Hello, My Name is Samson.

(sorry I can't get rid of the crazy eyes)

This is my new kitty. Let me tell you his story.

i've been wanting to get another cat for a few months now, ever since my family got their new kitten. And I wanted a baby one. Well, I also wanted to adopt one from the animal shelter and save a life (since they euthanize there) and thought that I would wait until kitten season when they were just overloaded with kittens. So, I have been checking the animal shelter and craigslist regularly. Well, on Saturday, I saw an ad on craiglist that said "This giant cat has only 24 hours left!" I had to look. I read that ad and it said that not only is he big, but he is also very confident and gets excited when he plays (biting, scratching - these were the owners complaints and why they surrendered him. He sounded like a cat Ryan would really like (he does not like it when Tesia gets all slinky and scared of him, and prefers a cat he can play with) so I thought we should go check this cat out. I went on Saturday to the shelter and saw him, but they had him in isolation so I was not allowed to really visit with him. Pretty much just petting through the bars on the cage. He seemed really sweet and affectionate then, but any cat (unless its feral) could be under those circumstances. And I was really kind of confused because the lady who was taking me to see him seemed like she was trying to convince me not to get him. I was thinking, "aren't you working here because you DON'T like to see animals get euthanized, and DON'T you WANT them to get adopted?" Anyhow, she was kind of being a "b" with me. But I still got the hold on him, so that they would not put him down, and Ryan could come with me on Sunday to see him. I stuck around afterwards and was asking other workers what they thought of him, if they had been able to spend much time with him. One said she had to clean his cage, and had him out, but since he was in isolation, her time with him had been pretty limited. But that he had been really sweet and no problems. Another went and took him right out of the cage and was holding him and kissing him and said he was just a gem. At that point, I thought it would definitely be worth it to come on again on Sunday.
I called on Sunday to let them know I was coming, went and picked up Ryan, had lunch and headed over to the shelter. I went to the isolation building that he had been in and saw that he wasn't in the cage that he used to be in. completely empty, no papers or anything. I thought he was gone in the worst way. So I went over to another building and asked the workers about him, and they said that he had been moved to the adoption building. . . which was awesome because then that meant that we could see him outside of his cage and visit with him in a private room.
We spent about 15 fifteen minutes with him. He is a really curious cat, and very confident. He saw the other cats in the room and would make noises, but not necessarily ones that sounded like he wanted to fight. He looked more curious than anything. And he would jump on Ryan's and my lap, and the stances he would take almost seemed like they were more protective, like he was guarding us from the cats outside. He is also very playful and affectionate, always rubbing up against us and wanted to be petted. So, we decided to get him.
When we were in the claiming office waiting for them to bring him out, the lady (a worker there) came and asked us if we were the ones getting him. When we said yes, she just said, thank you, oh thank you so much! She told us that she posted the ad on craigslist (something they aren't supposed to do) but she just couldn't bear to see him put down. She just kept going on and on about him, so I was glad with my decision then.
We got him home to my place and let him roam around, while Tesia was kept in the bathroom. He really is so cool to watch. He is a big cat. not fat at all, just big. When he sits, he is about two feet tall. last night I measured him tip of his nose to tip of his tail: 36 inches. Tesia is 25 inches. yeah, he's big! I should have measured him ground to shoulder. .. . will do that later. But he is so agile too. He is very statuesque and regal looking, like mini-panther. I think he is very appreciative of me, because he follows me around everywhere, talks to me (especially when I am in the kitchen - caught onto that one fast) and is super lovable. I think he is going to be the "sidekick" type of cat, always helping you out, your business is his business kind of deal. i hope so. . . Tesie isn't really like that. I let Tesia out that night because he really wasn't being as aggressive as the behavioral warnings (based on previous owner) made him out to be - they HAD to be lies. Sure enought, they just look at each other and hiss/ growl a little bit but no fighting or anything. Just normal "new cat" behavior.
Last night, I fell asleep on the couch because I had been reading, and he was sleeping up against me. He really wedges himself up against you, like he can't get close enough to you. man, that guy is like a heating pad or something! i got so hot, and I would try to wriggle away from him, but he would just keep scooting closer to me. Also, when he lays up against you, he tries to anchor himself to you by hooking his front legs over my arm, or whatever. I CANNOT believe this cat had been given up on so easily! He really didn't even have a chance based on what his previous owners said.
I am glad that he is mine, and Ryan already loves him too. I think he is going to be a great addition to my little family, and Tesie does too (she just doesn't realize it just yet).

Here, he is under my desk. He is completely taking up the length of it, his head is up against the slider glass and his body is sticking out of it.