I love Boni Maroni

*sung* I've got a girl named Boni Maroni
She's as skinny as a stick of macaroni...
*whispered* But one day she'll be as fat and glossy as her sister Sanjee

A full-grown but very skinny black and white tuxedo cat showed up on the back deck one spring day, skinny as the famed stick of macaroni in the song for sure. My mother, now knowns as "Grandma Cat", saw her there, and took her some of our cat Sanjee's food because that poor kitty looked so skinny and pitiful. The skinny tuxie cat was in kitty heaven. But even from the kitty heaven of being given food, she took time to give my mother headbumpies and purr and purr. Grandma Cat was in love, and she brought me out to see the sweet little skinny kitty. I couldn't help but adore her too. Grandma Cat said she reminded her of the old song "Boni Maroni" and started singing it as we petted the sweet little girl.

From then on, the skinny little cat was called Boni Maroni. Day after day, Boni came to visit on the back, and we fed her. She was starting to get a little less skinny, and was always purring and asking for pets by putting one paw up on our leg and meowing. Never a scratch from her, she just patted a leg as if to say, "Can I please have a pet? Please?" Boni patiently patted and meowed her way into our hearts.

Little by little, we started doing more things for sweet Boni. We had no intention of adopting another cat, though. After all, Sanjee was Queen of the House, and she'd never said anything about wanting a sister. But we couldn't just let Boni wander off without looking after her some. We fed her in the mornings and the evenings. We rationalized it to ourselves by saying that we would be mean to let that sweet little cat starve. Her food would get wet when it rained, so we made her a funny little house with a porch out of an old cooler. We rationalized that by telling ourselves that it would be bad to waste good kitty food by letting it get wet and soggy. We spent time with her on the deck petting her and singing the Boni Maroni song. We rationalized that by telling ourselves that all creatures need love and after all, she'd turned up on our deck so it must be right to take care of her. Boni continued purring and being as sweet can can be, and the next thing we knew we'd gotten her food bowls of her own. Then a collar. We gave in and admitted that we'd adopted Boni, but we said she had to be an outside cat. And things continued a while longer like that.

It was getting hot here in Central Virginia by then, and it was just too warm to sit out on the deck with Boni as much as we wanted. So we started discussing the possibility of Boni becoming an inside cat, a sister for Sanjee. After all, Boni and Sanjee had visited through the sunroom door and seemed ok with each other. So we decided we would take Boni to our wonderful vet and see what he thought. Oh, and yes, we'd get her shots too, since even as an outside cat she needed her vaccinations.

Boni was not thrilled with being stuffed in the carrier, but even so, she was good. She meowed once or twice, but didn't make a big fuss. She settled down quickly and rode quietly to see Dr. Z. He said that we should rename her because around us she wouldn't be "boney" for long around us. We laughed and said it was too late, she was Boni Maroni already. Dr. Z declared Boni was healthy and FeLV/FIV-free, so home we took her and introduced her to Sanjee inside.

Boni wouldn't be moved by Sanjee's fussing and hissing from the start. Boni would just sit and watch Sanjee's shenanigans with her head tilted thoughtfully to one side. Sanjee gave up and stopped hissing. Boni liked snuggling from the first. She would snuggle into Grandma Cat's lap. She would snuggle into my lap. And when neither lap was available, she would invite herself and go snuggle with Sanjee in Sanjee's basket. It didn't take long for Sanjee to become as attached to Boni as we were.

Boni became very protective of her little sister Sanjee, and turned out to be a peacemaker. If Sanjee got in trouble, Boni would come running and get between us and Sanjee as if to say, "Leave my sister alone!" When Mini moved in too, and she and Sanjee would get into hissing and swatting fits, Boni would jump between them with all her fur puffed up and tell them to stop it. If anyone in the house cries out in pain or sorrow, Boni's always there to comfort them. Boni keeps track of all her loved ones, stopping in regularly to make sure everyone is ok. Little by little, Boni's peace has reigned.


Mom: Boni, you're such a sweet kitty.

Boni: Oh Mom, I'm just a regular cat. Don't make such a fuss.

Mom: But Boni, you're a peacemaker. You jump between Mini and Sanjee when they get into spats.

Boni: I can't let my sisters fight! I love them both!

Mom: And Boni, of all our cats, you're the one who comes to sit with me when I cry.

Boni: I don't want you to be unhappy, Mom.

Mom: And you snuggle with any of us, cat or human.

Boni: Yall are good to snuggle with, Mom.

Mom: And you never claw when you pat my leg to ask for pets.

Boni: I just want pets. I don't want to claw you.

Mom: See, you're a sweet kitty, Boni.

Boni: Oh Mom, don't make such a fuss.

Mom:

*sings* I've got a girl named Boni Maroni

She used to be as skinny as a stick of macaroni

*whispers* But now she's all fat and glossy.

Boni: I love you, Mom.

Mom: I love you, Boni.

Link to my blog: House of the (Mostly) Black Cats