Miz Molly Samin ("sah-meen") is Farsi for "precious, expensive"

We first met Molly in the late evening of March 30, 2001. Chance called me out to the porch with a "Come see this." He shone a flashlight on the sidewalk in front of the porch saying "Do you know this cat?" A flat, round black face with two huge (*really* huge), round yellow eyes was in the flashlight's beam. "Oh no", I moaned, "A Persian. What are *you* doing Out?"

Still in our yard the next day, (Mietze's birthday), closer inspection showed that *she* was a matted mess and considerably thinner (though not emaciated) than a kitty ought to be. The clincher was discovering that she was declawed in front. We truly thought that the unbelievable had happened twice, that a stray Persian had found us once again.

So, in she came, to a bath, flea treatment, and a visit to our vet on that Tuesday. She was such a sweet little thing, very friendly and affectionate, that we rapidly became very attached to her. She didn't mind the bath very much at all, was very patient while her mats were snipped away and her coat brushed and combed, and she seemed actually happy to be clean and tidy. We named her "Samin", since it's definition makes it nearly an antonym of our white boy Azad's name.

On Thursday, the bubble burst when our neighbor next door asked whether we'd seen her cat, Molly. So, Molly was surrendered, and not without a great deal of sorrow. We were left with a shred of hope...her human said that she would consider leaving her with us should she move into a place that did not allow animals.

Molly reappeared in our front yard in July, and stayed Out on what seemed a permanent basis. (It was explained later that they'd taken in two "hunting" dogs, in addition to several other dogs, and they were picking on gentle Molly, so they didn't "force" her to come inside.) Knowing where she had come from and knowing that *they* knew we were very fond of Molly, it would've been sure trouble to steal her away inside again. So, we kept as close an eye on her as possible under the circumstances, kept the porch kibble bowl filled and the water fresh, flea combed her almost daily, talked to her, gave her head rubs and dent scritchies and generally encouraged her to stay in our yard.

And, finally, the neighbors moved, deliberately leaving Molly behind with us, and she became Molly Samin and a member of the clowder on 8/15/01.

(And her new humans breathed an enormous sigh of relief.)

This development wasn't met with universal approval...Ella seemed to take to her readily and without much fuss, but Mietze made herself even scarcer than usual, Buster Badseed and Neko hissed like radiators, and Norville and Azad both took to the high ground above the kitchen cabinets. Azad was the most visibly upset, he refused to come down from the cabinets 'til the next day, and then crept around suspiciously for three or four days afterward.

He spied on her, keeping her in sight most of the time and following from a safe distance as she ambled around the house. Occasionally they'd meet and both go into that slow-motion walk that seems to say "if I walk really really slowly, perhaps you won't notice I'm here at all".

While there *were* times when Molly was startled into hissing at one of the strangers, usually when one suddenly got much too close for comfort, for the most part she stayed very calm and didn't provoke any trouble. Her integration was a matter of a few days of hisses and avoidance, nothing more extreme. Within a week she was almost completely accepted.

And not long after that, she and Azad apparently decided that they had quite a bit in common after all. They aren't cuddle-buddies, but they're often loosely together, just hangin' out. If Azad abruptly decides to trot off somewhere and Molly sees him, she'll tag along.

Molly is a sweet, quiet, laid-back little lady. Her body type is classic Persian, stubby short body and sturdy short legs. She is utterly adorable, and her humans are thoroughly devoted to her.

The evening of August 11, 2004, following a brief illness and several days at her vet's office, Molly Samin died in her True Home with the humans who loved her at her side.

Bast must have needed an especially good little cat.

Come see us, too, please! Mietze Neko Azad Buster Ella Return to The Clowder

Omar's Memorial