We called him Nerone because he was totally black and in Italian “nero” means black.
He must have been about three months old when he was found abandoned in the courtyard of our building in Rome and sometime later we decided to take him in. The story went as follows.
He adored Marta and he did everything possible to let her understand he wanted to stay with her always, although she was the only person living in that building who had not brought him anything to eat, but spent time playing with him every day. He used to wait for her so he could play and be coddled. Often he climbed up her trouser leg because he wanted to be taken care of. His eyes were quick and crafty like those of a fox and was completely covered with black fur.
Winter was coming up and in few months it would have been too cold to stay outdoors and Nerone was constantly in our minds. We couldn’t help but feeling sorry for the little kitten.
A few days before the end of 1998 he made his official entrance in our apartment and from that day onwards he lived with us like a king.
In a few days he took possession of the apartment, he walked around as if he was the owner and every room was his. He was so happy and purred like a tractor that was never switched off.
He used to spend hours sitting on my desk looking at me while I was busy working with my tapes and CDs. He looked with great interest and sometimes he wanted to help me to the point that he put his paw on the tapes or the buttons of my recorder as if he knew what he was doing and wanted to explain it to me. He sometimes added a speech above all when I opened my recorder to put inside a new tape and he didn’t agree with my choice. So he let out his loud meow of disapproval.
He considered my desk top as his beauty salon where he spent endless time licking his fur and his paws. He was very vain and took a lot of trouble keeping his fur in good condition so that he could show off and always give a good impression.
He was always very friendly and was afraid of nothing, so when the door bell rang, instead of hiding under the bed like most cats do, he went with Marta to welcome the new comer with a loud meow and a rub on the legs, no matter who the person was, known or unknown. As soon as the visitor sat down, Nerone jumped on the visitor’s knees and started to purr.
One of his favourite games was to stand on top of the washing machine waiting for the spin. He then leaned down and looked inside the glass door, so that he could see the clothes going round and round in a fast spin. He was totally fascinated by this spinning and sat looking hypnotized until the end of the spin. At the end of the show he would go and look for something else to do. Normally he went to the kitchen for a snack and if he found Marta washing vegetables, especially beans, Nerone would jump on the sink and supervise the work that she was doing.
He was also a very good soccer-player and spent hours chasing his little plastic ball around the house. This game was mainly played at night and with his green-yellow eyes he could see perfectly in the dark. When he got tired he jumped on the bed, curled himself up into a ball, fell asleep and soon started to snore.
They say that cats have seven lives. He blew one up during one of his football matches. The ball bounced against the wall and into the study room, he followed it like lightning, he took a very tight corner. He flew into the room at such a speed that he could not stop in time to avoid crashing into the bookshelf. He must have hit his nose because he fell down on the floor as if dead. Marta went into a panic and called immediately the vet and her upstairs friend. Luckily after ten minutes Nerone opened his eyes and slowly got up. To our surprise half an hour later he was again running after his ball as if nothing had happened.
One day a bowl of two goldfish got into our house because a neighbour did not want them anymore and threatened to throw the fish in the loo. So Marta agreed to keep them and we put them on a very high table near the entrance where Nerone had never been seen before. For several days he took no notice of the two newcomers. One evening when we were watching the TV we did not hear the usual banging of Nerone’s ball and his horse-like gallop up and down the corridor. We thought that this silence was very unusual and suspicious and something was surely happening.
Marta got up to control the situation and found Nerone with one paw inside the fishbowl, the poor fish were laying flat on the bottom of the tank. There was water everywhere and Nerone was trying to catch the fish with his sharp claws, but to no effect. Marta quickly put the two fish in the bathroom, filled again the bowl with fresh water and left them closed in there. The cat spent the night scratching on the door to get in. The next day we gave the fish to a friend of ours but Nerone didn’t agree with this decision and spent the next days looking and hunting for the fish.
When Nerone wanted to sleep with me, he had to put his head on the pillow and the rest of his body under the blankets, like a human being. When you tried to push him away he resisted and meowed until you left him to sleep.
His favourite game was to hide inside the cupboards for hours on end and sit still so as not to be heard. Once we looked for him everywhere and when after a long time of searching we found him inside the cupboard he greeted us with a timid meow, as if to say “hello, is everything okay?”.
These are only a few examples of Nerone’s life, it’s impossible to describe everything that happened in the 12 years he lived with us.
We were really very fond of Nerone and we loved him deeply. When he died he left a great emptiness in our lives, which we cannot yet fill, although two years have gone by.
About Mauro
I got my inspiration for this website from the song called “Imagine”, and so I decided to go on this adventure. I have always wanted to put up something like this where my friends and I could express our memories and dreams for the future. Share them with us, because if many people dream the same dream it will certainly come true.
I remember this cat because he always wanted to come and sit on my lap when I visited. It was strange because cats have never been my favourite pet but he insisted to approach me first. Sera and the girls love cats but they weren’t his first choice. I must admit he was a very proud and handsome cat and looked like a black panther patrolling his teritory.
Haha yes, I remember he would greet us at the door, but he would only let me pet him for a second or two and then he would walk over to my dad instead. And I remember him chasing that plastic ball up and down the passage, so cute!
I love cats!!!!too bad that u lost him:(