Samantha
Samantha
RIP 7/28/06
She held on to the end, her mind and spirit never wavered. Eventually
her kidneys and colon failed and she could not survive. We did not
allow her to suffer hopelessly. When she made it clear it was time to
join her pals Walter and Tebu, her kind doctors allowed her gentle and
loving transition.
Through her life Sam defied the odds, far exceeded her allocated “nine
lives” and impressed her doctors with her will to survive all the troubles
that crossed her path. She was diagnosed with contagious cat leukemia
during her first year and not expected to live another, liver failure in
1999 which left her hospitalized for nearly a month until she recovered,
thyroid cancer and kidney failure in 2004. Sam endured with her usual
tolerant attitude the “feline” version of dialysis for nearly two years.
She was the first occupant of our “cat house” in Kennewick, paced the
floors, investigated every inch of floor and hiding place before the rest of
the cat crew moved in. It was her house, every other cat knew that she
was in charge and deferred to her senior status and wisdom. Sam’s
intelligence was consistently amazing and benevolent, she could sense, she
was simply incredible.
Samantha began life with the Baxter and Mueggler families as a kitten
found in the back seat of a winter bound auto. There were plants
growing in the seat cushions. It wasn’t much of a home but the shelter
it provided was sufficient for Sam at that time. Kathleen Baxter
brought Sam inside her home, introduced her to Walter, the blue Russian that
would become her “spouse” and father to her kittens. Tebu the
crazy Siameser also lived with Kathleen and these three cats would continue
together through life for many years. Sam and Walter joined the
Mueggler family soon after Sam’s kittens were weaned. Sam enjoyed
sleeping with Sarah Mueggler in her crib, and in later years so seriously
took her phone calls with Sarah that she would queue up to the phone every
Saturday night, at 7pm, without prompting, to remind Scott it was time to
make the call. Sam would listen intently and infrequently respond to
Sarah’s talking during the calls.
With the passing of our dear friend Kathleen, Tebu came to live with Sam,
Walter and Scott. Walter eventually contracted an infection of unknown
origin and passed despite the best heroic efforts of his doctor.
Tebu succumbed to old age and infirmity in her twentieth year. Sam
however held on for two more years. During this time she was able to
welcome Diane into the Mueggler family, establish a fine relationship with
her, and visit frequently with Sarah. Samantha also was able to
interview, guide the adoption into our family of Clyde. Clyde was
found abandoned aside a road in Richland and desperately needed a home
willing to assure his safety and feline education. Sam became a
surrogate mother to Clyde and shared the parental duties with Max, himself a
recent adult addition to our cathouse crew. Clyde has no clue how
fortunate he became when Sam and Max assumed responsibility for his
upbringing!
The Mueggler Family
