I got Samantha 15 years ago as a pre-engagement present from my then boyfriend now husband.
My father is allergic to cats so I never had one of my own as a kid but I always used to pet sit for neighbors and my favorite cat was a black and white male named Sam.
As soon as I had my own place after college I decided I had to get a Sam cat of my own.
We actually found Samantha from an ad in the paper for free black and white kittens.
Soon after we got Samantha, we got engaged, then married then had 3 kids and also had several goldfish over the years and more recently added our parakeet T-bird.
Samantha is a very special part of our family.
I just posted some new photos of her here in Cat General if anyone would like to take a look at her.