Dear Supporters of Sammy,

Since Puzzle passed away, I’ve been hoping Sammy would make friends with someone else. Every Monday when I visited the Community Room (before the coronavirus changed our usual routines), I felt hope that maybe this week I’d see Sammy snuggled with another kitty, sharing the window box with her new best friend. But in the last few weeks, that was not the case, and Sammy continued to hang out by herself, alone.

And then, to my surprise, what I’ve been hoping for came true. I walked into the Community Room, and Sammy, as usual, was snuggled in the cat tree by herself, half asleep, half awake. I assumed nothing had changed. The window seat was filled by another kitty, who was peacefully lounging in the sun that cascaded through the glass. I approached Sammy and petted her as usual. I gave her my usual speech.

I told her to look around—there were so many kitties. Surely there was someone she could connect with—as a friend.

Sammy doesn’t say much. She is very respectful and tends to listen to whatever I have to say. But would she take my advice? Duty called so I had to leave, but an hour or so later I returned to the Community Room, and truthfully, expected to find Sammy in the exact same place.

Well, who can say what happened, but Sammy was curled up in one corner of the window seat, but she wasn’t alone. A beautiful black cat was sprawled next to her—Claire. Both were catnapping in the sun—calm and peaceful. Yes! It was a little change but my hope was renewed that Sammy was moving forward after losing Puzzle.

And so what has Sammy done lately? Because of the novel Coronavirus and new safety health measures in effect at Tabby’s Place (including closing to the public and to volunteers), I haven’t been able to volunteer there for the past few weeks. Like all of you, I’m sheltering in place, at home, enjoying the company of my three cats, obsessively watching the news to better understand how to stay safe, and enjoying the posts on Facebook by Tabby’s Place staff and other volunteers.

But I’ve caught a few glimpses of Sammy and see her still spending time in her comfortable alcove in the corner cat tree.

The window box, where Sammy used to spend so much of her time, is now home to other kitties, namely Dani and Tipsy. Rumor has it that Dani doesn’t like to share the window box with anyone other than Claire, but Sammy still is able to squeeze in, once in a while. I’m including a photo of Sammy and Dani to prove this strange alliance.

Like all the volunteers, we miss the cats that we’ve grown close to, but I know she is being well taken care of.  And I know that this, too, shall pass.

Sammy and I thank you for your continued support, and we hope that you can stay safe and strong in this very troubling time.

Your correspondent,
Kate