Tuxie Tuesday- How Bennette Got Her Name

When Bennette arrived in our yard a little over a month ago, she initially set up camp in the garden. She was hanging around for about a week before she literally pounded on the front door and meowed loudly. We opened the door to see what the fuss was about and in walked Bennette. We didn't call her Bennette at first, mostly because we didn't know who she was or what she wanted. We started calling her Ms. Got Milk because of her milk moustache. Then we started calling her G. Moo (kind of like J. Lo). We were pretty sure she was homeless, but we did the obligatory scanning for the microchip, looking for "lost cat signs", asking neighbors, checking all the lost cat postings, etc. Nothing.

The new kid on the block needed a real name.
Even though she was new to us, this little girl was amazingly familiar. Our dear guardian angel Benjamin passed away in April of this year, only 6 months after finding us. He was an absolute mess when he arrived. He camped out in the backyard for a month before he agreed to trust us. His teeth were horrible, he had an ear infection that left his left ear permanently tilted, he was not neutered and he was lonely. We did everything to get him set on the path to health. We initially thought that we'd find him a good home since Ginger just moved in 1 month before he showed up. When we got to know him we realized he was older and likely would not be around a long time. I don't know how we knew but we could tell.

Benjamin adjusted to life in the house easily. He took over my mom's lap, and we all let him do it. He had a way of just getting what he wanted in a very quiet and insistent way. Kind of like Bennette. But that isn't what connected him to her. They walk the same, they talk the same, they have the same look in their eyes so that looking into Bennette's eyes are just like looking into Benjamin's eyes. They are the same size, they have the same tail.

That's when we figured...wow, this must be Benjamin's daughter (he was not neutered until we found him afterall...).

So the naming of little G. Moo was an easy choice. She is Bennette, named after her likely papa, Benjamin. It's comforting to have her with us, even if she is a stinker sometimes. The vet thinks she is about 3-4 years old, so we're hoping she has a long and happy life with us.