Sammy the 19-year-old cat that became famous after his birthday party has died

At a Cincinnati animal shelter, Sammy the cat who became an internet star when his 19th birthday was celebrated with a grand party, has died.

Sammy had the best week of his life in mid-June when Cincinnati Animal Care Adoption Center posted pictures of his party which helped the senior find his forever home. The cat’s owner had surrendered Sammy when she could no longer care for him after needing help at an assisted living facility.

And a grand party it was; pictures showed Sammy wearing a birthday hat and nibbling on birthday treats as streamers surrounded his crate. Shelter employees sang “Happy Birthday” to the sweet feline – now all he needed was the perfect home.

“Happy birthday to this beautiful fella who would love a nice, quiet home to live out his golden years!” the animal shelter wrote. “The only rule for adopting Sammy though? You have to throw him a 20th birthday party on 6/15/22!”

Before all the celebratory hoopla however, someone special had already wanted to adopt Sammy, and the cat’s plushy retirement began in his new home just days later.

On Thursday, Cincinnati Animal CARE posted on Facebook that Sammy had died and passed peacefully away while sleeping in his kitty condo.

“While we never get enough time with our pets, we like to think Sammy had the best ending an animal can get. He got a birthday party, some fancy hats, became world famous, ate a big feast, and got the best adoptive home he could’ve asked for,” the animal shelter wrote on Facebook.

Cincinnati Animal CARE thanked Bethany, who adopted him for providing a loving home.

“We like to think Sammy perked up in his final days so he could meet Bethany and find the perfect home to finally rest,” the shelter said in its Facebook post.

Rest in peace sweet Sammy. You will be missed.

Would you like to honor Sammy? Why not adopt a senior cat (or a senior dog) in memory of this sweet boy?

“In Sammy’s memory, we encourage the community to adopt a senior cat so they can all have the final days this special guy had. Farewell Sammy, we will never forget you.”

Sammy’s new mom, Bethany will never forget:

“Sammy was initially ok but due to his age we could’ve only imagined the health issues he’d have. He did have anemia, kidney and liver failure upon blood work and early heart failure (noted he had a heart murmur.) None of this would’ve stopped us from adopting him if they had known anyways. But Sammy began vomiting and becoming unaware of urinating on himself. Took him to my work, we performed X-rays and a barium series that highlighted his stomach where we found tumors that were causing him to decline so rapidly. Sammy was the greatest little joy we had for a short time, he was finally content and was letting us know. He will be missed. As shared below, ‘the only thing I couldn’t protect you from.. was time.’”

For more information about donating, adopting or fostering, please click here.

Follow the National Pet Rescue on Facebook for the latest animal related news.