Elation as Sam, The Hospice Cat, is found

The nine-year-old feline, affectionately known as The Hospice Cat, went missing for six days during the Easter break.

Western Extension-based Hospice East Rand co-founder Denise Heatlie said Sam is well-known and loved by hospice staff and visitors.

She said Sam arrived at her Western Extension abode in 2008, as a stray.

She took him into her home, where he lived for four years.

Sam gradually wandered off to the hospice and, at the end of 2012, decided to call the facility his new home.

According to Heatlie, he has cemented his place in the hearts of hospice visitors and staff.

She said the feline “just has something about him” in his disposition around grieving people, making him very special to hospice.

Heatlie told how The Hospice Cat comforted a friend whose husband received care at hospice.

“I took Sam to my friend in the garden and he sat with her and twined around her legs,” she said.

“She was able to stroke him and he provided so much comfort.

“Time and again he is there with them (grieving families) and it seems to bring a sense of normality to a very sad situation.”

Heatlie said it was a sad period at hospice when Sam, who is said to have never been owned by anybody, but owns everybody, disappeared.

“Everyone was really upset,” she said.

“I even had one of the hospice members come to my home to ask if Sam was there.

“I think all of us were just praying for him.”

Then Heatlie was inspired to visit the SPCA on April 13, to look for Sam.

She was fortunate to find him that morning, the same morning that someone from Wordsworth High School took the missing cat to the Benoni SPCA.

The Hospice Cat has now returned to his post of bringing joy to people’s hearts.

“Everyone saw him sitting on the chair at the door and said: ‘Sam’s back’,” Heatlie said.

There is a sign at the gate to Hospice East Rand warning people of the feline’s behaviour.

“Before leaving the premises, kindly check that Sam, our cat, is not on top or inside your vehicle,” the sign reads.

Where does Sam come from?

David Kinman, of Western Extension, writes by email:

I was buoyed to read Denise Heatlie’s letter (BCT 09/01/15) regarding Sam The Hospice Cat.

Sam, originally “Baby”, was born on New Year’s Eve 2006, in the bottom of our shoe cupboard.

The product of a “rescue cat” mother, and a neighbourhood tom, Sam spent his formative years exploring Western Extension, while relying on us for his sustenance and lodging.

It was obvious, though, that he had inherited his father’s wandering genes, and gradually we would see less and less of him around the house.

Eventually we were graced with only the odd visitation, but judging from his girth and shiny coat, it was apparent that he was being very well cared for elsewhere.

We would often catch a glimpse of him in the area, and were thrilled to reconnect with him at recent Hospice Fêtes, and to learn that he is as large and as affable as ever.

He has obviously found his true calling at Hospice, and we were delighted to hear about all his escapades over the years.