Susan Senator

Sonny, Yesterday my life was filled with rain
Sonny, You purred at me and really eased the pain
–Bobby Hebb (and me)

My friend Don did a real mitzvah yesterday. He offered me his cat Sonny on a trial basis. He saw that I was sad about the whole Guardianship process for Nat, the whole transition that is starting, and he loaned me his kitty. I had never met Don face-to-face; he was a friend of a friend who got to know me through my blog, and I through his.

So Sonny came home, as Shawn Colvin would say, although there’s no arson going on here, thank God, knock wood. I spent yesterday (aside from being with my parents and Benji’s class for a turkey-less Thanksgiving feast) with Sonny, getting to know him. I gave him his little stinky food (Ocean Whitefish, a cat with sophisticated tastes), his kibbles, his water, and showed him where his litter box was (Max’s bathroom, behind the clawfoot tub, next to the radiator).

My right eye blew up and my left elbow crease erupted in hives. (A few hours after taking Claritin I was back to normal, and attended the Shriver Kids-Special Olympics-Eunice Kennedy Shriver forum at the Kennedy Library. I had a second row seat, behind Larry Lucchino and Ted Kennedy. I made friends with Phyllis Karas, who wrote The Onassis Women, and was there for People Magazine. I loved hearing Eunice K-S talk about how not only incredible luck and familial love, but also adversity and witnessing the sting of rejection (on behalf of Rosie) forged her vision and determination. I want to get inside her head and write about her and Rosie somehow, bouncing off me and Nat.)

Don assured me that all Sonny would want is a lap to purr in. This is true! He has determined that I am the Momma, and he comes to me, purring, and kneading me as if I had kitty milk in my thigh. But in order to continue with this relationship, one would have to keep cats entertained as they get bored real easily. Hence, if you want it hanging around you, you could indulge in Cat World to get to know all the ways you could keep it happy.

Nat is skittish around him. He thinks the name of the cat is, “No Cat.” We have tried to tell him that Sonny is just a little furry friend, and little by little Nat is relaxing around him. It’s funny how scared he is of Sonny!

Max likes him but declined holding him. 🙁 But he is very friendly to him, which is nice.

The best part is how Benj loves him. Sonny settled next to him on the yellow couch and Ben smiled and smiled! He also slept in Ben’s room most of the night. At 4 a.m. there was a cat-based disturbance, so I went downstairs to sleep with him on the couch for a few hours, to get him to leave the rest of them alone, and to give him the lap extraordinaire: Me in jammies, under blankets, asleep and warm.

It is adorable and poignant beyond words. So here are some pictures.