Stray cat Sam finds a home

    Recent visitors to Stewart?s Pump-N-STUF in West Chester have noticed that the black cat that used to hang around the shop is nowhere to be found. Cindy Zielstorf, the manager of Stewart?s, said the stray cat has finally found a home. A couple from Keota inquired about the cat and took it home with them last month. Zielstorf said she is happy the cat is with a loving family but nevertheless it was hard to see him go.

    The cat?s name is ?Sam,? or at least that?s how he is known by the folks at Stewart?s. Zielstorf explained that he wandered in from out of the blue this summer and for three months made the gas station his home. She said Sam was an ever-present companion who was friendly to all the store?s customers. In honor of the store where he became famous, the new owners have renamed the cat ?Stewart.?

    After Sam had been around for a while, Zielstorf learned that he came from a farm just outside of town. She said that family tried to keep Sam, but they couldn?t stop him from making the trek into town. Once he arrived at Stewart?s, he quickly became everyone?s best friend. 

    ?He got to be like a celebrity,? said Zielstorf. ?Several people dropped off food for him.?

    Zielstorf remarked that people in town who hadn?t communicated in years finally spoke to each other over their mutual affection for Sam.

    ?He was so friendly, you couldn?t help but like him,? she said. ?He hung around the store all day, every day. He is a wonderful cat. I?ve never seen anything like him in my life.?

    The people in town talked about what to do with Sam and where he was going to live. Zielstorf said no one wanted to see him put to sleep, and they didn?t want him to go to a shelter, either. As much as the town loved Sam, Zielstorf knew that he couldn?t roam around Stewart?s forever.

    ?Our boss was afraid someone would trip over him or that he would get run over,? she said. ?Sam liked to lie in the parking lot under the sun. When a car would come, he?d get up, but his luck was eventually going to run out.?

    One day, Zielstorf was convinced it already had. She arrived at the store to find a deceased black cat on the pavement, that had been struck by a vehicle.

    ?I saw a black cat. I ran over and started bawling,? she said. ?I went home and put the cat in a box and buried it.?

    Someone approached her to ask why she had dug a hole when Sam had just been seen safe and sound. She couldn?t believe that the cat she buried was in fact a different cat and not her newfound friend. 

    Sam is an adult cat with a few gray hairs, although Zielstorf doesn?t think he is very old. She said kids were particularly fond of Sam, and he was fond of them.

    ?He loved to play,? she said. ?Kids would come up just to see him. Some called him names like ?Panther.? They had fun slinging Sam on their shoulders and walking around.?

    When Sam wasn?t playing with his chums, he was taking naps either on the pavement or under the neighbor?s porch. Sam was a very giving cat. A few kittens in the area visited the shop and ate Sam?s food, but he didn?t chase them away, preferring instead to resume his nap in the sun.   

    ?There is not a mean bone in that cat?s body,? said Zielstorf.  

For more, see our Oct. 15 print edition.