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 Samoa was originally dubbed Osama by the writer of the editorial, who claimed that this cat terrorized himself and his neighbors. The cat lived to make life miserable for anyone who happened into his path - attacking children and other cats for no reason, killing birds, eating garbage. This was a smart cat, he said, who could not be trapped or caught. It told of one neighbor chasing after the cat with a baseball bat after another “unprovoked” attack on a child. He said, “Feral cats have no business setting up shop in a residential neighborhood.” The original article infuriated many a cat-lover and feral caretaker, and he was inundated with e-mails and letters. Among the e-mails telling him what a horrible person he was not to understand the circumstances this cat was in were some that offered advice and help in humanely removing this horrible menace from his neighborhood, including many from The Cat Site, where the owners of this site first heard of the story. Some time went by and networking started between cat-lovers from as far away from the situation as New Jersey, Oregon and Ohio. Through this networking, a local contact was found who was willing to help this cat, who had been renamed Samoa (not by the journalist, by the cat lovers trying to help him). The writer was put in contact with Judy Glidewell of Critter Camp who came out and devised a plan to trap this cat. He even wrote a follow up column about the “Women Who Love Cats”, who not only berated him but also taught him some things about feral cats, TNR (trap, neuter, release) programs, and the horrors that some cats face. Samoa was successfully caught in October 2002, and much to everyone’s surprise he wasn’t a feral cat after all. Samoa turned into a mush when he was brought to Critter Camp and enjoyed all the  attention lavished on him. He had been neutered already as well, and it was obvious that Samoa had been someone’s pet at one time. The writer also wrote a follow up about the capture of the cat, and gave credit to Judi as being a “cat rehabilitator par excellence.”
Samoa was adopted into a forever home in December 2002, by people who will continue to lavish on him for the rest of his days.
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