“I’d adopted three others before him,” Corinne says, “but they’ve all crossed the Rainbow Bridge, and I can’t be without a cat!

“His name was Mr. Blue Eyes and he’s now Samson Beauregard Blue. I kept the ‘Blue’ as a nod to Furry Friends and his shelter experience.

“I didn’t choose him! He chose me. While I was scheduled to meet some other kitties, they had found their forever homes before I arrived. And although Samson was supposed to meet someone else, that person didn’t show up. As soon as I sat down, Samson climbed down from the cat tree, came up to my feet, flopped down, and showed me his belly. That was it. I was his. It was love at first sight!

“As he adjusted more each day, I saw more and more of his personality. He wasted no time taking over the house and my papasan chair! He’s made my life more interesting, more fun and more relaxed. He helps keep me calm when I’m stressed, and the few times I’ve been sad, he comes to check on me. He truly is my companion. My mom calls him my ‘roommate’ because it’s been a mutual exchange of such positive energy since we’ve been together.

“Fierce when he plays, it took him just two weeks to destroy a feather wand toy that had survived my last two cats! He also likes tossing his mouse toys and pipe cleaner twists up in the air and playing kitty soccer with his toy balls.

“Samson loves being petted but he doesn’t let me hold him very long unless I walk around with him and hold him like a football. And while he definitely likes having me home, he’ll sometimes go off into a bedroom by himself (he needs his ‘alone time’ to recharge from such a busy schedule of napping) or else he’ll want me near him but not touching him.

“He certainly has some silly quirks. If he tosses one of his toys up and it comes down and lands on his head or any part of his body, he jumps sky high! It startles him and he looks so shocked — every time! Although he doesn’t care for the sound effects in the ‘Star Wars’ movies, he enjoys watching ‘Ancient Aliens’, and actually looks at the television when it’s on.

“I love his big, deep purr; it’s so soothing to me. Samson loves to talk about his day when I’ve been gone and he gives me lots of details. We also eat together. When I sit down for dinner, he goes to his bowl and eats too. (His loud eating always makes me chuckle.)

“Samson started out sleeping in the living room, then he moved to the hallway and now, finally, he sleeps with me!”

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Furry Friends Fur-Ever Stories are compiled and written by Nomi Berger who is the bestselling author of seven novels, one work of non-fiction, two volumes of poetry, and hundreds of articles. She is a volunteer writer for Furry Friends in Vancouver, WA and also volunteers her writing skills to animal rescue groups in Canada and the USA. She lives with her adopted Maltese named Mini.