Bentley Turns 20

Our dear, old deaf and fluffy cat Bentley turned 20 years old last month. 

Party time...

Custom fit to have his ear poke out.

We like celebrating everything, why not? Life is short, give thanks. So yes, a Bentley inspired chocolate cake to celebrate our little friend. 

He doesn't keep track of time, so doesn't care much that I am blogging late on his birthday. I got him 20 years ago, along with his twin Fatty in the SPCA of Annapolis. There they were, one ball of fluff with two kitten heads popping out of the furball, and I knew they were worth $40.

 I was jut a kid, right out of high school and little did I know these two kittens would stay with me for the second half of my life. The fur balls were pretty low maintenance those first few years. They were such a gift from God to be my little pals for so many years.

Nineteen years later, Fatty met his demise with a tragic accident at the vets office last year. And twenty years later, Bentley is still going strong. 

What is the secret to growing old cats? I'm not sure....not euthanizing them certainly helps them live longer. Just like the secret to a long marriage as my boss once told me is "Don't get a divorce." 

Perhaps its the Mediteranean diet, or the Keto, or the Sunshine diet. I think it might be something like a combination of ignoring them and paying attention to them when necessary, brushing them when they are old, ignoring the vet when he or she will tell you multiple times "it's time to put them out of their misery" and they are clearly not ready to go, singing around them, looking at them in their eyes when they look sick to figure out what is going on, no table food, fresh water, couch cuddles and taking them outside to play in the sun on nice days. 

Birdwatching

Brushing helps keep hairballs from getting stuck on the way out...

Caught

Loves the snow

And blends in with the couch

These days we are pretty busy with our garden and Bentley loves coming out with us to pull weeds and lay sod. 

We're ready to be added to Mt. Rushmore

In the mornings he screams like a rooster because he is deaf and thinks no one is around to feed him. In the afternoons he sits on my mom-in-laws lap and watches Italian cooking shows. On Fridays, she shares some tuna with him and I pretend not to notice. She's become a cat lady overnight. 

He took over her rocking chair. She pulled out a spare folding chair and willingly gave Bentley the rocking chair.

He loves to chase leaves, eat an occasional potato chip, scratch his right ear and sniff my growing tomato plants. He loves napping in the sun. He occasionally gets the crazies and goes dashing around the house running from an invisible foe. I'm sure he misses being able to hear and listen to music, when he was younger he loved Edith Piaf, bossa nova and bluegrass. We love having this sweet old soul around. He has white hair on the back of his ears to show his age, is missing his top teeth and occasionally needs a laxative. But other than that, he is in tip top shape for the human equivalent of 100. 

My fur coat in the winter has whiskers

He loves napping on my planner and thinks planning is overated.

Happy 20th Birthday, old Bentley!