Hello, everyone! My name is Sarah, and I'd like to tell you a bit about myself. I am an orange and white cat, with green eyes and medium-length hair. I recently celebrated my 18th birthday on May 23. Since my human mother does not speak feline, I cannot tell her my real birthday. So she went back three months from the day she took me in (August 23, 1998), and uses that date as my birthday.
Like Miss Zander, my life did not start out well. I was an unwanted kitten, and was dumped at a local Catholic church in Southern California, around the corner from where my future meowmy lived. I was driven to the church, the car door opened, I was thrown out, the door closed, and the car drove away.
I was so scared. I was a baby. I didn't know what to do. I was also skinny and hungry. I started walking around the big church grounds. A man at the church later told my meowmy that afternoon that he had seen me dumped. He was a member of the Men's Ministry, and had come in early to prepare for the barbecue that was being held that day after Saturday mass. He went to the market to buy me food, and gave that and water to me on the patio, so I'd have some shade from the summer heat. He also gave me a towel to lie on.
Meanwhile, at home, my meowmy, who I will call "Mother" from here on, was debating whether to go to Saturday evening mass, or Sunday morning mass. She later told her priest that she heard a voice telling her to go to Saturday mass. The priest later said that was either her guardian angel or the Holy Spirit speaking.
So she went to Saturday mass. During the barbecue, I was going from table to table, begging for food, and for a home. I didn't want to go to some place called a pound.
But no one wanted me. Everyone said I was cute, with my big bat ears, but had excuses for not taking me. Finally, a woman with a German accent picked me up, handed me to Mother, and said, "Take her. She will be a wonderful companion for you."
Mother later said no one knew who this woman was, and she was never seen again. I know she was my guardian angel.
So mother carried me to her landlord's house, and asked if she could keep me. She offered a pet deposit, which he declined. He allowed Mother to keep me, but I had to be an indoor cat because she and her landlord lived on a busy street, and he didn't want me to get hit by a car.
I had a home!
It turned out Mother had another orange cat named Natalie. She was rescued from a feral colony when she was a kitten. Mother named her "Natalie" because it means "Christmas child," and she was born in early December. She had several nicknames -- The Nat, Nattles, Natalia and Natty. She was two when I met her. She crossed the Rainbow Bridge when she was 22.
I was given a bath, fed, and shown where the litterbox was. Natalie was spayed, but treated me as her baby, and started grooming me after my bath. I snuggled with her in her bed during the day, but slept with Mother at night. Nat did also.
Mother gave me the nickname "Batwoman" because of my big ears. She didn't want to call me "Bat Girl" because it sounded too much like "Bad Girl."
A few days later, Mother took me to the veterinarian, which I didn't like. I was examined, given shots, and had blood taken out for tests. But Mother told me I needed all that to stay well.
Now about my name. Mother wanted to name me after a famous redhead, and went through her baby name book. She finally settled on Sarah, after The Duchess of York, and later gave me Elizabeth as a middle name, after Queen Elizabeth.
Sarah means "princess," or "princess of God," and Mother later started calling me "princess" as a nickname. I was also called "Sarita," which is my name in Spanish. Mother later gave me a royal title -- Her Royal Highness Princess Sarah Elizabeth. She still calls me "Your Highness" or "Her Highness."
I grew out of my awkward stage and into my bat ears. My right legs are white, and my left legs are orange with white socks. Mother says my right front leg looks like I have a long glove on, like Jackie Kennedy wore at formal White House dinners. Mother's mother called me "two-toned."
More of my life in Part 2.
Like Miss Zander, my life did not start out well. I was an unwanted kitten, and was dumped at a local Catholic church in Southern California, around the corner from where my future meowmy lived. I was driven to the church, the car door opened, I was thrown out, the door closed, and the car drove away.
I was so scared. I was a baby. I didn't know what to do. I was also skinny and hungry. I started walking around the big church grounds. A man at the church later told my meowmy that afternoon that he had seen me dumped. He was a member of the Men's Ministry, and had come in early to prepare for the barbecue that was being held that day after Saturday mass. He went to the market to buy me food, and gave that and water to me on the patio, so I'd have some shade from the summer heat. He also gave me a towel to lie on.
Meanwhile, at home, my meowmy, who I will call "Mother" from here on, was debating whether to go to Saturday evening mass, or Sunday morning mass. She later told her priest that she heard a voice telling her to go to Saturday mass. The priest later said that was either her guardian angel or the Holy Spirit speaking.
So she went to Saturday mass. During the barbecue, I was going from table to table, begging for food, and for a home. I didn't want to go to some place called a pound.
But no one wanted me. Everyone said I was cute, with my big bat ears, but had excuses for not taking me. Finally, a woman with a German accent picked me up, handed me to Mother, and said, "Take her. She will be a wonderful companion for you."
Mother later said no one knew who this woman was, and she was never seen again. I know she was my guardian angel.
So mother carried me to her landlord's house, and asked if she could keep me. She offered a pet deposit, which he declined. He allowed Mother to keep me, but I had to be an indoor cat because she and her landlord lived on a busy street, and he didn't want me to get hit by a car.
I had a home!
It turned out Mother had another orange cat named Natalie. She was rescued from a feral colony when she was a kitten. Mother named her "Natalie" because it means "Christmas child," and she was born in early December. She had several nicknames -- The Nat, Nattles, Natalia and Natty. She was two when I met her. She crossed the Rainbow Bridge when she was 22.
I was given a bath, fed, and shown where the litterbox was. Natalie was spayed, but treated me as her baby, and started grooming me after my bath. I snuggled with her in her bed during the day, but slept with Mother at night. Nat did also.
Mother gave me the nickname "Batwoman" because of my big ears. She didn't want to call me "Bat Girl" because it sounded too much like "Bad Girl."
A few days later, Mother took me to the veterinarian, which I didn't like. I was examined, given shots, and had blood taken out for tests. But Mother told me I needed all that to stay well.
Now about my name. Mother wanted to name me after a famous redhead, and went through her baby name book. She finally settled on Sarah, after The Duchess of York, and later gave me Elizabeth as a middle name, after Queen Elizabeth.
Sarah means "princess," or "princess of God," and Mother later started calling me "princess" as a nickname. I was also called "Sarita," which is my name in Spanish. Mother later gave me a royal title -- Her Royal Highness Princess Sarah Elizabeth. She still calls me "Your Highness" or "Her Highness."
I grew out of my awkward stage and into my bat ears. My right legs are white, and my left legs are orange with white socks. Mother says my right front leg looks like I have a long glove on, like Jackie Kennedy wore at formal White House dinners. Mother's mother called me "two-toned."
More of my life in Part 2.
