Osama “‘Sama” Moore, 1993 – 2009
I had to say good-bye, long distance, to my kitty yesterday. While the entire bird population of Minneapolis and vicinity is surely heaving a great tweet of relief right now, we will miss him terribly. He was an avid hunter (despite our efforts to keep him leashed and belled), squirrel chaser, catnip mouse lover, and sunny-spot lounger, with an independent spirit and a regal manner. Still, he found lots of time for cuddling and lap-sitting, and purred loudly when content. He was born to a feral cat in the back alleys of Uptown, Minneapolis, but was taken in by a friend one January night when the temperature dipped to -20º. She couldn’t keep him, and she knew I was dying for a cat, so she passed him on to me. He was named for a friend of my roommate at the time (long before I was aware of the terrorist of the same name, just to dispel any rumors) who told me the name means “lion” in Arabic. It seemed fitting at the time, and he certainly lived up to it. After a long and cushy life, he succumbed to kidney failure, probably the result of his mad lust for corn chips. We will cherish his memory.
