Sammy, our totally unique doll-face Persian died 2 days ago of sudden Saddle Thrombus. I've had countless pets of different kinds thorough almost 6 decades of my life. Some very intelligent ones. I can comfortably say that Sammy was THE MOST intelligent of all of them. He almost communicated with us on a human level. Naturally my household is in full mourning mode.

Sammy was also extremely unique in his looks. We think he was some breeder's runt of the litter who did not meet the physical attributes of standard Persians (I'm new in this forum but I'll try to post a pic). He had a narrow stream-lined body, like a lion's. He also had overgrowing hair around and on top of his head and the exact coloration of a lion. Naturally all of that lent itself to us keeping him in a correctly proportioned lion cut.

I have a question or two from some of you which I will ask in my next post in this thread. This post is only to introduce myself and Sammy to this forum.

What a cutie Sammy was! I'm so sorry about your loss. Saddle thrombosis is usually caused by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, an inherited condition that, unfortunately, affects a large number of Persian cats. Some very dedicated breeders are scanning their breeding cats for evidence of this heart disease in order to minimize its impact on the breed.

Sammy was a great looking cat, good hair cut to! I am sure he was well loved and is over rainbow bridge waiting for you now.