Bramble-Puss Hoag

Tuesday was a sad day indeed, after a lovely morning talking with family and friends on the phone & Skype, Bramble was knocked down in front of our house. Jared called to tell me that two guys from his work were parked outside and had found Bramble lying in the road directly in front of the house. I'd been in the kitchen the whole day less than 20 feet from her and never heard or saw a thing. No brakes, no skids, nothing.
Our street has a 25 mph speed limit and we're less than 50 feet from a stop sign, there's absolutely no reason why a competent driver couldn't stop even if she darted out. That said, Bramble was killed instantly on impact and probably didn't even know it had happened.
Jared and I were obviously distraught, our cats have been so much part of our life and family for the last 7 years. Bramble was Jared's little buddy, she churped the second she heard his car (or later truck) approaching the house and would run to meet him. Bramble slept in two spots at night time, next to Jared in the crook of his arm or on his feet.

This was a vast improvement to when she was a kitten when she would sleep on his head. We actually had to buy a larger bed to accommodate Bramble's sleeping arrangements after I fell pregnant with Bridget!
Bramble was a very sociable cat, she loved to be stroked and brushed and played with not only by her family but friends and strangers alike. I once remarked that I had done Bramble a great disservice instilling in her a sense of expected universal popularity as she didn't exhibit fear when meeting new people and situations. A dear friend of mine corrected me saying "yes indeed, what a terrible thing to live in a world where goodness is expected because you have been so completely adored".

Bramble loved to be outside, next to cuddling with Jared it was her very favourite thing. She was a great runner, she would gallop in a "chariots of fire" fashion, it was not unsual for her to race you. When I stopped going to the gym at about 6 months pregnant, I started running the mile on the paved section of our garden and Bramble would wait for me to get to the "long straight" and put on a burst of speed and race me to the corner. I need not embarass myself and divulge who would win!
Bramble loved so many things, but outdoors she was so content, often just finding herself a patch of sun to lie in until her fur became hot to the touch when she'd retire to a shady spot and watch the leaves and trees... and completely ignore the birds who would screech at her!

 

Bramble loved to be brushed, she claimed numerous hairbrushes over the years, if offered a cat treat or a brush she always chose the brush, and her fur was so thick that you had to sweep the floor after every brushing as if she'd been a sheep at shearing time!
Bramble loved the laser pen, as a kitten she would climb walls with full matrix-esque moves, later she got wise to the rouse and she would walk up to the laser pointer and knock it over!
When we moved to Anderson, we bought our cats a giant cat tree, which stands over 6 feet tall, she loved it from the moment she saw it. Jared put it together for her and she immediately claimed it, there were two tiers of the tree that were just hers and she would sleep on the front tier everyday and rub herself on it till it was black with her fur.
In so many ways Bramble was a little human with fur, the way she sat, ran, ate - she had a very large personality and was very sure of the things she loved well. Tuna, Salmon, Mayonnaise, Cat sticks, Wheatgrass, wet cat food - not dry and only fishy flavours!

Bramble loved to stretch out - really stretch out until her body was almost bent 360* but my favourite was her roll. No matter how many times you let her outside, her first and most pleasurable act was to immediately find herself a pile of dust, dirt, leaves etc and roll from side to side in it. She did exactly the same thing every time you would sweep the floor, chasing you to be brushed with the broom - and rolling in your pile of muck! As a kitten we used to push her around with the broom on the slidey floor and she loved it!

Bramble was a funny eater as a kitten, she would purposefully dump all the food out onto the floor, eat what she wanted and then with both paws scoop up the remaining food into a pile. The sound of dry cat food hitting the floor was always a sure indidcation that Bramble was eating her breakfast!

 Bramble loved to play, chasing was particularly satisfying to her, she brought us many lovely presents over the years and despite being very fast and pretty sneaky she never harmed her "prey" they were always presented beautifully and still very much alive (though frequently pretending not to be). On one very memorable occasion Bramble came in during dinner and we heard the very distinctive "meow" that clearly indicated that she had brought us a gift. Jared and I jumped up from the table to see that she had brought us a frog - it was still being held very tightly but gently in her mouth and was making an almighty racket! Fortunately Jared managed to get her to drop the frog and it was returned to it's outdoor sanctuary! Frogs, Lizards, Birds (just once and that story doesn't end well so we'll skip it) and Mice, Voles and many attempts at a Gopher! It's safe to say that Bramble loved wildlife, she loved the outdoors, trees, flowers, grass, mud and dirt!

 For much of Bramble's life her access to the outdoors was restricted, at first Jared and I would take her out on a lead - yes a cat lead! She loved being out so much she tolerated it well and would wander all over the garden or park... though we did have some trouble with tree climbing! Once we moved to Cruden Bay Bramble got to go out unsupervised and it was then that she met Thomas O'Malley her boyfriend, they would take long strolls in the moonlight together and on one memorable occasion, Bramble caught a mouse and brought it back to us with Thomas O'Malley en-toe and when Bramble let the mouse go to chase it, Thomas caught it for her and gave it back to her.. yes it was love.
Bramble's first love though - was always Jared, all 7 years of her young life were hopelessly devoted to him, she was a man's cat and Jared was her man!

 Bramble actually hated having her picture taken - just like Jared, she was always on the move when awake and so trying to get a shot of her was a bit tortuous, but fortunately we persevered and tried to take them quickly!

Bramble loved the Orchard house when we moved to Penngrove, she could wander pretty much unsupervised in the back garden and had a very fine compost pile which she would guard and survey her kingdom from the top of! Bramble was a great therapy cat, even if you had no emotional radar at all, if you were deaf to the crying of others and completely unaware of the whereabouts of others - you would still know where to find the person who most needed your help in any given moment... because Bramble would be sitting with them. She had such a quiet way with her - always stable always exactly the same - she would lie down on the bed or let the girls stroke her and just "be" there with them for as long as they needed her. She was an incredible therapist and friend to a lot of girls who passed through our lives. Some of these girls have returned to us since their time in the Orchard house and their love for Bramble is as absolute and unchanging as the blackness of her fur!

Bramble was an exceptionally nosey cat - curious to a fault at times. The number of scrapes she got herself into over the years was ridiculous, from getting stuck in the wall of our bathroom in Strachan, to climbing trees she couldn't get down from, jumping onto the roof at Technology (and having to be rescued... creatively). Bramble couldn't see a cardboard box, suitcase or container come into the house that was not thoroughly examined by her! She loved boxes though, boxes were by far her favourite and what fun we had playing with her while in those boxes!!!

Reflecting on what we miss most, Bramble was a very loving cat, she had a very simple and honest way of letting you know that she loved you, but she was completely self-sufficient, amused herself and had her own life and interests (mostly cat-tree, sleeping and being outside). Once we moved to the country - Bramble was able to enjoy the things she loved more and more often and this included "the tic check" both homes we lived in with large gardens had expanses of land where deer and other animals would roam and consequently Bramble had to be constantly checked for tics - and she loved it. She loved having her fur ruffled and brushed and could be very persuasive and insistent that she receive the attention she desired!

Bramble was often mistaken for being a boy cat - being so much larger than her sister Bootsie, but Bramble was very girly, she loved makeup and Mascara in particular. Not a day went by that she would attempt to help with the application of Mascara - a peculiar behaviour which was experienced by many people!

 Bramble and Boots were inseparable as kittens but as they grew and matured found different interests and led more independent lives. Despite this, Bramble was always - always Bootsie's protector. Bramble took on other cats, dogs, deer, people, an opossum and I'm sure other predators after Bootsie had provoked them! Bramble was fearless, completely fearless, I once saw her run into the house to get me after Boots had encountered a pack of four dogs in the garden. Bramble ran in, meowed very loudly and ran back out jumping over Bootsie to take point in front of her where the dogs were barking and posturing. She was fearless and extremely loyal, both to her sister and to her humans. No matter how much she wanted to be outside and would escape when a door was opened, she would run a couple of feet - see you coming, and lie down on the ground and wait for you to take her back in.

Bramble grew into a very beautiful cat, she was so tiny as a kitten but as soon as she was able to run outside became a very muscular and fluffy yet sleekly furred cat. The most beautiful thing about Bramble though, was by far - her nature. She was such a peaceful and tolerant cat, the only thing that riled her was moving air! Jared would snuffle her when she was a kitten and she just hated it, she would grunt and wriggle - and eventually she would raise a paw to tell you to stop. On one memorable occasion Jared didn't stop and Bramble knocked my glasses off my face with a whallop! Excepting the moving air, nothing phased Bramble at all, as this picture clearly demonstrates!

When we came home from the hospital with Bridget in her car seat - Bramble walked up to her sniffed her head and marked her hair with her cheek. She accepted her into the herd immediately, and though they were never close, Bramble led the way for Bootsie to accept her too. Life for Bramble didn't change much, Jared was still her human, she slept in the same places, ate the same food, got the same treats and the big bonus was - her humans were home more often to play, cuddle and most importantly open the door to let her out!

Bramble loved water - she was fascinated by it, as a kitten she fell in the bath with Jared because she was so curious to touch the water's surface. When we lived in Summerfield Place we would leave the tap on in the bathroom for her to play with it! Who ever heard of a cat who liked water!
As much as I loved Bramble - she was Jared's cat, she chose him, she loved him more than she loved anything else. Jared took up gardening about a year ago and Bramble would trot out behind him while he watered his plants and worked outside.
I didn't realise how much she loved to be just "with you" not requiring any interaction or attention, she just liked to be in your presence and watch you. As I looked through Bramble's pictures, I realised how many photographs we have where she is just "there" not that it's a picture of her - there was another purpose or subject being snapped - but Bramble was there, she was participating in life at the Hoag residence - where ever that happened to be!

Of course, sometimes she had her own agenda! Bramble ate a number of Jared's plants including one struggling bean seedling which Jared was nursing carefully! You could never mind when Bramble did something naughty - she always did things in a sort of - 'oh, was that not okay?... sorry' sort of a way.
One thing she was always in trouble for as a kitten was playing on our clothes horse - she and bootsie would chase each other into the rack and play fight with each other. Bramble loved to just lay on Jared's clothes though - in fact she just loved everything about Jared.

I used to joke that Bramble was Jared's furry mistress, she was completely devoted to him and with her passing has left a big hole in our hearts. Jared and Bramble shared so many common interests, traits and pleasures. Fish was clearly one of them, both Jared and Bramble loved fish. As a kitten Jared would give her Salmon and Trout and once even attempted Kippers (she didn't like those). As an older cat Bramble loved Tuna - and the 'Tuna Juice' in particular, it was not an uncommon occurrence that a can of tuna would be opened in our home just to drain out the liquid for Bramble to scoff! Of course, not all of her culinary experimentation was with our willing approval, Bramble was a sneak at times and particularly loved Potato Salad, well in honesty - anything with mayonnaise in - she loved mayonnaise and would eat anything it touched!
Bramble loved heat - another common trait with Jared. When we lived in Summerfield - there was no central heating in our flat - so I bought a little Halogen heater and Bramble and Jared would vie for the top spot in front of it!

Bramble often won... but because Jared would let her win. This was similar to the way in which Boots and Bramble got on as older cats. Bramble was by far the stronger, larger and more powerful cat, yet she deferred to Bootsie and let her be a grumpy snot to her very frequently. Bramble would just look at Boots and walk away, she was quite the pacifist - and yet, in Bootsie's defense she was fierce and would not tolerate any encroachment onto her territory.
Obviously in recent days we have thought much about our decision to let our kitties outside. I particularly have regretted letting Bramble out on Tuesday morning, and yet, being outside, the freedom and pleasure it gave to her were too big a sacrifice to withhold from her. Bramble would cry at the door to be let out, and for most of her life was extremely obedient and would come straight home when called (or the treats were shaken). Her love of the outdoors was paramount to her enjoyment of life in many ways. So much so that she jumped out of a second story window because she wasn't allowed to go outside and play in the garden while living at Strachan! Bramble had a wonderful life, she had her own little routine of activities each day depending on where we lived. I worked full time when we lived at Orchard and was gone from 8am - 5pm Monday - Friday until I graduated from SSU. During this time Bramble would track the sun through the house and you would find her sitting on the window sill, or lying stretched out on the carpet enjoying the huge bay windows in the front family room.
When we moved to Anderson, Bramble could be found every morning on the front top tier of her cat tree, curled up and enjoying the peace and quiet. Then, as soon as you were up and the lights were on she'd jump down for her breakfast before cuing up at the patio door to be allowed outside.

 Boots and Bramble had matching "pink palaces" fluffy beds they slept on for some of the night - Bramble generally only slept on hers during the day - as she would cuddle up with Jared during the night! Bramble loved to nap, and that was one of the things we shared, while I was pregnant with Bridget, I had to nap a lot to keep up with my girls in the evening time. So at about 2pm, Bramble would curl up on the bottom of the bed and we'd nap till it was time to go to work. Of course, Sundays have traditionally been a nap time for Jared and I - and being that Jared naps for literally 20 minutes in comparison to my 3 hours, Bramble has long been my napping buddy since being a kitten!
We have often remarked that Bramble didn't know she was a cat - having always been treated as a baby, I'm  not sure she knew that beds weren't for cats, that furniture isn't for playing on, that human food is for humans or that anything could be "off limits". Yet thinking about it now, I wouldn't do anything differently.

 Maybe I would brush her more, maybe I would sneak her more treats and tuna juice, but as to keeping her indoors - I just don't have it in my heart to say I could have denied her the activity that gave her the most pleasure and enjoyment. So despite the obvious heartache that Bramble's departure from this life has caused - I don't think I could have loved or cared for her differently, she was just too free a spirit to be couped up inside.
Her curious nature may have been instrumental in her early departure from this life, and yet I can't lament that - because it is so much a part of her character - part of what made her such an extraordinary cat and such a pleasure to be with.

Her curiosity was funnily enough why I chose her, while her brothers and sisters were sitting nicely on the ground looking cute Bramble was off to the side playing with some leaves and being mischievous and I just thought "she's the one", and so she has been, she's been the one for us, the one to look after her sister, the one to bring so much joy, entertainment and laughter into our lives. 

Bramble was a Queen among cats - we used to call her our "mini panther" she would do her "monorail cat" impression on the top of the couch and despite the precarious positions she chose to sit in - always looked regal.

 As I think of Bramble's passing, it's strange to think of life without her, it's hard to imagine never hearing her jingle again (though she'd learned to walk without letting her bell sound). Her tier of the cat tree lies empty and that feels like a hole that will never be filled, yet how could we have loved her better, she was an excellent companion and truly met the measure of her creation. How grateful I am for the time that we had with her, for the opportunity I had to love and care for one of Heavenly Fathers creatures and to witness an extraordinary beast every day of her life, though it was cut far too short. 

We decided to bury Bramble in one of her favourite shady spots in the garden between purple and white lilac bushes. It was so hard to say goodbye to our furry companion, she was such a friend to us and we loved her as a member of our family. Jared layed her pink palace down and placed her on top, her fur was still so soft and she lay there as she did so often did - for the last time. We place her favourite brush and her bird alongside her and covered her in one of Jared's shirts which she used to lie on as a kitten. This is how I remember her - sleeping and all being well in the world.
And so Dicken's has it on this occasion:

 "Life is made up of meetings and partings that is the way of it - we shall never forget our little bramble or the first parting that there was among us"