention she got from strangers, and she curled up on our picnic blanket and enjoyed the show. I don’t know of any other cat who would enjoy something like that. 
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Sophie at the Picnic Concert
Because of Sophie’s uniquely relaxed and amiable demeanor, I have been considering getting her certified to be a therapy cat for some time now. What better time to do it than for her birthday! I have done lots of research and reading about the different therapy animal organizations, and I finally settled on Love on a Leash. One of the first requirements to get certified is to have your vet fill out an evaluation form saying that your pet is clean and healthy, is up to date on vaccinations, and is well behaved. Yesterday, my husband and I took Sophie to the vet to get her health evaluation done. 
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Sophie at the vet!
In typical Sophie fashion, she enjoyed her adventure at the vet. She got to ride in her bag (top right picture), she got to play with her favorite toy (bottom two pictures), and she got to socialize with new people. We could tell she was enjoying herself because she purred the ENTIRE time. Dr. Caldwell wasn’t able to listen to her heart because she wouldn’t stop purring! All she wanted to do was love on everyone and purr. Needless to say, Dr. Caldwell said that he thought she would make a perfect therapy cat. He enjoyed himself too – he said it was the most fun visit he had had all day. 

Sophie just needed one vaccine – the FVRCP vaccine (which, ironically, is the vaccine that prevents panleukopenia – the disease that most likely caused Sophie to develop CH in the womb). Then she got her clean bill of heath and recommendation from Dr. Caldwell! Here she is posing with her evaluation form:

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Step 1 of Therapy Cat Certification Complete!
There are many people out there who think that cats with CH should be euthanized because they couldn’t possibly live a full and happy life. To them, I say that is absolutely not true. Look at Sophie! She is the happiest cat I know. 

So, here’s to many more years of fun and awesome adventures with Sophie! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GIRL! WE LOVE YOU!

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Filed Under: Cat Birthdays, Cerebellar Hypoplasia, Handicats & Other Special Needs Pets, Therapy Cats, Uncategorized

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Abby says

    May 21, 2014 at 5:02 am

    Sophie we wish you a very happy Purrday and we are so glad you got your certification!

    Reply
    • Kitty Cat Chronicles says

      May 21, 2014 at 11:04 am

      Thank you!!

      Reply
  2. Tamago says

    May 21, 2014 at 5:30 am

    Happy birthday and happy Gotcha day to Sophie! She is really incredible. Love the boat ride photo where she is steering the boat πŸ™‚
    My boys would freak out if they are taken on boat ride or concert for sure! Therapy cat sounds perfect for her. Sophie is such a lucky girl to have wonderful parents who understand and love her so much!

    Reply
    • Kitty Cat Chronicles says

      May 21, 2014 at 11:05 am

      Haha, my other cats would have freaked out on the boat or at the concert too. Sophie is a weirdo! We call her our dog-cat πŸ™‚ She is special for sure, and we love her lots!

      Reply
  3. Oui OUi says

    May 21, 2014 at 6:01 am

    A very Happy Briuthday and Gotcha Day, Sophie! You are one amazing kitty and we are so grateful to know you. You will do a pawsome job as a therapy kitty and we are sending encouraging purrs your way.

    Reply
    • Kitty Cat Chronicles says

      May 21, 2014 at 11:06 am

      Thank you! I hope that I make a good therapy kitty. I’m very excited about it!

      Reply
  4. Chelsea Price says

    May 21, 2014 at 6:16 am

    Happy birthday, beautiful Sophie! You are such a wonderful pet owner, Emily, and I think it is AMAZING that you’re having Sophie be a therapy cat – she will be a great one! As always, this is a super inspiring post πŸ™‚

    Reply
    • Kitty Cat Chronicles says

      May 21, 2014 at 11:07 am

      Thank you πŸ™‚ I’m excited about the therapy cat thing. Several people have suggested it to me, and after realizing how calm and relaxed Sophie is, I think it is a good idea. She will love, and so will everyone who gets to meet her (hopefully πŸ˜‰

      Reply
  5. Connie says

    May 21, 2014 at 6:45 am

    Happy Happy Sophie Day!!

    Reply
    • Kitty Cat Chronicles says

      May 21, 2014 at 11:07 am

      πŸ˜€

      Reply
  6. Timmy Tomcat says

    May 21, 2014 at 7:02 am

    All of us here wish you a very Happy Birthday Sophie!
    You are so very brave! One noise and I am under the couch. And going to the vet I sing the song of our people to Dad so he knows I am a bit put out.
    We love you girl and wish you and your family good luck on your quest to be a therapy kitty
    Say Hi to Sampson fur me
    Purrs
    Timmy

    Reply
    • Kitty Cat Chronicles says

      May 21, 2014 at 11:08 am

      MOL! You sound like Sassy – she is very good at singing the song of our people! Thank you for your encouragement, Timmy. I’m excited about my new journey!
      Sampson says hi and waves!!

      Reply
  7. Caren Gittleman says

    May 21, 2014 at 9:14 am

    What an incredible kitty she is! HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOPHIE!! xooxoxo

    Reply
    • Kitty Cat Chronicles says

      May 21, 2014 at 11:09 am

      Thank you, Caren & Cody!!

      Reply
  8. da tabbies o trout towne says

    May 21, 2014 at 10:22 am

    sophie…a veree happee gotcha//birthday day two ewe ♫♫♫♪♪♪♫
    best fishes, mice creem dishes N happee day wishes for manee yeers oh happee nezz & health….we hope yur mom & dad getted ewe a mega huge catnip cake and we hope ewe ENJOY yur day & haz FUN ♥♥
    conga rats two ewe all sew on yur journey ta bee comin a therphy kitteh !!! how kewl iz that !!!

    Reply
    • Kitty Cat Chronicles says

      May 21, 2014 at 11:10 am

      Thanks, guys!!! We enjoyed your beautiful singing! And we are hoping for a mega huge catnip cake too! You will be invited to come over for a piece!

      Reply
  9. Winter says

    May 21, 2014 at 10:55 am

    She is an absolutely beautiful girl. Very relaxed. I hope she gets her certification. She seems like an amazing kitty. Happy Birthday!

    Reply
    • Kitty Cat Chronicles says

      May 21, 2014 at 11:10 am

      Thanks, Winter!

      Reply
  10. Pawesome Cats says

    May 21, 2014 at 11:18 am

    Happy birthday sweet girl! You will make a brilliant therapy cat, congratulations on taking the first step!

    Reply
  11. The Island Cats says

    May 21, 2014 at 12:39 pm

    Happy Birthday/Gotcha Day, Sophie! Good luck on getting your certification!

    Reply
  12. Kitties Blue says

    May 21, 2014 at 2:08 pm

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET AND BEAUTIFUL SOPHIE. What an exciting adventure you are about to set out upon. You will be purrfect at it. We can imagine all the pleasure you are going to bring to others. You truly are a special girl, and we hope you had a spectacular birthday. The photos of you at the concert are so adorable. Astrid wants Sampson to know that their date was the best day of her life. He gives her so much confidence. Today she chased Calista Jo all the way up the stairs and even went out on the ratio a couple of times for several minutes. It makes our Mom so happy to see her coming out of her shell. Astrid is sending Sampson kisses, and we are sending all our love to all of you. XO, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

    Reply
  13. Deztinee Izabella says

    May 21, 2014 at 2:39 pm

    Happy Meowday Sophie and ConCatulations!!!!! Meez wulda been hewe soonew, but da last time meez wus hewe mommy wus cwyin’ tu hawd tu help meez type. Wees fink you’s wunnewful ad we’s so purroud of yous. Yous will make a wunnewful Therapy kitty. Meez is so honowed and glad tu be yous furiend. ☺
    Luv and Hugs and Kitty kisses ♥♥♥
    Dezi

    Reply
  14. Cathy Keisha says

    May 21, 2014 at 2:51 pm

    Happy Birthday Sophie! You are adorable! It’s so cool that you get to take her all over. Our Autumn purred hard and the vet and the stupid vet thought it was a heart murmur. Suffice to say we have a new vet for me.

    Reply
  15. Miss Fitz says

    May 22, 2014 at 5:23 am

    PS
    We should have a nice big pawty next year Sophie
    Miss Fitz

    Reply
  16. Susan and the gang from Life with Dogs and Cats says

    May 22, 2014 at 7:08 am

    Such a sweet and special girl. Happy birthday!
    I love that you can take something that could be seen as a negative (her condition) and turn it into a positive on so many levels: being able to educate others, taking Sophie places, appreciating her unique qualities. What a wonderful tail!
    –Wags (and purrs) from Life with Dogs and Cats

    Reply
  17. Kwee Cats and Art says

    May 23, 2014 at 6:22 pm

    Naturally, we are terribly late, as usual! But that doesn’t mean we don’t wish Sophie any less of a very very happy birthday! We wish you to have many more too, pretty girl!

    Reply
  18. carla stevens says

    January 1, 2015 at 8:57 am

    I have fallen in live with Sophie. I just adore her and I haven’t even met here!

    Reply

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