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| Angela Cater’s "Sailor Sam" books were inspired by her cat, Samson. |
He was wet, cold and suffering from a swollen ear when he turned up at Angela Cater’s door 12 years ago. Now Samson stars in Cater’s series of children’s picture books as Sailor Sam, a cat who travels the seven seas.
In his fictional adventures, Sam encounters several of Cater’s other pets, including her cats Henry, Molly and Charlie. Cats owned by neighbors across the road also show up in Cater’s books. “I like to depict animals and people that I know,” Cater told the Manchester (U.K.) Evening News. “I somehow illustrate much better if I care about my subject.”
In 2006, Cater wrote and illustrated her first children’s book, “The Adventures of Sailor Sam,” in which Sam boards a ship and tries to steer in at night. Her latest book in the series, “Sailor Sam and the Two Sicknesses,” details what happens when Sam becomes ill because of rough seas.
“Like all cats, Sailor Sam is not a very good patient,” Cater explained.