Benny Max Mariachi by Geri / Geri

Benny Max Mariachi was my white, “Mexican” cat. How did that come about? Well, he was found by my neighbor outside a restaurant called “Mariachi’s, so that became the perfect last name for him. I didn’t want to be like everyone else who named their white cat “Snowball”,etc, so his first name, “Benny”, came from Uncle Ben’s Converted White Rice ! His middle name “Max” was after an uncle of mine who kept everyone informed about everyone else in the family – similarly, Benny was involved with all my cats and my dog, keeping everyone “in the loop” – a big job for a little kitten who was only 2 months old! So, there it was – a long, impressive name for a small, impressive cat! For some reason, and I’m ashamed to admit this, Benny and I never actually “bonded”! Perhaps this was because he wasn’t a “people cat”, he was an “animal cat” – he loved my other cats so much, especially my youngest black cat, Basil ben Jagger, and he absolutely adored my German Shepherd, Lady. Whenever Lady was eating a dog biscuit, you could find Benny right there, eating it WITH Lady! I do admit that I just kind of took Benny “for granted”.

I did give him the best possible care that I could but he mostly wanted – and received – love and attention from his “siblings”. Benny was rather large and one of my friends gave him the nickname of The Beluga Whale ! He was a well-behaved whale and lived “the good life”, running around and playing and having a blast! I used to sing to him that great song by Elton John – “Benny and the Jets” – I don’t know if Benny liked it but at least, he didn’t seem to have any objections! As the years passed, Benny decided he wasn’t crazy about Basil ben Jagger any more and he became focused on my big tabby cat, Dexter Ambrose.

Until Dexter passed away in 2008, he and Benny spent a great deal of time together. When Benny turned 12 years old, he started to show his age and he couldn’t jump too high any more – he also developed other medical issues. Every time I took him to the vet, people in the waiting room would exclaim: “What a beautiful cat” and I would say “Yes, but I don’t really like him!” Workers at the vet clinic would tease me about this, saying “… and she says that right in FRONT of him, poor cat” !

One time, after Benny had been treated at the vet clinic, I was given some formally typed instructions for his home care and there, at the bottom of the page, his vet had typed in: “I don’t know why you don’t like him, he seems like a good guy to ME !” More time passed, more medical issues developed, and Benny also “lost” his beloved Lady, my Shepherd who had passed away in 2008, but he soldiered on. Basically, Benny appeared to be ok despite his increasing medical problems. Although he still preferred my cats to me, he did start jumping into my lap quite often. I allowed this and even pet him but I still felt we were missing that special bond. His new special bond was now with Luke Skywalker, the only other cat living with me. Luke had recently lost HIS special pal, Basil ben Jagger, and I watched with fascination as Luke coerced Benny into having a relationship with him! Luke insisted upon being groomed and fussed over by Benny, and Benny gradually gave in and agreed to become Luke’s special pal. I never tired of seeing how they interacted, was something to behold!

Then, one day, I was looking at a recently taken picture of Benny and I saw how old Benny looked. At that moment, I had strong and instant feelings for him – they certainly must have been there all along, hiding somewhere deep within me but now they had risen to the surface, leaving me with total love for my Beluga Whale. How, I asked myself, did these feelings lay dormant for so many years?

Benny was now, along with Luke, sleeping with me every night. There WAS a little problem with this – I would be woken, usually around 2 AM, by Benny who was trying to eat my hair!!! This was weird but true! As fates would have it, Benny’s medical issues became worse. One sure way of knowing that he was feeling so poorly – besides the fact that he was barely eating – was that he had stopped trying to eat my hair during the night – a very bad sign. He was on various meds as well as on a special diet and yet, here I was, facing his imminent trip over the Rainbow Bridge. I felt guilty and also felt cheated out of having more time with him despite the 15 years we DID have together.

I also felt horribly sad for Luke, who would now be left with no special friend. Only one consolation was to be found – the thought that somewhere, somehow, Benny would be joined once more with his former “loves”, Basil, Dexter and Lady, who were all out there, beyond the Bridge, just waiting to welcome him “home”.

 

Really Missing You,