Benji the Feline Goodwill Ambassador

03/07/2025

This sweet boy is so missed.

20/05/2025

This Facebook (Meta) page is a memorial to a wonderful therapy cat named Benji. If you are not here for him, I would ask you to not post anything, especially any items for your business as it will be deleted.

Please don't sully his memory with your hawking.

Thank you.

01/05/2024

Hi friends. This is Benji's mom. It has taken me a while before I felt I could announce this here, but we lost Benji on Good Friday to kidney failure. Since Covid, he had not been visiting any of the Assisted Living homes and I heard he was greatly missed, but we did what was required of us at that time.

As he got older, I think he preferred to be a home body and I respected his wishes. However, he started to develop kidney problems a few years ago.

I did everything I could and was told to do by my veterinarian to stop the disease from growing, but ultimately, the disease won.

On Friday, April 29, 2024, he could not move and I brought him to an emergency room. They were wonderful and did everything possible but he had three seizures and there was not much hope.

I reluctantly said good bye to him inasmuch as I didn't want to and even though it upset me more than anything. He was not quite 14 years old which is not very old for a cat.
:(

I know he is missed by his family and friends and the people at the assisted living home who loved him.

Romp over The Rainbow Bridge sweet Benji. Our beloved Dr. Tracy is there and I know she will look out for you. Love to you from mama Marla, brothers Oliver and Tristan and sister Phoebe.

08/06/2022

Hi everyone,

I know it's been a long time but we still have not gone back to visiting any residents for seniors, as mom tells me this thing called Covid is still all over. It's been so long since I told you anything about me, so mom figured it was time.

Just about a month ago, I was not feeling very well for a while. Oh I was eating and I cuddled with Oliver, but I was not myself and mom sensed it. So mom took me to a place that might be able to clean my teeth but they couldn't do that because they said I had something called Gingivitis. I thought that had something to do with liking ginger, but it confused me because I don't think I do like it.

Anyway, mom took me to see Dr. Laura at Saugus Animal Hospital and though I'm not overly fond of being confined in a carrier, I liked Dr. Laura a lot and let her pet me several times. Even when she looked in my mouth, which was a little painful, she was gentle and I still liked her. Dr. Laura said I had some bad teeth and they needed to be removed. Mom knew this to be true because she was always telling me I had bad breath.

Dr. Laura took out 7 or 8 teeth of mine and it took a few days but I am feeling a lot better and mom tells me I do not have smelly breath anymore. I heard her talking on the phone to her friend Pat, telling her that she sees that I am back to my old self. I'm running and playing with string and I'm meowing for my dinner and my treats again.

I do have to tell you something funny though. When mom took me back to Dr. Laura, a week after my surgery, there was a little black bird who was nesting nearby, although my mom didn't know it at the time. The bird landed on our parked car and while mom was trying to transfer me from the carrier to my stroller, the bird whacked her on the head. Not once, not twice, but 5 times!!!! Mom was not happy and she threatened the bird that I was in the car. She kept saying hiss Benji, hiss. But I don't know what hissing is. I've never hissed...ever. We finally got into the clinic but not without a much bruised head for mom.

So all is well again. Mom had a new air conditioner put in and I insisted that Dennis, the AC contractor, pet me before he left. And so he did.

So that's about it, except that mom has nesting doves on her porch again, so Oliver and Tristan are not allowed on the porch for a while and I guess, even though I wouldn't harm them, I am not either. It's okay. It's summer time and it is very hot.

I will look forward to telling you my adventures again soon. Mom says we will be doing a fundraising event at a picnic soon and I will be the celebrity guest. People will be allowed to hold me for a small donation of maybe $3.00 although mom tells me holding me is worth a million bucks. Since I love to be held, I will look forward to that. Love to all.

On Sunday, June 12th, it will be my 7 year Cataversary with my mom. I am almost 12 years old and mom adopted me when I was 5.

Signing off,

Benji

24/04/2022

Please don't declaw us. Support this bill.

The California Anti-Declaw Bill, AB2606, has its first hearing on Tuesday, April 26. Are you a California resident who wants to help? Write us at [email protected] and join our email list for the latest updates: http://goo.gl/yvXKrX

03/10/2021

Good Sunday, everyone. Benji here. No we still have not gone back to the Senior Assisted Living Homes. Mom says that because of the Delta variant we may have to wait longer. She was really busy, busy, busy this past September, but she plans on making a few calls this week to some of the centers to see if we can return.

Let me tell you what happened to me today. I went to a photography studio to take photos for a calendar that will come out in 2023. Well actually it was inside a pet groomer but still it was set up to be a studio. And I hopefully will get to be a pin up boy!!! How cool would that be??

Mom brought a lot of my costumes with her. A pumpkin and a jester collar for Halloween, a Ladies' Man for Valentine's Day, an L.A. Lakers jersey and an elf costume for Christmas plus reindeer ears. BUT SHE FORGOT MY TREATS, which I was not thrilled about. Anyway, when we got to the studio, mom noticed a Menorah. For those who don't know, that is a candle holder with 9 candles in it to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. The photographer, Jeanette Street, was looking for a Jewish cat. Well..if Benjamin is not a Jewish name, then I don't know what is. Actually my name is not Benjamin but it could be for a day. I'm really easy going and so it seems is mom.

I sat on a table cloth with Jewish stars and menorahs on it and the photographer draped a tallitz, a Jewish scarf with the star of David on it, around me. Mom is not quite sure how to spell that and said she was mispronouncing it for years. Oh well. Mom said it looked like I was a Bar Mitzvah boy. Then she said she was so ferklempt looking at me because in 2 years I'll be 13 and ready for my own Bar Mitzvah. I didn't know what that was but mom said when Jewish boys get to be 13 they become a "man" and there is a celebration. Girls have it too but it's called a Bat Mitzvah. She said when I reach 13, she will be even more proud of me, so maybe I'll get some treats and toys on that day too. But right now I'm only 11 (mom says it seems like just yesterday I was 5), so I have a few years. The candles will have to be photoshopped into the picture because mom and the photographer knew how dangerous it was for a cat (or anyone) to be that close to fire. I was up and down and down and up and I sure would not want to be responsible for burning the groomers down. I also got to put on what mom says was a yamulka, but since there were no holes for my ears, I couldn't put that on. So that was my first picture and the photographer said I looked very serious. Mom said that's because I had a tallitz on. It made me look like a scholar, she told me.

The next photo was fun too. I got to wear this tough looking but cool black motorcycle jacket. I felt just like Fonzie. Ayyyyeee. Mom loved it, but she loves anything I wear.

So we are looking forward to seeing our photos and then right before 2023, we hope to see our calendars. Not to worry, I will be letting you know when they come out so you can all have my shining face on your wall. :)

Mom kept singing a song she said was called Calendar Girl, but she changed the words to fit me...

"Yeah, yeah, my heart's full of joy...
I love, I love, I love my little calendar boy
Each and every day of the year."

Well signing off for now. That car ride pooped me out and I'm off to take a nap.

Bye everyone. See you soon.

03/05/2021

Hi there. Well...we still can't go back to the Senior Assisted Living Residence and we're waiting patiently for that time that we can. Hopefully soon.

In the meantime, mom has built a nursery on her screen door and some birds that she calls Mourning Doves have found it and built a nest.

I'm pretty curious about this but my brother Oliver is even more curious. He's the hunter of the family. We have what mom calls a "catio". Mom made that on our front porch so we could all go outside safely so as not to roam the streets. I like to roam but mom won't let me.

This past Winter, when mom had a leak in her bathroom, I decided to explore and went through the open floor. I landed under the house but I was ok. Mom told me she worried and between she and her contractor and a bag of treats...I came home.

So now we have baby birds coming soon. Mom told us we cannot go out on the catio until they are old enough to fly away. She said that maybe by the end of May or beginning of June that will be the time.

I don't mind not going out but my brother Oliver is not happy with that decision. My other brother Tristan doesn't care either. Only Oliver does.

Mom watches from our family room where she can see out the patio door, so she will know when the eggs become baby birds.

Papa bird came to visit today but mom said she didn't know if it was papa or mama because she read that they switch off sitting on the eggs. One comes at night and one in the morning. Today was the first day since they built their nest that she saw one on her patio fence.

So we are stuck inside for now but mom said it will get hot outside soon and she'll have to keep the door closed anyway. This is mom's first time as a "grandma" to doves, so she's super cautious and excited. She said that no predators like hawks and owls can get to them.

I think Oliver is getting used to the new way of life because he is not complaining too loudly anymore. Here is a picture of my new "cousins".

27/03/2021

Hi everyone,
Well...I guess I didn't win as "America's Favorite Pet" but mom tells me that's because we needed so many votes that it may have broken everyone's bank. I'm not sure what she means by that but mom says I am still loved by so many people and of course she loves me.

Mom said she didn't push after the quarter finals because of the reasons she said. She wanted to thank everyone who voted for me and bought votes too.

Mom was a little sad the first few days after she pulled me out of the competition but the more she thought about it, it was okay. I'm not sad I'm not America's Favorite Pet. Not everyone in America knows who I am. I'm not THAT famous. I still have my brothers and even some people that stop by to fix things in the house. Mom just had someone last week who helped her put up some blinds and he held me for a long time, both times he stopped by. That was really fun for me.

So I'll just look toward the future and hope that pretty soon we will be able to go back to Pacifica or even maybe another Senior Assisted Living Residence where I can continue to hop on someone's lap or let them cuddle with me.

Thanks again everyone who voted and helped me get to the Quarter Finals. Love Benji.

05/03/2021

Hey everyone. Thanks so much for voting for me. I made it. I'm now in the Quarter Finals. Whoohoo. Mom is so proud of me and grateful for the many friends I made over the years. My family has been voting too.

BUT we have our work cut out for us if I'm going to win at the end of March. I'm now in 5th place. We have to vote.

Mom has already promised a few rescues a nice donation if I win.

So please vote so mom and I can help those abandoned animals that don't have as great a home as I do. Thanks. Love to all. Benji.

04/03/2021

Hi everyone. I was number one in my group to win America's Favorite Pet but I slipped to number 2.

Mom says if we don't get back to number 1 by tomorrow at 11 PM EST, 8 PM PST, then I will be out of the running to be in Catster Magazine and we won't win that nice prize that mom can sure use because she said I needed dental work. She also wants to give it to some rescues for taking such good care of those abandoned cats and dogs...like I was until mom got me.

So PLEASE..voting is free every 24 hours. You can buy votes but that's not necessary.

Please get me back to NUMBER 1. Thanks everyone.

Benji loves everybody. Prior to Covid, he would visit an Assisted Living Residence in Santa Clarita and chat to all the residents there.

11/02/2021

Friends. I'm in 2nd place!!! Thank you all.

But there's still 4 hours and 45 mins to go to make me number 1.

PLEASE VOTE FOR ME. Thanks.

Benji loves everybody. Prior to Covid, he would visit an Assisted Living Residence in Santa Clarita and chat to all the residents there.

10/02/2021

https://americasfavpet.com/vote/free/2021/benji-7ed4
Hi everyone...mom says we don't have much time left to vote. I'm in 3rd place. She said you have to vote so I can get into 1st place. I think I win a story in their magazine but it also says I win some money.

Mom said that whichever rescues help me, she will donate some of that money to those rescues. Or...if anyone is affiliated with a rescue, that will count too.

So come on. Don't you want a donation?? If I don't win, sadly mom can't make any donations. Please help my mom help the animals..

Thank you. Love Benji.