Sam the Cat died today

From My life with Cats

Sam is gone. Here is part of the e-mail I got from Steve today. 

This morning, April 14, 2009 at 8:00 am we said goodbye to our friend Sam the Cat Arntt (aka Mr. Sam, Samuel L. Kitty, Samster, Sammy, et al.)  Sam may have lost his lengthy battle with feline hyperthyroidism but he will live forever in our hearts and minds.  We will remember him running through the house with a beef rib in his mouth, stealing chicken from the frying pan, and bringing assorted woodland creatures to the door.  We will remember him as strong, tough and handsome. Sam was our friend, our son and our teacher.  Goodbye dear Sam.  We will love you forever.

Sam once actually stole a steak from me. It is hard to believe but he faked me out totally and next thing I knew he had left the table with my steak. He could always get food out of people. 

When I lived at my last apartment in Tualatin, I remember standing out in the parking lot, there were quite a few people out there and one guy was eating a bowl of chicken and pasta. He proceeded to have a conversation with me. It was funny because he told me that "cat over there's name is Sam." I asked him if he knew who he belonged to and he replied, "no, but he lives here somewhere. Look, he really likes chicken." He then flung some chicken to the ground and called Sam by name. I pretty much told him that he was my cat and I wished he didn't feed Sam people food. THEN another neighbor confessed to making Sam eggs and bacon on a fairly regular basis since Sam would drop down off the roof onto their patio multiple times a week. It was all so hopeless. Sam could con anyone. Somehow this huge cat could convince people he was starving. Sam was truly impressive.

Shortly after moving into my house, I will also never forget Sam trotting down the street so happily one summer day. You could even see the bounce in his step. The crazy thing was the snake he had in his mouth dangling the entire way. He was so proud of his snake. 

I am going to miss Sam a lot. He was a good hungry cat. Always ready to wake you up for breakfast.