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In Memoriam, Junior Bonner the Cat, 2007-2025

Junior Bonner was a legend, a pal, a library-famous prince among cats.  He died this week after a short illness, at 17.  He will be dearly missed.  Junior is survived by his people, Amadee and Jim.

Junior Bonner was gray with big yellow eyes.  He loved string, sunshine, rag rugs, and staying up late.  He hated kitty carriers and anything with that vibe, like laundry baskets and storage tubs.  He was also not a fan of cloudy days, vacuums, strangers, loud noises, closed doors, changes in routine, or car rides of any duration.  He was very, very photogenic.

Junior was born on the fourth of July, maybe.  He came from the Yavapai Humane Society in Prescott, Arizona, and the staff guessed he was born in early July.  So, his people went with the most memorable day.

Someone in the family wasn't super excited about getting a cat but decided it would be okay as long as it was named Junior Bonner, after the Steve McQueen movie filmed in Prescott.  So, Junior Bonner it was. 

Junior's backstory before the shelter was murky, but he was separated from his mother when he was much too small and came to the shelter alone.  He was still puny and nervous the day Amadee went to look at cats and carried him home in an enormous rattly cat carrier from the thrift shop.  Common wisdom may not recommend choosing the smallest, jonesiest pet at the shelter, but there was never any question that he was the right cat. 

The rough start meant Junior never really seemed to see himself as a cat, and loathed other cats without exception.  He wasn’t crazy about most people, either, but loved his own particular people beyond measure.

As a little guy, Junior never felt secure about food.  So he would carry kibble around in his mouth and hide it in shoes, and boxes, and corners of closets.  He managed to hide pounds and pounds of food, which is impressive and a little alarming since he could only carry a couple of pieces at a time, and he never did it when anyone was watching.

Jim and Amadee lived on top of a mountain outside Prescott when Junior was young, in a gorgeously dilapidated log cabin that wasn't really set up for year-round use.  The place was absolutely boiling with mice, and tiny Junior enjoyed catching them in big numbers.  That would have been great, but he was also hiding cat food in every nook and cranny, fueling the relentless tide of rodentkind.  Being the cause of and solution to the mouse problem may have been a fiendish plan on the cat's part, or not.  Either way, tracking down Junior’s secret stashes of food was a regular chore.

Junior had his first brush with library fame in 2009, when he was a special guest on the “Pets” episode of the Prescott Public Library Storytime Show.  The show ran several times each week on the local public access station, and had a devoted audience in the dozens.

In 2011 the family moved to Colorado for a new job.  Junior hated the move and everything about the new place - a grim ground-level apartment with lots of comings and goings.  But somehow the change of scene was a clean break from hiding kibble, and he never hid a single piece of food again.

Junior settled into a mellow-for-him adulthood, plagued only by enemy cats in various neighborhoods, and the inevitable slings and arrows and vacuum cleaners of life.  He was happy to move back to Arizona in 2016.  By then his main interest was sitting in the sun, with occasional breaks to lie in the shade looking dapper.

He still loved to play until the very end, chasing string and hiding under his favorite rag rugs.  After his spryness waned in recent years, he would climb his pet stairs to sit on Amadee’s lap or look out the window.

There are at least a thousand photos of Junior.  He looked gorgeous in most of them, silly in some, and lovably awkward in a few.  In 2024 he made an appearance in the Baker & Taylor Cat Calendar, which is produced by a big library vendor and sent out to customers all over North America.  His star turn as Mr. October was exciting for his fans (especially Amadee, who had entered him in the calendar contest a number of times over the years). 

Junior was unfazed by his newfound celebrity.

Junior died on April 29, after a sudden decline.  He is buried at home with a favorite string and a couple of his other prized possessions, near a cactus patch full of rabbits and lizards.  He would have liked that.

Junior Bonner was the best and greatest of cats and the house is very empty without him.  We miss you, little homie.

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* A note from Amadee about indoor and outdoor cats.

I grew up with cats that went outside, and when we brought Junior home in 2007, that just seemed normal to me.  In the years since, I have learned about the harm domestic cats do to the environment – especially bird populations – as well as how dangerous the outdoors can be for the cats themselves.  I would not have a cat that went outside in the future, and that is part of why I don’t ever expect to have another cat.  Junior was the best cat, and for me he was also the Last Cat. 

There is lots to be said on this subject, but I would rather not have that conversation in this exact moment.  Thanks for understanding.

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textless under burned trees on top of a mountain.

San Juan Mountains, San Juan County, Colorado

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Keeled treehoppers (Antianthe expansa), happy in the datura leaves.

The spiny red fellows are nymphs, and the orange wedges are adults. Various kinds of ants like to hang around with the nymphs, perhaps to harvest their honeydew.

The hoppers don't seem especially worried about predators. Given the bright warning colors and steady diet of toxic plant, I'm guessing they taste dreadful.

Cochise County, Arizona, August 2024.

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Nothing to see here, just perfectly camouflaged bugs in the grass.

Cochise County, Arizona, August 2024.

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