Sam arrived in a different way to the others. Two children handed him to his new daddy and said they had bought him and taken him home but their parents said they didn’t want any cats and told them to put him in the dustbin. Fortunately the children had more sense than the parents and Sam joined the clan. He was estimated at about 10 weeks old and was very nervous. We don’t know his kitten history or where the children bought him from: they were about 10 years old and in Britain it has always been an offence to sell any animal to a minor.
He fitted in to our motley family of kittens and they all grew up together. He is the same age as the others but much smaller and goes everywhere at double speed. His energy sometimes annoys the others and he can be naughty, deliberately annoying them. He likes his garden, but likes to stay in and sleep on a chair near his staff, or at the end of their bed.
He prefers dried food but enjoys freshly boiled fresh cod or tinned, dolphin friendly tuna, which they all have every Sunday at 10am. A small amount of oily fish is good for them but we limit it because it can make them ill if they eat too much.
All the family are neutered to prevent any further unwanted kitten suffering and it is possible, because of uncertainty about Sam’s exact age, that he got the snip slightly too early because his miaow has never broken and he squeaks rather than miaows. It is sad if we and the vets did make an error, but it is better than him straying onto roads and fighting with the local un-neutered toms.
He has darker stripes than Ollie or Lottie and a tighter, firmer, coat. He has a tendency to ‘swipe’ so one has to watch one’s eyes; especially when he wakes one up three times during the night to make sure we are there and tell us he loves us. He does not do it to hurt, he is playing but does not realise that his staff have no fur. His daddy is training him and, as he ages, he is getting much better.
Sam takes it upon himself to look after Felicity and will usually allow her to eat before him. She adores him and follows him everywhere – if he goes out so does she; when he comes in, she is never far behind. It’s as if, even at 13 and acting like a rowdy teenager, he understands her disability and feels protective towards her.
Because he moves so fast it is almost impossible to get a sharp photo of him, but we are training him and more pictures are posted on Oliver’s Gallery.
