May 4, 1994 - October 19, 2009
as told by his sister
Pepe
Danny Boy was the last to go and it seemed to take hours before Siam returned for him. The day was dull and grey with the threat of rain. My humans kept close watch over Danny Boy as he waited by a bush in the backyard, ready to offer him shelter should it begin to rain. Siam must have had to feed and wash each of Danny's sisters as she got them to their new nest, but finally she returned for Danny and he was so happy to see his mother! He rubbed all over her. She picked him up by the neck and off they went.
My humans were very disappointed that Siam hadn't seen fit to leave her family in the safety of meowmie's mother's backyard, but let her have her way, all the while knowing they would keep watch and hopefully the day would come when they would return. Siam was still eating her meals at meowmie's mother's. When a few weeks had passed, the humans decided to take matters into their own hands, and took the kittens from the wood pile where they had been living, and brought them back to meowmie's mother's backyard. Siam was there eating at the time so was able to welcome her babies when my humans delivered them. The kittens felt a lot better when they saw her, having been snatched out of their nest in the wood pile. The yard was much better for the family and Siam accepted this and they all lived happily there until the kittens grew big enough to begin climbing the high wall surrounding the yard.
At that point the kittens came to live at the happy habitat while Siam remained with meowmie's mother. Danny's sisters were named Witchiepoo and Tinkerbell. Witchiepoo crossed in 2008, and Tinkerbell is still living at the habitat.
It took the humans a long time to name Danny Boy. At first they called him "Boxer" because of his extra toes. The name didn't seem to fit him though - too rough and tough for his meek personality. They tried to think of other names that would showcase his toes, "Snowshoe" being one, but nothing seemed to work. Finally "Danny Boy" was chosen even though it had nothing to do with his paws - it just fit. Besides Danny Boy, he was called Danny and Daniel. He was a sweet, gentle giant. A giant because of how long and tall he was, but he was never overweight at all, always very lean.
He only ever had one mishap in his 15 + years of living with us and that was when a neighborhood cat came into the kingdom over the cat proof fence. Danny Boy wasn't a fighter so the humans figured it must have jumped down near him and a big fight ensued. Danny Boy ended up with an abscess right on his forehead and had to visit the vet. His wound reminded us of a unicorn who'd had the horn yanked off. That was Danny Boy's one and only fight. After that, on the rare occasion a cat got into the kingdom, he would stay far away, not wanting a repeat of his earlier episode. He liked to mind his own business and avoid trouble.
Danny Boy had a unique way of eating and that was to take a huge mouth full of dry food all at once. Usually he'd then drop it in front of himself and eat from his pile, but sometimes he'd eat a big mouth full at once. Daddy called him a steam shovel when he'd eat.
Danny Boy enjoyed resting on a perch in the tree, and up until his last couple of months of life, was able to lounge there.
He is buried in the kingdom next to his sister and the other purr babies who have gone before him.
Read more about Siam, and Danny Boy and his sister's kittenhood on Witchiepoo's memorial page.
