goodnight, sweet kitten 30 May, 2008

binx was my kitten. at least, she was at first. a solid black cat with piercing green eyes, she was a gift to me from a friend for halloween 1996. i begged and pleaded with my parents to keep her, and they finally said yes…and then, two months later, i joined the army, leaving the tiny black kitten with my mom until i came home.

of course, by the time i got to come home in september 1997, binx had already adopted my mom as her own mom, and no amount of coaxing or bribery from me would change that. during weeks when my mom would go out on the road with my trucker dad, binx would accept me as a substitute, but made it plain that i was inferior by sitting by my mom’s bedroom door every night and waiting patiently for her to come to bed. when i moved out and went to college, and again when i moved to raleigh, mom asked if i wanted to take binx with me. i knew better. i could no more separate binx from mom than i could separate her from her own tail.

binx was the gentlest, most affectionate cat, allowing both of my young nephews to tug her tail or pat her a little too enthusiastically without ever hissing, biting, scratching or slapping (although she would begin to whine when she’d had enough, a sign to my mom to try to divert the boys’ attentions elsewhere). she also tolerated the yipping barks and clumsy attacks of mom’s tiny dog holly, for the most part…there were a few times when holly was sent wimpering away with a fresh scratch on her nose…). she was so laid back, and truly understood the important things in life, like naps in the sun and not settling for food that wasn’t delicious. in fact, the only living creature she ever showed a marked dislike towards, apart from the occasional unlucky rodent, was heffer, when mom would take care of her before she moved in with us.

binx passed away about an hour ago. my parents aren’t sure why, but the guess is that she simply lived her life until it ran out. my mom couldn’t call me…she had to get my sister to do it. and i can’t bring myself to call my mom, not tonight. maybe tomorrow.

i love you, binx. you will be missed more than i can express.

p.s. ~ if you will be at our cookout tomorrow, please don’t ask me about binx. i’m not sure i’ll be up for talking about it, and i don’t want to bring down the mood of the day. i do appreciate your concern and love, but i’d rather just keep my grief relatively private and try to have fun.

p.s.s. ~ fun fact about the binkershnitzel: her name came about because of this movie. binx was the name of the black cat, who was voiced by this guy, who i had a crush on when i was younger.

p.s.s.s. ~ another fun fact about the binxicus rex: she actually had a sister, of sorts. the reason i had to work so hard on my parents to let me keep her was because i’d already brought home a little grey and white kitten named abbey (after the album i was listening to as i drove her home) during a routine jaunt to the local wal-mart. abbey wasn’t with us for long, though…while cat-sitting when my parents were on the road and i was away in the army, a neighbor cat-napped abbey and told mom and dad that she’d run away. we’d see her sitting in this lady’s windows, but she’d hide abbey when we’d go over to ask about it. this went on for about two years, until well after i’d gone off to college and she stopped bothering to hide abbey.

needless to say, she didn’t cat-sit for us ever again after abbey “ran away.”

p.s.s.s.s. ~ my little binky had a very small, delicate, dainty face, with a short nose that she loved to have rubbed. and when you picked her up, she was solid muscle, except for a little flabby pouch at her belly. and her fur was so soft…she had a really thick undercoat, but a longer, fluffier overcoat, a lot like heffer’s. i loved to pick her up and just hug her…

p.s.s.s.s.s. ~ i made a tribute page for the bink at aspca.com. you don’t have to donate anything, but thanks if you do.