ode to sami

Ode to Sami (written by Sami's grandmother)

Sami came into our lives via my daughter. She picked her out of a litter in Hanover and raised her here at the house. Sami took baths and loved them. She listened to my daughter.She loved petting, but if it got too much, she rebelled. She would strike out with a swipe of her claws and scratch you! She liked a push and a pull on her legs. We had fun with her.

Sami did not like her move to Boston with my daugther when she attended college. Sami gained weight, had a little belly and kept trying to get out the window of a second story
building. We all decided she had to come back to rural New Hampshire. She liked being outside and hunting. We installed a bell on her to keep her ratios down. We had no bird feeders to assist her in her catch. My son loved her. She often slept with him. He declared that she was his cat!

Sami beat cancer! When my husband had his spinal stenosis, I was caring for him and leaned down to stroke Sami. I felt a lump on her leg. I took her to the vet and he said that she
had the lump where he vaccinated her for rabies. Thus she got cancer from the shot. He performed surgery on the leg and charged the vaccine company. The assistant in the office called later and urged us to take off Sami’s full leg to prevent cancer from spreading. Both my daughter and husband vetoed that. I was not sure of anything. So we said no, let us look at the leg in a year. When the leg was looked at later, she was just fine. So we had been right. She recovered pretty well. I remember holding her with her wide collar to prevent her
from pulling out her stitches, and hugging her to make her better. It worked so well. That was the only time she seemed vulnerable and needed a hug and encouragement.

Sami ran the house. What I mean by that is her hours and needs were paramount. In the morning, she got us up to get a meal. Even with her dry food out, she cried for her
canned wet food. Then about 3 p.m., she cried for more and perhaps in the evening. If canned food was not in stock, she sent me to the store for more by crying. She slept most
of the day, but asked to go out about 3 p.m. to start her afternoon and evening games. Those games often included playing with a chipmunk or chasing a mouse or bird. When cold weather set in, she stayed in at night. She kind of hibernated. When warm weather arrived, she liked being out as much as possible. She was known to sleep on the chaise basking in the sun. Sometimes I would sit with her and share the chair! She liked sitting in different gardens as hiding spots waiting for prey. She loved the yard and made the most of it.

The evening we lost Sami was mild. The next night she would have started her hibernation and stayed in at night. For 13 years, her luck and skill kept her alive, but that night, it appears her time was up and a cruel hunting animal took her life.

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