I have had some great dogs and a couple of cats over the years but after our 2 dogs passed quite a few years ago, we decided that since we were going to start snow birding in Florida, we would not get any more animals, as much as we love them.
As it turns out, we were able to end up living full time in Florida due to a green card my husband had since he was 6 years old! We started out in Central Florida and then a few years later we moved to Fort Walton Beach in the Panhandle, to be near my brother. We rented a house there and before we moved in the previous tenants said, “we hope you like cats!” And we are like oh no!
As it turns out they had been feeding a feral cat that they called Pita. We had seen the cat around, but he was very skittish! So, I asked the lady, “why do you call him Pita, is it like the bread?” She said, “No, it stands for pain in the ass!” Right away I thought, “oh that is not very nice, I am going to have to rename him."
That night I decided to tap into the energy of said Pita and I asked him what his real name was.
He said, “My name is Samuri.” I said “oh, like the warrior?” and he said “Yes!
But if you like you can call me Sammy!” I
said, “Alright!” and a few days later we
moved into the house.
At first Sammy was very curious about us as well as very cautious. He lived on the large covered open porch which had an outdoor couch and chair that he became quite comfortable on! I fed him on a carpeted platform that the next-door neighbour Mark had kindly given us since his cat “Puddin Head” had passed on! Sammy loved being on top of the platform. He could see everything as well as look in our front window.
I kept talking to Sammy and assured him we were not going to hurt him and eventually he allowed me to pet him and love him up. I was the only one that could spend time in his presence. Anytime friends would come to visit, he would take off immediately and not come back until they were gone! Every time I opened the living room blinds in the morning, Sammy would be there waiting for me. I would put my hand on the window and say, “High Five Sammy!” He would then put his paw up on the window to high five me back! We became very close, and I loved him very much.
One time this big black feral cat started hanging around and Sammy allowed him to come on the front porch and even let him share his food which really surprised me! I decided that I would call this friendly black cat Jack Black! Now I did not pet him like I did Sammy, because Sammy was my guy!!!
So, for a while we had two cats to feed until one day a couple of months later, he disappeared. I thought maybe with him being black that perhaps was hit by a car one night. Anyway, I still had my Sammy and he was the best!
We had a great relationship for a few years, until my husband and I decided it was time to move back to Canada. We were missing our grandsons growing up and the rest of our family and friends. The only problem was we knew my Samuri would never survive the two-day journey! My heart was breaking, and I could not stop crying thinking about leaving my precious Sammy!
I decided to talk to our next-door neighbour Mark. Everyday he would say hello to Sammy so I reached out to see if he would feed Sam from his platform on our front porch and he agreed. Mark did not have a covered porch, so it worked out well.
I felt that 4 military guys were moving into our house and would not be reliable, with being deployed etc. So, I was happy to know a familiar face was taking care of my Samuri! After we left to come home, I cried and cried as I missed him so much, and still do to this day.
I did find out that Sammy passed not too long ago and that was upsetting. I still have tears when I think of him, and he has visited me a few times from spirit side. So, did we ever decide to get another cat or dog after Sammy? No but we have lots of wonderful memories of all our fur babies from the past.