SlimKitty Friend: Samantha

Today we feature a post from Guest Blogger Janet Keefe from Wag ‘N Woof Pets and her cat, Samantha. June is Samantha’s birthday month too, so Happy Birthday Sam!

Samantha was born June 1, 2002, to my brother’s cat. There were two females and one male in the litter. At the time we had two cats at home, Conrad and Don Juan. Don was getting on in years, and since Conrad didn’t really like the dogs we thought we should get another cat so he wouldn’t be lonely when Don passed on.
 

Samantha and sister Katie

All three kittens were beautiful and it was difficult to choose. We couldn’t resist and decided to take both females. Since we wanted to transition them into the household slowly by initially keeping them in a separate room, it would be better to have two so they could keep each other company.
 
They spent about a week on their own and then they joined the household and everyone got along fine. Our plan worked since Katie and Conrad became fast friends, but Samantha turned out to be kind of a loner. She gets along with everyone fine, but more often she finds a quiet place to hide and hang out on her own. She loves baskets and boxes and has been known to disappear completely to places we don’t even know about. She’s actually more likely to be hanging out with the dogs than Conrad (we lost Katie to cancer several years ago). She is very affectionate but doesn’t often seek out affection…we usually have to go to her.
 

Samantha as a kitten

 
When we brought the two girls home, we made the decision that they would be indoor cats. We had lost too many outdoor cats…two were hit by cars, one disappeared completely (probably killed by wildlife), and the last straw was when Don Juan’s mother got attacked and killed by the neighbor’s dog. We had always believed that cats were happier being able to roam outdoors, and we even had a cat door so they could come and go as they pleased. However, statistics show that cats have a much longer life expectancy when kept indoors. They also require fewer vaccinations which can save money.

 
Many people just bring their cats in at night when it is the most dangerous, but we didn’t have much luck when we tried that with Don and Conrad. I can’t tell you how much time we spent outside trying to call them in, to no avail. Samantha still escapes outside on occasion and I always worry if she spends the night outdoors; but there is no catching her either once she is out there.

Sam & Don Juan

 
However, the decision to keep the two girls indoors created an issue we didn’t anticipate having to deal with: both Katie and Samantha became overweight from a lack of activity as they got older.
 
Stay tuned for Part II where I plan to tell how we have dealt with that challenge.
 

Guest Blogger Janet Keefe from Wag ‘N Woof Pets and her cat, Samantha.