Bentley is not happy

Bentley moments

"Awwwwww, Bentley!" (totally silly cat gifs)

Have yourself a Bentley little Christmas

Bentley paws.

Bentley sleeps with his eyes open

Much as I love cats, there is something primitive, almost reptilian about their eyes. When Bentley is at a certain stage of sleep, his eyes are slits with the pupils rolled down (not up), with a glazed look. Sometimes his eyes are wide open like that. It's disturbing. I think predators have to be ready every second for the next kill, and thus don't even have to open their eyes to wake up.

Cat wrap: Bentley on a roll

It's been a while since I posted a Bentley video, so here is one. Like most cats, he does all sorts of funny, sweet, droll - oh, SCREW that! He is the only cat who does the fun, the pleasurable, the joyfully antic things that he does, warming our hearts and making our lives just a tad more meaningful. 

For Bentley came along when there was a cat-shaped hole in my heart, and I didn't even know it. Not until that particular puzzle-piece clicked into place did I realize how incomplete I had been.

Bentley does not meow. Bentley does not purr. He is nearly silent. Bentley will bite you as soon as lick you. Bentley has huge eyes that sometimes seem predatory, sometimes frightened, or that glimmer enigmatically. He sneaks up on you with great stealth. He is exceptionally beautiful. We think so.

Bill callls him "chum", "our boy", and (when he has been bad) "ya bum". I call him "pudsy", "pud-pud" and "pudster", or "Bentleykins". Bentley takes care of us. He is sleek and beautiful and warms my lap. He runs to the door to greet us when we've been out. The only time we've been away from him for any length of time, when we went to Hawaii earlier in the year, he stopped eating and nearly had a nervous breakdown.

So there, dog people, those who say a cat can't be attached to you in the same way. No, it's not the same way at all! Bentley is attached to us in a Bentley way.

Cat MANGLES baby trolls!

My new baby trolls were problematic from the start. It's not that they cost a lot of money, but shipping and handling charges on Etsy are always more than the item itself. Then there was a sort of import tax slapped on it, a DUTY of more than $14.00 (see bitter tirade, below). I don't understand this and am trying to get it back. If this is going to keep happening, it's the end of my internet shopping, because 95% of the stuff I buy is from the States. Canada just does not have these things. So what, and why?? But this video is more fun. Late at night, lying in bed, I was playing with my new baby trolls (having reverted back to childhood so I could do it right this time), when Bentley the cat appeared. The rest is documented here. 

Kitty shows me his butt!

When a cat shows you his butt, it's supposed to be an honour (kind of like dropping a dead bird at your feet). Here, Bentley takes it a little too far with the head-butts, flinging himself at me in a way which is highly unusual for him. He can be a tad aloof and will not receive affection unless he is in the mood. In other words, he is a cat.

This video is a tad dark, but I'm using the YouTube editing program which is a bit primitive. If you lighten things up too much, they turn orange and pixilated. 

The last time Bentley did something like this was at the vet's. He stood there on the table and rammed his head under my arm like an ostrich. He has limits. Boarding him while we went to Hawaii was downright traumatic, and he barely ate (and wouldn't even drink, being incredibly stubborn). I guess here he has forgiven me at last. 

Here comes Bentley Claus!

A montage of Bentley Christmas Blingees!

Bentley the Waltzing Cat

 Bentley the Waltzing Cat - not exactly waltzing, but we love him anyway.

Bentley hates The Christmas Song!

Chriiiiistmas, Chriiiiiistmas time is here. . . We revisit the horror of Alvin and the Chipmonks played at normal speed. Bentley wisely leaves the building.

Bentley beauty shot

Bentley, who is affectionate only on his own feline terms (unlike my daughter's cat Mia, who flings herself at you, and my son's old fat cat Autumn who purrs like a coffee grinder), nevertheless seems to be aware of his own beauty. His eyes become luminous, his "moon eyes" I call them, and he holds his head nobly, as if having faraway visions. Visions of tuna, probably, but never mind, it makes him look noble.

Bentley's mystic eyes

Who's that cat? It's Bentley!

We noticed early on that Bentley had a certain quality in front of the camera. He doesn't pose, of course - no cat would. It's something else. I don't remember our last cat (Murphy) being like this, though he was gorgeous in his 22-pound prime. 

The camera captures Bentley's inner as well as outer beauty. There's something a little sad about his eyes, which are very luminous and sometimes a bit scary. It's his "moon eyes" look, nearly all pupil, in which his eyes glow, oval and most un-catlike. 

Bentley will be cool to me sometimes, turn ass and ignore me the way cats do, and then, when I'm curled in a dark room to try to have a nap to make up for a crappy night, I will feel "something", someone bumping up against me, almost violently, then turning around and around to find the best place to snuggle. 

It's Bentley.

Bentley does nothing. . . again

Bentley knows how beautiful he is, and yet he's modest about it. He is a gentleman cat. Bill and I agree he's special. There's just something about him. He knows when the camera is on him, and glimmers his eyes accordingly. He becomes Majestic. He would be great in commercials or something, because he knows how to work the angles, but we'd never let him. We're waiting for a feature film, with his name above the title.

Bentley, doing nothing

MEOWTHRA!

Imagine my surprise when my TV-watching enjoyment (that juicy Scientology series) was disrupted by an ad for a new Lego movie. Some sort of sendup of Japanese creature-feature flicks, only the monster was a hideous creature called. . .

MEOWTHRA!

  

Right. So the monster in this strange-looking film is a cute little brown tabby named Meowthra, presumably a take on the immortal Mothra. I'll tell you something, cute as this cat is, he is not a PATCH on my Bentley. 

Bentley appeared on the famous Pictures of Cats website which originates in the UK, where cats are king. As a matter of fact, I sent them a gif and they made this charming triptych from it. You should check out this site if you're cattish at all.

http://pictures-of-cats.org/can-a-cat-lose-the-ability-to-purr.html

Still pictures will never do my Bentley justice, for his face is sweet and expressive and kind of mournful. His eyes are big and sad, perhaps because he lives with abandonment issues. He was a stray when he came to us, savaged by a dog and left for dead. Does my companion animal need a companion animal, perhaps?

And I love it when he sleeps funny.

Cat beauty: Bentley in the window

Ready for his closeup. Can Bentley help it if he knows he's beautiful?

Bentley Meows!

Bentley meows!  This is a statement as significant as "Garbo Talks". It may not mean a lot to you, but he meows about twice a month. He sort of purrs, but it sounds wheezy and a little pathetic. You can feel a slight vibration, mostly at the back of the neck. He wheezes once or twice, a sort of token purr, then stops.

We have wondered if his vocal cords were damaged when he was thrashed by a dog or coyote (he was a rescue, found near death at the side of the road after a vicious mauling). But then I read that some cats don't meow at all. I'd quote this, but I'm too tired and the quotes are kind of stupid. The fact he DOES meow, and purr (half-assed), means he's likely just a quiet cat.

Bentley: wanted all over town