Sam's Story

I'm going to start with a PSA - If you have a pet, please keep an identification collar on him / her. Also, have him / her micro-chipped. If at all possible, keep them inside.

It's been four days since Sam went missing. I've gone from being upset all the time to just part of the time, which is really still most of the time. I've gotten a not so pleasant education around who to call / what to do when your pet disappears. So far, I've called Animal control, posted ads on Craigslist, checked all the neighbors' yards, underneath all their decks and shrubs, and put up posters of our missing Siamese.

I awoke this morning (at 4:30, as it has been these past days), compelled to tell Sam's story - to get it all down before I forget how I feel, before I start to compartmentalize it all. When our other cat, Rascal passed away this time last year, I felt better that I could read back to her story and remember all that made her so special.

Sam was given to us from one of my daughter's friend - they were moving to a new house and decided not to keep him. Since we already had two cats, we told them we could possibly take him. But since we already had two cats, I was a little anxious about having so many cats in the house.

Sam had his first "sleepover" at our house two years ago. He hid behind the futon in the Living Room at first....

Before moving to the warm laps on the couch. I can tell by his eyes, he's still on high alert.


The first night, Sam slept peacefully in Erica's room. The second night, he started in her room, but resorted to acting up. "Acting up" means trying to get out of the room by opening up the closed door. With lever style door handles, he jumped up on the handle, pushed down and voila - opened door. We moved him to the basement and stuck a crate in front of the closed door. Over time, Sam learned that with enough forward force, he could get the crate to slide and move the door open just enough to slip out. That's when we added a ten pound weight to the crate!

In the beginning, Sam preferred hanging out with everyone except for me. I think this was a learned behavior, as the mom from his previous family isn't really a cat person. He didn't completely ignore me, but he preferred the males first, then Erica and finally, me. Regardless, he always manages to find the most comfortable spot on the couch:


And really tolerates a lot without much fuss:




After Rascal passed away, we allowed Sam and Hannah full reign of the house - before this time, Hannah and Rascal roamed the upstairs while Sam was limited to the basement. I guess this is when he really became fully comfortable in the house.

OK, maybe he can be comfortable on any warm surface.

Finally, Sam and I really started to bond this past January, after I tore my ACL. I was couch bound and he kept me company before and after my surgery.

Recently, he has been getting into bed with me. See, Sam likes to spread the love around. He starts in Brian's room, sometimes goes to Erica's room (if Hannah is there, he doesn't), then shows up in our room around 3:30. He jumps up, plops down on my chest and gives me a lick on my chin. He's expecting a little ear rub and if I'm not too tired, I oblige for a couple minutes, enjoying his purring. When I stop, he nestles down in the crook of my left arm. This had always been Rascal's spot, and I had been reluctant to let another cat fill that spot, but Sam felt just right.

Some other Sam traits - Sam loves chicken and will jump up on the kitchen table to get some. He can smell it and starts to go crazy - we started calling him "chicken hawk". We've been known to indulge him occasionally...

He likes to sleep in cars. We've found him sleeping in either the Capri convertible or the Toyota Corolla, but not the Tahoe - probably because the Tahoe seats are leather and just not as warm and cozy. We tend to keep one of the windows open on these cars just in case he wants to take a nap there.

If you've read all this, you can probably tell how much we love Sam and pray he comes home soon. I didn't realize this until I pulled up these photos - he came to us on June 9, 2010. The last we saw him was Saturday evening, June 9, 2012. I'm not sure if I should take that as simply a coincidence, or a "sign". Regardless, I will continue to keep Faith and whatever the outcome, accept it as such.

I'll close with a slide show of the photos I've taken over the past two years.