Samson (Sam for short) came to us shortly after we lost our Maine Coon cat named Casey so I will start with Casey because I have always believed that Casey sent Sam to us.
Casey Poole came to us in 1989, just after Herb and I got married. I remember walking into Pets Unlimited in Burnside and seeing this chocolate brown fluff-ball – with 2 black beady eyes looking at me from behind a cage. When I enquired about him, they said: “We call him the escape artist. We put him in THIS cage at night….and by morning we find him over in the cage with the puppies. We have yet to figure out how he does it.” I thought – wow, that sounds like a cat for me – a cat who does a disappearing act sounds right up my alley.
I came home and immediately told Herb that I had seen something, I just couldn’t live without. I really felt a huge connection to Casey because I believed him to be the same cat I had when I was 11 years old – – he held the same energy. That evening, we both went to Pets Unlimited and Herb’s heart rang like mine. So, believe it or not, we put Casey in a paper bag and brought him home. Yep, a paper bag, with his head sticking out, with the bag simply in shreds by the time we got home… Don’t ask me ‘why a paper bag’ – – I really don’t remember the reasoning – – obviously there wasn’t any! He became our first baby together and we had 12 wonderful years with him before he became very sick with cancer and we had to make the dreaded decision to put him to sleep. Both Herb and I were devastated.
Both of us agreed that we would never do that again because of the heartache of coming to the end of a road with a pet. Three weeks later, (obviously, we had a brain lapse) Herb asked me to call the Maine Coon breeder in Eastern Passage to see if she had any kittens available. Upon calling her, she informed me that she had kittens due, but they were all spoken for. She could put me on a waiting list but highly doubted there would be a chance.
Two nights later I went to the bathroom at 4am… and on my way back to bed – Tom (my spirit guide) asked me to pay attention to my dream. In that in-between state, I dreamt about Casey and he was standing by the maple tree we have in the front of our house….but by his bum…..was a baby kitten.
The next day, the breeder called to say she had a cancellation and that one of the kittens would be ours. Needless to say – we were elated and awaited our new baby. Sam was born on November 22, 2001. By the time he came home with us, it was March 12, 2002, due to some complications.
The first year I used to joke with Sam and say: “I now know why Casey sent you to us – – to actually prove how well behaved of a cat he really was.” (Not that Sam cared). Sam was a Scorpio with an Aquarian Moon – – which means Mr. Independent thought ‘bad’ attention was better than no attention. Sam was not a ‘well’ cat right from the start and so because of that, he spent the first 6 months being carried around on my hip. For the first 6 months, he appeared to be dealing with some type of allergies where he would pull all the fur out of his tail and huge patches on his side. After changing food, changing water, changing kitty litter and anything else we could think of, Sam started his journey to wellness. Thank God – cause I was losing my ever pickin’ mind.
Then the fun began! The summer of 2002 was Sam’s first summer outdoors where he was able to explore the great backyard.
I remember well… the first time Sam encountered another cat that was about 3 times his size. Frisky lived in a home just around our area….and he was known as a bit of a scrapper. So Frisky came up to see who this new kid was on the block. I remember Frisky’s Mom saying “Ohhh my God Holly, I had no idea you were out with Sam or I would have kept Frisky in.” but it was time for them to get to know each other…..
Sam thinks he’s making a new friend. Frisky thinks he’s the cat of the walk…and who do you think you are? Frisky is standing ground… and over walks Sam. Frisky lets out a MEOW! Sam lets out a “mew”. Frisky lets out a GROWL! Sam lets out a “mew”. Frisky decides to spit in Sam’s face. I guess Sam figured that’s what you must do….so Sam spits back. And from that day forward, they became the best of friends. For that first year, Frisky would come up every morning and sit on the grass and wait for Sam to come outside. As the years passed, this became a ritual of Frisky and Sam hanging out together. Frisky passed away about a year ago.
As time moved on and Sam because 2 & 3 years of age… still trying to grow into his BIG feet – – he became enthralled with roofs. Neighbours used to call him “Kamakaze PussyCat” Sam would make the leap and ask questions later. He perfected that skill in his 4th & 5th year but it was pure neighbourhood entertainment for a long time.
One time I was peeling vegetables and looking out my kitchen window….and I see Sam standing on the back deck of Frisky’s house. Sam was always tall and lean……Frisky was always a bit of a fat cat so he didn’t have the flexibility that Sam at least “thought” he had. Frisky was sitting ‘on’ the deck…..Sam was on the deck railing….both of them staring up towards the roof. The next thing I know, Sam is hanging by the two front paws off the rain gutter, swinging in the breeze…..he had under-estimated obviously the height of the roof. One could almost see Frisky saying: “Ohhh no, here he goes again. Now smarty-pants what are you going to do.” Sam always got himself in precarious situations – but he was always spindly enough to get himself out of them.
Then another story of Sam’s antics was that he travelled across the street to another neighbour’s house. They phoned to tell us that Sam was sitting and swinging in their covered swing. Apparently, he had come across their roof, chasing a bird, landed on the top of the swing covering, which had been sun-weathered, came through the top part, landed in the swing….and just kept swinging. Who really knew what Sam was thinking? Again I say – Sam was a Scorpio with that determined attitude… he just simply lacked the forethought of the consequences. So like a Scorpio…
One of my favourite stories about Sam is the following one. Our neighbour to the left of us owns a very dense tree near his back deck. Sam was sitting up on the railing looking intently at that tree. (We later realized that there was a nest deeply embedded in that tree). Finally, the curiosity got the best of Sam – as it did most times. After sitting there for what seemed like a couple of hours, he made the leap. What he failed to realize was HOW dense that tree really was. He was like a real-life Garfield. With the four paws stretched out….he started to slide down the tree inch by inch – in what seemed like slow motion – until he was able to jump to the ground. The people who saw that happening went right to their knees – they laughed so hard!!! Sam simply shook himself off and went on to the next adventure…..cause that’s who Sam was.
That winter kept him indoors because he was too prissy to go out and remotely think about getting his paws cold! But no worries, because of course we held bookclub downstairs in the evenings….and where was Sam? Downstairs in the middle of people for book club. He loved to perform – wherever he may be able to find an audience.
One of the antics he enjoyed doing at the book club was sitting up on top of the entertainment center. When he thought everyone was settled, he then perused the crowd to see who he could ‘surprise’ by jumping close to them. As I would facilitate bookclub I always kept one eye on Sam because whoever knew what he was up to next – – again I say, he was a Scorpio!! Who ever really knows what a Scorpio is up to?
Everyone loved Sam: he provided entertainment, he had the loudest ‘purr’ anyone could imagine – and he loved to be loved. Whenever clients came in, Sam was there to greet them. He would sit quietly during astrology readings and simply absorb the energy. When people would have tears, often Sam would go over and put his paw on them. He was such a sensitive cat.
But as the years wore on, Sam’s health (his breathing) started to become a problem.
Over time he wasn’t able to jump from the entertainment center. He wasn’t able to climb up on the roofs. He wasn’t able to race up the backyard. He wasn’t able to jump into the bag when Herb was raking leaves. He wasn’t able to race up the back stairs… and little by little we could see his ‘joys’ being taken away from him due to his inability to get a full breath.
Fall of 2010 Sam seemed to go into a bit of a depression – where he stopped cleaning himself and his fur started to go into knots. He still had more ‘good’ days than he had ‘bad’ days though. And perhaps every 10th day, he would have a bad-breathing day where he simply sat and did nothing. Those evenings when I would put him to bed, he loved to be cuddled and I would do energy work on him until his breathing spasms seemed to subside.
Gradually the span of 10 days, became the span of 5 days etc before the next breathing attack day…..and in February/March I became quite concerned. One night I was playing with the pendulum and I asked the question: “Will Sam live through the summer?” The pendulum said “No” I was completely heartbroken and I really believe my grieving started then, but I was determined to make that pendulum wrong and to try and keep Sam well until his last days – whenever that would be.
In May, Sam got attacked by a raccoon and it was extremely touch-and-go during that time. The raccoon literally scooped out his hip. I have no doubt, that had Sam had full breath, the raccoon never would have caught him….but Sam couldn’t run because he couldn’t breathe.
We nursed Sam back as much as we could and I really felt we were getting a handle on it…. but a raccoon attack can be extremely vicious. Little Sam suffered in silence – – always grateful for whatever Reiki or Gemstone energy that could come his way. His breathing issue seemed almost to subside for a little bit and I truly thought we were getting a great handle on that as well. We ‘wanted’ to believe we were getting our healthy Sam back. But I had always told Sam “I will not give up on you… until you tell me that you are ready to go.”
Three nights before Sam died, as I lay in bed, I put my hands up to send Reiki energy to Sam and I got a complete wall. The inner voice said: “No, I’ve had enough.” Sam went into a spastic breathing pattern and his entire side that had healed blistered and bled. For two days he didn’t move, other than turn around on a chair to try and get more comfortable. I even had to bring his carrying case upstairs because he never had enough breath to make it down over the stairs himself.
It was time to bite the bullet and stop being selfish in keeping him around for ‘our’ sake of having him with us. Sam had lost the ability to do what he loved to do a long time ago. He still had been able to purr as soon as you laid your hands on him – but in his final three days, he wasn’t able to purr (even though he valiantly tried) because he couldn’t get enough breath. At 10am August 17th, 2011 we made the decision of letting out pussy cat go to pussy-cat heaven. On the night previous I asked Sam to please let me know when he reached the other side – that I would be looking for a sign.
Are we sad? Absolutely! Will we miss Sam? Absolutely! He was always a part of every reading I did as he sat on his chair behind me or every time Herb did something – Sam was there with the Foreman attitude. We had even thought about purchasing a little white hat with “Foreman” on the top for him.
What wonderful memories we have to hold! How much richer are our lives because of that little kitten born on November 22nd, 2001 – – the Double Master according to Numerology.
He is now able to be free from all pain and suffering. Who knows – – perhaps his old buddy Frisky was there with a new roof for Sam to climb… looking down… wondering what family to next be born into!!!