Sammie

By Bob Connor

I have never seen such a bond as there was between my wife and her friend and companion Sammie. Yes, “Sam” or “Sammie” as my wife liked to call him was a male Siamese cat (“Sam from Siam” – get it?). He was totally devoted to her. He would curl up in her lap and sleep for hours at a time. When she got up to go to bed, he would follow her and nestle beside her or on her chest. He would not leave her side.

Sammie had been a stray. As a tiny kitten, Sammie was rescued from the middle of a busy street by my wife just before he was going to be hit by a car. He was so small as a kitten that you could easily hold him in one hand. He grew to be a large cat who “ruled the roost” at our home. The other cats knew who was the boss. Several cats make our home theirs; but, he was always her favorite.

Cats are very special people. Each has his or her own personality. We now have seven cats living with us. One loves people but hates other cats. Two are gregarious and get along with every man, woman, and beast. One loves for her back to be rubbed and scratched but is shy about being touched – figure that one out! There is another very shy one who will let me carefully approach and pet him, but won’t let my wife near him. Another one is a definite “lap cat”. Another is a “loner” but does appreciate some human petting.

But, Sammie was the “purrfect” companion for my wife. He loved to venture outdoors and would behave himself by not running off. He did this even in his old age. In his youth, he was chased up a tree by a dog. We tried everything to try to get him to come down. We called and called to him. We even tried squirting him with a hose. Nothing worked.

It was getting dark, and we decided that he would come down during the night or the next morning. We kept a vigil watch all night long, but dawn saw him still perched high in the tree. Since my tree climbing days are over, I called a more youthful and athletic friend who came to the rescue. He was able to climb the tree and persuade Sammie to descend after nesting in the tree for about 15 hours.

It may sound like cats are a lot of trouble. But they are not. If you pick the right one - one that is compatible to you - he or she can be the joy of your life. Your cat will love you when it seems no one else does. Your cat doesn’t care what you look like in the morning or whether you are a tidy housekeeper. Your cat will rest up and wait for you all day, eagerly anticipating your arrival home. You are its hero. Its world will revolve around you. Every touch, every toy, every kiss, every snuggle, every dish of dinner is warmly appreciated.

Cats love it when you make a fuss over them. At Christmas time at our home, each one of our cats has a stocking with its name on it hanging by the chimney and Santa does not pass them by. Cats aren’t afraid of commitment. Cats pay attention and listen when you talk to them. Cats are interested in whatever you are saying or doing. They are curious about everything and will scrutinize anything different that you bring into their presence.

All cats are cute. There is no such thing as an ugly cat. If you have a camera, you will likely take more than one picture of that furry friend of yours. They are irresistible – or are they? As cute and warm and friendly as they may be, there are many, many cats without a home and a human to love them.

In Houston alone, there are many pet adoption agencies with a wide variety of cats looking for a home and someone to love them. I am personally familiar with one – “It’s All About Love” which has only cats ready for adoption. Call (713) 784-4120. There are about 60 feline friends for you to choose from there.

There are a few “cons” associated with owning a cat. It does have to be fed. You do have to tend to the litter box. It sometimes scratches where it should not. It will have to go to the vet for shots or treatment; and, the saddest thing is that you will probably live longer than it does. Due to your pampering of your friend (or “child”) it will probably live to be 12 to 20 years of age and will become “old” in terms of “human years”.

You will do everything possible to prolong the life of your little friend, but, at some point in the relationship, you will have to make that very difficult decision to “let go”. There will be that tearful trip to the vet to relieve you friend, your “child”, of its suffering, through euthanasia. You will cry, you will feel an emptiness in your life - and you will be thankful for that wonderful friend that God sent to you for a short time. You will never forget that special “person”. Then you will adopt another or bond more tightly to one that you already have and you will be joyful once again.

Cats age much more rapidly than humans. For example a 17 year old cat is about 82 human years old. This calculation depends on many factors, such as breed and lifestyle. To precisely calculate your cat’s age in human years, go to: http://www.catage.com/reg/RegSelectCat.aspx.

We had to make that trip to the vet with Sammie in November. He was 17 ½ years old and, thus in his mid 80’s in human years. For several years, he had been suffering with old age, urinary problems, and possibly cancer. He finally stopped eating and drinking and we knew that it was time.

My wife took time to say “goodbye,” but could not stay in the room. As Sammie was being “put to sleep,” I could tell in his eyes that he was ready to go. He was tired of suffering and having no quality of life. He was tired of the twice a day trips to the vet for treatments and being stuck by needles. It was the right thing to do. We loved him, but we had to “let go”. But, we rejoiced and thanked God for the time that we had with him. The joy that he had brought to us far, far outweighed this time of sadness.

If you do not have a cat, you are depriving yourself of something wonderful and are passing up the opportunity to provide a home for a lonely cat who is just waiting for you to say “Come – I’m going to take you home with me”. Call (713) 784-4120.

Cat Age Test

http://www.catage.com/reg/RegSelectCat.aspx

Euthanasia

http://cats.about.com/library/guest/ucfeature26a.htm

Bob Connor is a continuing education teacher at St. Ambrose Catholic Church. You can reach him at bobconn@earthlink.com