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Bewitched by Sam

Sam: Unique stray

Sam is the only cat I have ever owned that was a stray. Around May of last year Sam wandered into my life. It was one of those situations that I wasn't looking and didn't really want another cat, but she needed me as much as I needed her.

At any given time there are at least 2 strays around my apartment building in the spring and summer. Normally they are the same cats that just keep coming back, so Sam stood out. She hadn't been around here as far as I could remember. I had gone out to do something and she was wandering around being really friendly. I came back four or five hours later and she was still here. My friend's three year old son love cats, and normally hes really cautious of them only because he's irritated his cat enough to get swiped at, but Sam basically ran to him and was wrapping herself around his legs. I have never seen a normal house cat do that, never mind a stray. She let me pick her up and I noticed that she was skin and bones litterly and she had extremely large mammory glands. We looked around to see if there were any kittens, but couldn't find any. Sometimes I think we might not have looked hard enough, but there is no way of really telling for sure.
I ended up bringing her in on the basis that she was to thin and needed to eat. (I still have food and the litter pans from my previous cats) I had posted an ad on craigslist thinking maybe she got let out and her owners couldn't find her or something. The only response i recieved was from a lady on the other side of town telling me she had seen her around her apartment in march for a while. So I am guessing Sam had been out there a while.
She seemed to adapt really well to living inside. She did have this thing where she would sit in my bedroom window that looks over the parking lot behind my building and she would cry. She did it until I got Cullen, so either she was mourning her babies, or she was lonely.
She took on the mother role for both Cullen and Meeka. I had gotten Cullen because Sam seemed sad, and I haven't ever seen a cat take to a new addition like that. It was a good thing.
In August there was fire in my apartment that caused alot of smoke damage. Sam and Cullen were inside when it happened. I came home from a weekend away to find my entire apartment covered in a thick layer of soot. (my stove had malfuctioned and caught a plastic strainer on fire) Thankfully the fire went out on its own and my cats were smart. There was a trail of prints going to the shower and little nose prints around the drain. I think they hid in there as long as they could and then ran under the futon. I am glad they are alright.
She was really vocal before i got her fixed in September. Now she saves her vocalness for rare times. She has started using the fact that shes the only Lady kitty to her advantage. If I haven't changed their water that day and I am watching tv she'll go sit in front of it and not move until I do what she wants. She also like to swipe at people when they walk pass. She doesn't use claws at all, i think its her way of letting the humans know she wants attention.



I'm glad we found each other when we did. :D

Feb. 12, 2011

I didn't realize i never made Sam a journal. I have had Sam since May of last year and shes become quiet the lady. I got her fixed in September and up until December she was very different. She stop being vocal, she would hide from everyone. She was different. It got worse as it got colder. But I am happy to report that she's doing so much better now. I got Meeka in December and it seemed to perk her spirits up a little. She has gained weight (i was really worried about her for a while she wasn't putting on weight they way she should have) but she looks healthy now. Which makes me feel wonderful.

I am gearing up to move soon, and I am worried about its affects on the trio. They are all staying together thankfully. I don't know if i could get rid of any one of them even if i wanted to. I would't be able to choose.

Sam is like the mother figure to my little furry family. She bosses Meeka and Cullen around, but is playful too. They make a very unique family :)