Sampy & Echo

We got Sampras from a house in Aldinga Beach. After Lexi (our first cat) had run off, we'd vaguely talked about getting another cat, maybe a kitten, but hadn't made a firm decision. When I saw the picture of Sampy, I just thought he was so beautiful, and that we had to have him.

We knocked at the door, and the lady just handed him to us, said thanks, and he was ours. We put him in a cat box, but he seemed very distressed, so I took him out and held him and sang to him, and he seemed to calm down a bit. He was cute and tentative at first, and then his attacking nature came out. Never hard, always playfully, but very insistent about it, and lots of times when it was not wanted.

Andrew was always saying that he needed a friend. So we got Echo, and he calmed down so much towards us when we got Echo, and just left his play fights to Echo. Echo is a very docile and sensitive cat. He spent his first while here hiding behind the washing machine. When he did come out, Sampy would take a swipe (not very hard) at him, and Echo would just sit there and take it. Eventually they worked each other out, and they became very close.

We used to say that Echo felt like the neighborhood kid who always hung out at our house, because he had a bond with Sampy, but didn't seem to have much of a bond with me or Andrew. He used to annoy us quite a bit too, because he likes to be around you, but he doesn't like to sit on your lap. He just likes to come up and stand on your lap, or next to your laptop.

But we've always known how much he cares about Sampy. Sampy is an adventurer. He likes to go out and wander around, and has brought back a few of his finds. Echo is more of a homebody, and doesn't like to go out farther than the confines of the fenced backyard, but he likes to be where Sampy is. If Sampy is off adventuring, Echo prefers to be outside, but as soon as he hears that Sampy has returned through the front door, Echo will be crying at the back door to come in. When Echo comes in, he will run around the house until he finds Sampy, and then will often go up and nudge him.

Over time, we've come to just see what a special cat Echo is. He is very sensitive. He has an innocence in his eyes. His tail curls back towards his front as he runs, always, and it is very cute.

Sampy loves to suckle. He will get a look in your eyes, and you know he is just coming to your neck. He just likes to lick and knead the skin with his claws. It is not the most pleasant experience. He used to suckle on me a lot when he was young, but I got suckled out, and so I don't let him suckle on me anymore, so Andrew's his target now, though he will occasionally still try to sneak a suckle on my much more soft neck skin.

We're going away, and it's going to be the first time since we got them that we'll be without them. They are special cats and they have a very special bond.