Boots look very nice on pussy cats. (purrrrrrrrr)
The photo I used for the thumbnail is Bentley's "mug shot", the picture that started it all. We weren't in the market for a cat - at all - and in fact, I had just lost a beloved pet, a sweet little lovebird I called Paco. My last lovebird Jasper had died after seven years or so of companionship, and when I brought Paco home I was delighted - if you opened the cage, she would climb right onto your hand, go up your arm and nibble on your ear. But only a few weeks later, we found her dead on the bottom of the cage, and we never figured out why. She wasn't quite mature yet, and may even have slipped off an unfamiliar perch in a very large cage. But I was devastated, and knew I could not adopt another bird, it was just too heartbreaking.
Meantime, my daughter, who had also lost a cat, had adopted a new kitten named Mia - and every time we went over there, we were enchanted. But we hadn't owned a cat for ten years, and after Murphy left us, we said, "No more cats." Then Shannon began to work on us. Hey, you're retired now - retired people need a cat!
So I began to look on various websites, SPCA and kitten rescue sites, and then - I found this picture, and something happened! I showed it to Bill, and said, "We have to go see this cat. Maybe tomorrow?" He said, "Why don't we go right now?"
We weren't even thinking of an adult cat, and this cat was a year old, a stray wandering along the road probably trying to find a girl friend. He was badly injured, and someone found him and brought him in to the SPCA across town. He was in a cubicle all by himself, and when I went in he was very high up, but immediately jumped down and came up to me, his tail in a question mark. I picked him up, and he melted in my arms. We had our cat.
Yes, he HAD been injured, attacked by a dog or a coyote, and it was a lucky thing that he had survived it. There was virtually no fur on his back, just a shaven patch with awful scars. I asked the staff if the fur would grow back, and they said they didn't know. But when we took him home, everyone fell in love with him instantly. My daughter-in-law commented on his bald spot: "That's where his wings broke off."
The fur almost all grew back, but when he leans forward you can see little bald spots on his shoulders, which we call his "duelling scars". We like to say, "You should have seen the dog!" Obviously he had fought back valiantly, and ended up in safe haven.
So now Bentley appears in many of my videos, and wanders into the frame when I show off my trolls. We can't imagine our lives without him. He is the perfect cat for us, quiet and dignified, but quirky and unpredictable at times, and fiercely loyal to us. If Bill and I are having coffee and talking, Bentley will mosey into the room and plunk himself down exactly in the middle. If I am sick or troubled, he will nudge the door open and jump up on the bed to be with me. He lap-sits on Bill, but with me he prefers to nest between my ankles while I am reading in bed.
So it was a natural that he would be the visual for this song, which to this day brings tears to my eyes. Boots like nice on pussy cats. . . (purr, purr!)
