The Cat’s Meow

Sam hangs over all our celebrations, including every Very Kitty Christmas

Sam the Siamese has hung in our family’s various bathrooms since the 1950s. He was painted by Fred Chance, who we think was a New York City ad man, according to the Google Machine. Photo: Author’s archives

Sam is a Siamese cat. Slender of build, with big, pointed brown and tan ears. He stares straight ahead — a sentinel in my upstairs bathroom.

This watercolor — streaked and smudged from so many perches above toilet tanks and bathtubs over the years, is a somewhat iconic part of my family’s…