Tuesday, January 23, 2024

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.




28 comments:

Zoolatry said...

Cheri, so sad about your beautiful boy, I trust you do not mind if I do a Forever Memory badge for him, will send to you soon. Gentle hugs, Ann

My Mind's Eye said...

Cheri,
Many warm hugs I am so very sorry about Sam.

Snowy white
Amazing eyes
My how I loved Sam's pink nose

What a beautiful family of white kitties who were lucky to be loved by you
Hugs Cecilia

da tabbies o trout towne said...

sam, we are sorry the nasty C took you from your family
and friends. the photo of you and two spot snuggling
is priceless and we know mom is glad she captured that
moment. we are truly sorry and we send hugs and loves
to you, mom, dad, and the family you leave behind, as
you start your tenth life in heaven 💙💚💙💚

Brian's Home Blog said...

I am so, so sorry to hear about your dear Sam. I know how tough those back-to-back losses can be. Sam was such a beautiful boy. Love and hugs from all of us.

Anonymous said...

I’m so sorry to hear about Sam. Darn cancer. He was part of beautiful white cat family, so unusual. Sending purrs and comforting head bonks to the humans, enjoy life at the bridge Sam til you’re all together once again.

Mariette VandenMunckhof-Vedder said...

Dearest Cheri,
You are doing such meaningful work for those kitties.
Sam has known true human love and he reached a high age, regardless his cancer.
Our Dido boy also had cancer and he became an Angel on November 28. On January 19 it was Speckie girl's time to go to heaven. Sad moments and we tried our very best to give them all they needed. For her it was kidney failure.
Sam was a beauty and you captured some wonderful memories like where he snuggles with Two Spot—sweet siblings!
Hugs,
Mariette + Kitties
PS look for my email...

The Florida Furkids said...

We're sorry Sam has gone to the Bridge. We hate cancer.

pilch92 said...

I am so sorry for the loss of your handsome boy. XO

Duke said...

I am so sorry about the loss of your handsome Sam. Huge hugs♥

Kea said...

Cheri, I'm deeply sorry for Sam's passing. I'm sending you lots of hugs and Universal Light as you move through your grief. I'm glad he found his way to you, he could not have asked for a better forever home. ❤️ 🙏

TimberLove said...

Safe travels kit-cat,

Timber

catladymac said...

Run free Sam - well and with your old friends again - on to your next adventure.

Anonymous said...

I am so sorry to hear that he has past. XO, JC

M Dawson said...

Oh this had me in tears. what a wonderful boy he was, so handsome and buddies with his cat friends.

I love that he enjoyed the precious sun on his last day. Farewell Sam.

MadSnapper said...

so sorry for your loss, for both of your sweet babies. I have never seen that many white cats togethr. so beautiful.

Memories of Eric and Flynn said...

I am so sorry to hear of handsome Sam's passing. I send my love to you and Don.

Melissa, Mudpie and Angel Truffles (Mochas, Mysteries and Meows) said...

I'm so, so sorry for the loss of your beautiful boy. Sending purrs of comfort your way.

John Bellen said...

So much beautiful bright white catness. Sam was a true feline spirit, that's for certain. Godspeed, Sam, and God bless your family.

Anonymous said...

Cheri, I am so very sorry for your family's loss. I shed many a tear at your tribute to Sam, it was very moving, I am sure he knew he was very loved by his family both feline and human.

Kitties Blue said...

What a beautiful and poignant farewell to your incredible Sam. He was such a fortunate cat to have you and to be able to spend most of his life with the other members of his cat family. You really touched my heart with this tribute. Sending warm hugs and prayers as you grieve, Janet & Kitties Blue 🙏🏻💞💖

Colehaus Cats said...

This is a beautiful tribute to sweet Sam. Thank you for loving him so and sharing him with the world. Sending hugs and deep purrs.

Fur Everywhere said...

I am so sorry for your loss. Sam sounds like a wonderful mancat, and he was gorgeous! He was lucky to have you looking out for him and his family, and I know he knows how much you love him. Sending hugs, purrs, and love.

Mishkat said...

You wrote a wonderful tribute to Sam. It is so hard to lose two cats in a short period! So sorry you had to lose Sam and Callie.

Tails Around the Ranch said...

I'm so sorry for your loss. It sounds like you gave your Sam a wonderful life-bless you for that. Sending gentle thoughts of comfort your way. 💔

Eastside Cats said...

Aww, too sad.
Farewell, Angel Sam I Am.
Hugs and purrs.

Meezer's Mews & Terrieristical Woofs said...

I'm so sorry your precious Sam had to become an Angel Kitty.
THis is such a tender warm tribute in his memory.

I made a memento for you in his honor....and its on my blog right now, you can snag it there, but I will try to send it in an email as well...though for some reason, I have a lot of trouble with g-mail accounts.

Peachy, Stippie, Angel Binky and Granny said...

So sorry for the loss of your beloved boy Sam. Soft Pawkisses to comfort you🐾😽💞 Fly free beautiful Soul✨

TimberLove said...

On the Valhalla kit-cat,

Timber

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