This
is what Sammy looked like when I found him at the school I was
working at. He was being fed popcorn and peanut butter and jelly
sandwiches by the children in the yard. He went straight to the vet
and tested negative for all diseases, so he went home to my other
cats. He was so ingratiating and sweet that the others immediately
accepted him without any of those spitting episodes and without
upsetting the hierarchy that the others had established.
Sammy is now a quiet and loving adult. He is large and his fur is now
silky and thick. He is the sweetest cat we have seen in ages. He
doesn't like the cold and sleeps under the covers. He was thrilled
when I brought home another cat from school two months later,
Matilda. Matilda became pregnant after escaping from the house while
in heat, and Sammy was quite upset. As the days went by, Matilda
became less and less interesting in chasing and playing with Sammy.
The last week before the kittens were born, Sammy and Matilda just
lay together resting.
Finally the night came when the kittens were born. Sammy and I stayed
up all night. He never slept. He lay with me and paced the room and
checked each kitten over as it was born. During the next few weeks he
would always go into the kitten box and care for them when Matilda
took a break. He washed them and disciplined them and fretted over
their antics. When they were old enough to run around the house, he
stayed close by and monitored all of their activities. Now that the
kittens are a year old, they still seek out Sammy for naps and
kisses. He's the best uncle anybody could have. The strangest thing
about Sammy? He never talks. Not one little peep, nothing. He only
purrs. He doesn't seem to have any physical reason for not talking,
and it's a curious thing that he doesn't.
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