|
 |
|
| Name: |
Pirate Benny
|
Age: |
Ten years old
|
| Gender: |
Male
|
Kind: |
Gray Tabby
|
| Home: |
Chesterfield, Massachusetts, USA
|
Benny,
whose name used to be Benedict Spinoza Cat, but after his successful
eye surgery, was renamed Pirate Benny = Seeräuberbenny!
Our great vet opthalmologist is from Austria, so I renamed Benny after famous
Brecht/Weill opera song about Pirate Jenny = Seeräuberjenny. He's still our
best hunter, who needs both eyes?
The veterinary ophthalmologist who removed his bad eye was having an open
house, and wanted a gallery of Successful Patients. Benny wasn't in a posing
mood, so I just scooped him up and my wife snapped his picture. I needed a
photo that would show his Pirate Eye. I know it isn't his most flattering pose!
Our excellent shelter rescued him from a hardscrabble dumpster-diving life in
the alleys of a rough industrial town with a harsh winter in north central
Massachusetts. Our beloved Maine Coon, Elmer Elevator, had just lost his best
pal Wanda, and we hoped a new addition would fix Elmer's loneliness and loss.
Old Elmer and young Benny bonded and became Cat Pals within a day or two.
Benny must have been well raised by his mom, because he plays with us
vigorously and excitedly, but he's never drawn a drop of (our) blood. He's
not a Lap Cat, but he loves roughhouse and "physical therapy" with his
humans. If we need to pick him up, he cooperates like a fur purse, and never
objects or resists.
He loves a bedtime game. I grab him with no warning, fling him deep under the
bedclothes, then (gently) pound on the Benny Bump like a bongo drum, and make
wild-animal growl noises. Then Mom Human yells "Rescue Benny! Rescue Benny!,
and lifts up the blanket so Benny can crawl toward the light. He's purring
like a happy machine when he's "rescued."
I work late and like to sleep late. No matter when I wake up, Benny hears or
senses that I'm getting up, strolls into the bedroom, jumps up on the bed,
and serves as my "levée attendant" as I get dressed. I feel like King Louis
XIV as Benny cheerfully introduces me to my new day.
The eye problem was diagnosed as toxoplasmosis, and the life-threatening
infection had settled in his eyeball, which had to be removed. To make sure
that got all the infection, Benny came home - but they shipped his eyeball to
a lab in Wisconsin for more tests. They came back: Restored To Perfect Health.
Benny remains Senior House Cat and the pack's Best Hunter. His hunting skills
don't seem to depend on his former stereoscopic vision. One good eye is all
Pirate Benny needs. He's more of a Thinking, Planning cunning hunter, and
generously brings back corpses and stunned prey to share with us. (We always
praise him loudly.) He spends the night in a comfy corner rocking chair in
the bedroom, content after his day of labor.
|
|
|
|
|
