Samson

	Samson, my darling little kitty, passed away September 4, 2003. 
He died of a urinary blockage. It wasn’t wholly unexpected, as it was 
the result of a chronic problem we had been treating him for for 
months, but it was definitely heartbreaking. He was only seven. 

      Samson was the family cat IRL, who came to us with no warning one 
night back when I was in high school. Our next-door neighbors had 
gotten a little white kitten and named her Delilah – but they found out 
too late that one of the family was very allergic to cats. They turned 
up at our house one night, offering us this poor little kitten. What 
could we 
do? Reluctantly, we accepted. 
	Delilah, naturally, was intact, had not had her shots, and was 
obviously ill, so we took her to the vet. The vet diagnosed her as 
having a tremendous load of intestinal parasites…and noticed that she 
was actually a *he*. After some debate, it was finally decided that 
there was no other appropriate name for the new cat than Samson. ;)
	Over the years, Samson has proved to be trouble of biblical 
proportions. He certainly used up all 9 of his lives, and was famous 
for getting into amazingly difficult situations. His most remarkable 
was the time he was hit by a car – but even a shattered leg, dislocated 
jaw, and several knocked-out teeth later, he was a bouncy, cuddly, 
lovable little kitten to the end of his days. 
	Despite the worry, strain, and vet bills (and BILLS and BILLS 
and BILLS…, Sam was worth it. He was a never-ending source of 
amusement, was loving, friendly, and completely devoted to his humans, 
even if he did bite us daily and yowls like a banshee when he was 
bored. ;) He loved to bat toy mice out of the air, watch the birds 
outside the windows, be carried on his humans’ shoulders, sit in his 
humans’ laps, eat his humans’ food, and ‘worship’ lamps. (There’s no 
better word for it – he’d stare at them for hours, close his eyes in 
ecstasy, and lick them. I’m serious! Email me for pictures!)

	If you’d like to draw Sammy, or you’d just like to see some 
ADORABLE pictures, drop me a line – I love to talk cats, and although 
I’m still kinda in mourning, it makes me feel better to remember him 
fondly. My new email is Firebringer_Safe@hotmail.com.

	Thanks for looking – and go hug your animals, right now. Tell 
them how much you love them, every day, and you’ll have no regrets. =)