Published by: Ingrid King. Last Updated on: July 22, 2023 by Crystal Uys
I don’t often re-read books, but a handful of cat books that have become such treasures, I read them again and again. When I recently re-read Samantha Mooney’s A Snowflake in My Hand, I thought it was time to share it with you again. Few books have left such an impression on me, and this little book became pivotal to a significant turning point in my life.
First published in 1983, and set at New York City’s famous Animal Medical Center, Samantha Mooney shares stories of her time working in the center’s oncology ward. I’ve always thought it takes a special person to be able to handle working with cancer patients, and the stories Mooney shares will stay with you long after you finish the book. But most of all, this is a story about the cats she encounters during her work there: Clancy, a tabby who refuses to stay in a cage, Oliver Cromwell, who summers in Maine and makes friends with his own personal sea gull; and many many others. And then there’s that one cat in the book that will touch your heart the most: Fledermaus, a tiny black cat who breaks through the author’s grief after her father’s death and gently opens her heart to love again.
This book is a testament to all that cats bring into our lives. And even though veterinary medicine has advanced beyond anything we could have imagined in 1983, this book is still relevant, or perhaps, even more relevant now, since it focuses on treating the whole patient and the patient’s human, not just the disease. The writing is lyrical, almost poetic at times.
She is with me, as real as the winter snow that blends the tears upon my face. And it is only when I try to touch her, to make her linger yet awhile, that she dies all over again. A snowflake in my hand, she is like a fragment of a melody that I find myself humming unawares. …While somewhere else, as I now say goodbye again, as shadows of my shadow pass before me, somewhere else a cat leaps to the windowsill to greet the morning sun.
The book’s cover features a beautiful watercolor painted by the author. My own copy has the original cover with the entire painting.
I hold this book responsible for my love of veterinary medicine. Even though it would take another ten years for me to start working in veterinary clinics, I would always think of this book as I started to experience the incredible joy and profound sadness that exist side by side in the veterinary profession.
A Snowflake in My Hand is available from Amazon.
What are some of your most treasured cat books?
About the author
Ingrid King is an award-winning author, former veterinary hospital manager, and veterinary journalist who is passionate about cats.
This is one of my favorite books! I have a pretty old pink cover version that I bought second hand… Fell in love!
I also wrote to the publisher for info…
There was no obituary…this is what Britney from AMC wrote:
Unfortunately, I do not have an obituary for Samantha Mooney but was informed by another long-term employee about her passing.
=====I did not follow up on that information …it would be interesting to know how/who she heard that from but I don’t want to pursue it further.
I did write to the publisher but have not heard anything.
For those of you who have been wondering whether Samantha Mooney is still living, Silvia did a little more digging and found out from a member of the Animal Medical Center staff that she died in the 1980’s. Since she worked at AMC in the 70’s, she must have been quite young when she passed away.
Oh my gosh!! That is so sad to learn. 🙁
Oh no! This is heartbreaking! She was such a wonderful writer and her spirit came through so strongly in her book. I wonder if she left behind any more writings? Thank you Silvia for digging deeper! I tear up just looking at the book cover. I wonder whether he publisher might know something too–especially about any other writings.
I tear up, too! I believe this is the only book she ever wrote. What an utter tragedy that she died so young.
I agree! 🙁
That is so sad to learn, I recently tipped a couple of friends that they should read this lovely, heartwarming book and yesterday one asked me if I had any other books by the author, and I said no… and went online to see if Samantha Mooney came up as a writer of more books.
As energy doesn’t vanish, just appear in another form, I believe that Samantha – wherever her energy is – are feeling/watching us reading, and re-reading, her book.
Yes, that is a lovely thought, and one that I believe to be true. For me, I am going to take it to mean that she would like me to remember the cats–especially the lost and abandoned ones. It maybe time for me to make a donation to my favorite rescue group in Samantha Mooney’s name. 🙂
I would go for that! I live in Sweden but I would love to contribute to a rescue group of your choice, in remembrance of Samantha Mooney.
Oh gosh, I’m sure there are many in Sweden that would appreciate your gesture to them.
That’s such a lovely thought, Maria. I hope Samantha knows in whatever form she is in now how much her book is still loved after all that time.
Thank you so much for this….having read many cat books, this was new to me…I got it from my library and am totally immersed in it….it really takes me into her world, and I am also learning much about feline health in the way she explains.
Oh I love this book too. Thank you so much
Oh my gosh! I love this book so much–just thinking about it makes me teary-eyed. I have it in my cat book collection. I should re-read it this summer. I wonder if Samantha Mooney is still living…
I was wondering the same thing about Samantha Mooney!
I periodically google her and nothing comes up. 🙁
Oh dear…
Hello Ingrid,
Maybe you could ask your Genealogy Librarian at your public library for help. There are clues. Samantha had a brother named Paul who lived in Wisconsin, and she and Paul were most likely born in the Buffalo, NY area.
Maybe the Librarian could look for a man who died in the 1970s and had two kids named Paul and Samantha.
A search for Paul by location, Wisconsin AND New York residences might be fruitful too. He lived in both places when phonebooks were a thing.
Great ideas!!
I found a New York Post article dated 1/6/2002 in which a veterinary technician named Samantha Mooney discusses blood typing a pet Cornish Rex .
“If you’re contemplating acquiring a Rex, be sure to have your vet test the cat’s blood type, warns veterinary technician Samantha Mooney.”
Ms. Mooney was at least alive and well in 2002.
https://nypost.com/2002/01/06/rex-appeal-cornish-cat-is-as-fancied-as-it-is-unusual/
Thanks for finding this link!
Thank you so much for finding this link! Her book is a classic, and it makes me so sad to think that she may no longer be with us! 🙁
We have that book in our cat library and really loved it. It is a wonderful read so if anyone wants a very solid book please give this a go
This book, along with “Buckley’s Story,” are my two, all-time favorite books about cats. I purchased multiple copies of each to give as gifts to my cat-loving friends. Of course, just looking at the cover of “Snowflake in My Hand” makes me weep. (As does “Buckley’s Story!”) I read both books at the time I was embarking on cat rescue work, and they helped to deepen my spiritual connection to the cats I was caring for. I cannot recommend “A Snowflake in My Hand” AND “Buckley’s Story” highly enough!! Thank you for posting and getting the word out! Every cat lover should read these books!
Oh Nancy, I’m so honored that you’re mentioning Buckley’s Story in the same sentence as A Snowflake in My Hand! Buckley is surely smiling, too!
Truly, these are my two favorite cat books ever. I tear-up just thinking about them. They are both classics!
Ingrid – Thank you for reminding me . . . . I care for a colony in Herndon, VA and am just now embarking on a huge project of stray cats in Upperville, VA. It feels overwhelming, but these cats need help. Thanks for reminding me why I do what I do while working a full time job and caring for all my cats, fosters, and ferals.
Of all the books that I’ve read about cats and their humans in my 45 years of loving and being owned by cats (27 being my own furkids and hundreds more that I’ve rescued), I’ve read and read again many times this wonderful and inspiring story. It still, after more than three decades, brings tears to my eyes. It’s a sad but beautiful story, and now, I’m going to read it and be inspired yet again. Thank you, Ingrid, for reminding me of this great book. Anyone who loves cats should read it.
I first read this book back in the late ‘80s … it’s a must read for any cat lover. I hit me in a most powerful way and has stayed with me all this time. Oh Fledermaus ….
I read this book back in the 180s, and it has stayed with me ever since. It is one of the most moving depictions of the love between a cat and a human. After reading your review, Ingrid, I think it’s time to break out my copy and re-read it.
This sounds like a very special book. Thanks for the recommendation!
After I first read about this book here on Conscious Cat a few years ago, I ordered my own copy from Amazon and I absolutel adore it! I might just re-read it as well, thank you for the tip.
What a beautiful short piece from ‘A Snowflake in My Hand’. Samantha must be a very special person to remember those who are about to leave life and enter death, in this special special way her heart describes the suffering some people endure so courageously.