All in all, it was a bittersweet summer... the youngest
was preparing to go away to college... we were proud of her accomplishments
but we were going to miss her terribly.

So it didn't surprise us when Sammy, who lived in her room, started "pouting"
the week Cassie left for school. The cat had always pouted when
Cassie was away on vacation or a trip, so we didn't think much of it.

Then when Cassie came home for my birthday at the end of September,
Sammy didn't seem to perk up, and so I planned to take her to the
vet's for an early checkup. She wasn't due for 6 months, but I figured
Sammy was getting to be a "senior cat," and maybe her teeth or something
else was bothering her.

I came home from work that Monday and found Sammy cowering under
Vanna's bed, laying in a funny position, and there was a funky
smell coming from the computer room. I found a small puddle of
discolored urine on the tile floor in the corner. And when I finally
was able to get Sammy out from under the bed, her rear end and tail
were all wet and she looked miserable and embarrassed. She had
NEVER had an accident in her entire life!

I rushed her to the vet and he said it was something with her liver
which was enlarged, but he couldn't tell by feel if it was a tumor
or enlargement from an infection of some kind. A liver tumor would
probably be cancer and a death sentence, even if he operated, and
he wanted to try antibiotics first. Antibiotics and a B-12 shot
to stimulate her appetite and a "wait a week and see" was the best he
could give me at that point. We hoped the jaundice would clear up, also.

So for the next few days, this former feral cat was content to be
held, wrapped in a towel, and fed small bowls of "baby" meat and
eyedroppersful of water. We fixed a large cage with a litter pan and
a bed so the other cats wouldn't eat her food or use her pan. I used
a moistened washcloth to clean her face and fur and she seemed to be
getting better, and was even attempting to walk around.

But when I came home from work the following Monday, I opened the door
and immediately, I could hear her groaning with every breath she took.
I raced the three miles to the vet's, and as soon as he heard
her, he gave her a shot to ease her pain and calm her down.

He examined her carefully and told me that she had suffered a stroke,
her pupils were fixed and dilated and the mass in her abdomen had
increased. He said it was "time." And I agreed.

Since she was no longer groaning in pain, he gave us some time to say
"good-bye" properly. I held her and stroked her head and scratched
under her chin in that special place. And finally, she began to purr...
and went to sleep in my arms. She didn't wake up for the final shot...
for which I was most grateful.

The doctor and staff left us alone until I felt I could let go of her body
and could safely drive home again...
with an empty carrier and even emptier heart....

The hardest part was calling the kids and telling them that
Samantha Bambridge had not survived her first major illness.

Sammy was cremated and her ashes rest in an exquisite urn on the
shelf next to the urn with KitKat's ashes.