Dear supporters of Sammy,

Last month, when Sammy’s neighbor Leila was adopted, I thought I had things in the suite pretty much figured out. Now that Leila was in her forever home, I expected to see Sammy more relaxed, and out and about more often. Right?? Even though Sammy is a bit shy, and even though I didn’t expect dramatic changes to happen overnight, my hopes were high.

Needless to say, Sammy’s behavior didn’t really change all that much once Leila left. She continued to spend the bulk of her time securely ensconced in her favorite cubby, making only occasional visits to the chair to join Max.

So, imagine my surprise when I came to see Sammy as usual a few weeks ago, and a fellow volunteer announced that she’d just seen the most amazing thing in the suite. She’d just come into the suite with a small purple grooming tool that is typically used for cats. She spotted Max lounging on one of the chairs, so she decided to start grooming him. All of a sudden, Sammy emerged from her cubby in the cat tree, climbed down, angled closer and began to push her way in. It seemed that she wanted grooming too.

Sammy?

“I know,” the woman said. “It’s unbelievable.” She handed me the brush and left, so I decided to repeat the same experiment and see for myself if grooming Max would lure Sammy out of the cubby.

I began to groom Max. In less than a minute, Sammy jumped down and demanded attention. She turned her body to the right, and then to the left, letting me know where she wanted me to put the brush. She extended her neck so I could brush it, and for a few sweet moments, she totally relaxed on the chair as I groomed her back.

When the grooming session was over, Sammy stayed there on the chair, one very happy kitty as I petted her. “So that’s your secret,” I whispered in her ear. “You love to be groomed!”

Since then, I’ve always visited with the grooming tool in hand. It hasn’t worked every time. Some days, I suspect, Sammy is just too tired and too content to leave her cubby. Nothing will lure her out. But on other days, the pleasure of being groomed is a powerful inducer, and she comes bouncing out.

Unfortunately, we had some sad news this month. Sweet Paco, one of Sammy’s roommates, passed away this month. Although Sammy and Paco weren’t all that close, they lived together for quite some time. I’m sure we all wonder how cats react to such a loss.

As always, Sammy and I thank you for your continued generosity to Tabby’s Place. I’m afraid February promises to be a snowy month, but fingers are crossed that spring is on its way.