Sam
1964 - 1972

Sam was my first kitty.  I believe my parents got him just before I was born.  It's been a long time now, but I remember him being a sweet cat, and as you can see, he was a good bed cat.
When I scanned this picture, I discovered I'd written this on the back of it, years ago:
Sam (Samuel) tabby cat.  Died at eight years of cancer - my age.   He was like another person to us, except better.

He died of cancer, though Feline Leukemia was probably the root cause of his illness.  There was no test for Feline Leukemia at the time.