Farewell Sam 2006 - 2023

 

                                                            A young Sam

We let our sweet funny Sam a month ago on Dec 23, 2023. 

He was 17. I waited a month to post 

Sam's tribute. It has taken me this long to process  

losing two cats 

to cancer a few months apart.

 First Callie in July and then Sam in December..

                                            Sam with his mom and siblings

Sam  began having dental issues few months ago. 

We changed 

vets to get another opinion. They

 d Sam was responding to the treatment. 

But he also had unregulated thyroid even on the 

highest dose of Felimazole. This usually  

means some form of thyroid cancer. His kidneys began

 to fail during his last week with us. 

We were giving him subcutaneous fluids daily but it 

was not enough. We could no longer keep

 him comfortable. 

                                                    Sam and Woody as kittens

Sam or Sam Sam, Sam I Am as we called him, was a quiet,

 independent, feisty boy. He hissed at everything new. 

He even hissed at me sometimes but he never bit o

scratched us. When he was still feral, he lost weight 

and I trapped him to bring to the vet. Turns out he had 

parasites so Sam lived on our enclosed porch in  

large dog kennel so I could administer his meds

 for 2 weeks. That may be why I got hissed at so much. 

 

 

                                                            Sam seeking alone time.

Sam lived his life on his own terms. He was not a playful 

cat, preferring catnip and catnip toys to other toys.

 He did like boxes or kitty cubes. He liked his alone time 

when he was not napping in a pile with his buddies.

 He was a cat's cat, preferring to be with his cat buddies

 and litter mates than with people including us..

 He slept with the other cats, and ate with them,

 rarely leaving the group. 

He would slowly worm his way into a cat pile to nap. 

Sam preferred Snowball and Norm's company

 as a young man cat. Sam liked his food, catnip and 

cat company. He grew to be quite a handsome 

and good sized  boy. 

 

 

                                                             Sam and Two Spot                                                       

 

                                                            Sam in front, Two Spot and Only behind

Sam's siblings were Georgie, Woody, and Norm. 

He was named after Sam on Cheers. 

This group was the second litter for his mom Lily. 

And he was the last of his litter left with us.

Sam was the only one of our cats who had his ear tipped.

 We had seven white cats 

at one time so it helped to know who was who.

 The others had some distinguishing 

characteristics but Sam did not. 

This way I knew who was Sam.

 

 

 Sam spent the majority of his years in the cat shelter

 with his white siblings and Albert. 

The building had a large screened porch and 

an indoor area that was heated. He could go in 

and out through the cat door.  When Woody passed in 2021, 

we brought Two Spot, Sam and Smidge

 inside the house with us as the cat numbers 

had gone down considerably. 

 

Sam hiding under the bathroom cabinet.
 

 

                                                                        Hissing Sam.

 

                                    Sam front and center with Two Spot and Georgie

Of course he hid under the bed in his new place 

and hissed but eventually decided it was not so bad. 

He loved sitting on the screen porch, or on the beds.

 He never became a lap cat but did enjoy 

lounging with us on the sofa. 

He adjusted well to frequent 

vet visits and liked the open top carrier 

so he could check out the scenery.  

When we took Sam to the vet, 

we usually took another cat 

with him to have an exam at the same time. 

When we let Sam out of the travel cage he would 

invariably go in the carrier with the other cat. 

Safety in numbers maybe?

 

 

                                                Sam in Two Spot's carrier at the vet.

His cancer caused him to drool down his chest and front 

feet so we began bathing him every few days. 

We thought it would upset him but he loved the 

attention and grooming. He relaxed and chirped

and purred. He even enjoyed  the blow dryer.  

He really mellowed out in the past two years. 

                                                Two Spot and Sam on the bed

Sam spent a lot of his last weeks snuggling with 

Two Spot. Two Spot sat with Sam's body 

for the longest time when I brought him back from the vet. 

 

Sam snuggling Two Spot
 

                            Sam being loved by Don with Two Spot and Smidge

I am glad Sam was able to experience living in the

 house during his last years. He was a 

tiny little old man cat in the end but much mellower. 

On his last day,

 he came out to the kitchen with the others

for breakfast but refused  food. 

 Instead he went to the office 

sitting the sun for a

 good long while by himself. He seemed to be 

savoring 

the moment. I knew it was time.

 

At the vets, we held him in our laps  

and he seemed to slip away once they gave 

him the sedative. I am sure he was 

met by all of his siblings and cat mom to ferry him

 to the Rainbow Bridge. Sam was buried next to 

Callie on our land with catnip sprinkled over the

 rainbow and unicorn fleece blanket that we used

to wrap his body. 

I placed a bouquet of a single bright yellow 

Gerbera Daisy

 with evergreens on his grave. This flower and color 

symbolizes the loyal love and friendship 

he had with his cat family.

 It was a wonderful pleasure for us to be 

able to keep Sam and his 

cat siblings together for all of their lives.

We will have a marker made at a later date. 

We will love and remember our one of

 a kind Sam forever. Give our love to our cat 

family at the Rainbow Bridge. We will see you all soon.