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<title>Sam, our Maine Coon, needs a heart transplant</title>
<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/764031/diary/Sam_our_maine_coon_needs_a_heart_transplant</link>
<description>Catster diary for the cat Sam</description>
<language>en</language>
<copyright>Copyright 2009 by Sam &amp; Catster</copyright>
<pubDate>Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:37:05 PST</pubDate>
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		<title>Sam died</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/764031/diary/Sam_our_maine_coon_needs_a_heart_transplant/492167</link>

				<pubdate>Fri, 8 Aug 2008 13:54:25 PDT</pubdate>
		<author>Sam ~ writing at catster.com</author>
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		<description>Sam died on the evening of July 3, 2008, after having a serious embolism, paralyzing his hind legs a ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Sam died on the evening of July 3, 2008, after having a serious embolism, paralyzing his hind legs and causing extreme breathing problems and extreme pain.

His owners Peter and Cathy had to have him put to sleep.

Sam was buried at Pine Ridge pet cemetery in Dedham, the oldest cemetery around, in a sunny spot with a beautiful upright granite stone to remember the special value he was for them.

The stone's text reads:

----
                                     SAM
                                 
                               2003-2008

                  Our Giant Maine Coon Cat 
             meant years of immeasurable value
               with his joy, beauty, fragrance, 
           gentleness, talkativeness, closeness.
           
         Sam gave mutual visibility a new meaning.


                                                       Peter & Cathy 

----

There is of course a big hole in our lives now without Sam and we still do not know very well how to deal our loss of him, but we are doing our best to let the happy memories of him remain alive.

We want to help in any way we can to make the heart transplant happen, which would have been meant for him, had he lived. If we can contribute time and know how we would love to. One other HCM kitty with a great owner is already on his way to becoming a transplant candidate.]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Sam has HCM (Hypertrophic Cardiomiopathy) and aspires to be first heart transplant cat</title>
		<link>http://www.catster.com/cats/764031/diary/Sam_our_maine_coon_needs_a_heart_transplant/443862</link>

				<pubdate>Tue, 1 Apr 2008 10:17:37 PDT</pubdate>
		<author>Sam ~ writing at catster.com</author>
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		<description>Our 4 year old Maine Coon Sam has HCM (Hypertrophic Cardiomiopathy), a gradually fatal heart disease ...</description>

		<content:encoded><![CDATA[ Our 4 year old Maine Coon Sam has HCM (Hypertrophic Cardiomiopathy), a gradually fatal heart disease, and he aspires to be first heart transplant cat in the world, in order to get a chance to live a longer and more normal life than now.

My owners, Cathy and Peter, and my fellow cats, Ballou and Bagheera (Baggy), will be posting my story here, as it was and as it develops.

They all hope that I'll get this chance to stay longer with them and they are working hard to make it happen, being in touch with cardiologists who are ready to give this project a serious try.

We still need to get the sufficient funding for this expensive treatment, so we'll be publishing Sam's adventure everywhere, to acquire sufficient funding to make this happen.]]></content:encoded>
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