Alfie, Alfredo Lisanti, passed away Memorial Day Weekend, Saturday 5/29/21. He went peacefully at home. It was a natural death. He was nineteen and half years old. As far as a cat’s life goes I’d say Alfie lived a choice existence. He was and always will be the King of cats in the Lisanti Land Kingdom.
To me Alfie was more then just a cat. First and foremost he was a most loyal and loving companion. He was the only constant in my life for the last twenty years and a symbol of my adult life. The magnanimous black cat lived in six different abodes, traveled cross country from NJ to California and survived seven other house cats.
Alfie was a lap cat. Nothing gave him more satisfaction then to curl up on a warm lap and fall asleep. He did a thorough job of pre-washing our dinner dishes with his tongue. Catnip and raw beef were his favorite vises of choice. It was rare to ever find him not purring.
People would joke that when I would pet him it was like playing a musical instrument with all the different meows, purrs and coos of satisfaction he would make. He snored all day and night long when he slept. Halloween was his holiday being a black cat and all.
Alfie first came to me in January of 2002. He was found orphaned by his mother in the middle of a snow storm and thus came into my care. I had never really considered having a black cat as a pet. He was such a special little thing I had to keep him. I was just twenty myself barely figuring out my own way in the world. He quickly became a major part of my life.
Together we grew and experienced life as quite the pair. I always likened Alfie and I to folk legend Paul Bunyan and his blue ox. Chris Lisanti and his black cat. When I hurt my knee and was out of the water for months Alfie was there. I use to actually take him with me to check the surf in the morning when I lived in NJ. He loved riding in the passenger seat of the car and sunning himself on the dash board while I decided where to surf.
He touched the lives of everyone who came through Lisanti Land over the years. Whether it was in New Jersey or Santa Barbara I always had lots of good people constantly staying on the couch or renting a room or just passing through. People always were hanging out anytime all the time. Alfie loved the company and the lap variety. If you were lucky enough to spend anytime with him at all you know exactly what I’m talking about and how special a cat he was.
He had lots of cat companions off and on his entire life. Some he got along with better then others. He even met a chow and didn’t back down even though the pup was five times his size. That was the kind of spirit he had.
Alfie was a hunter. Whenever he got out I always found a trail of dead small animals around the apartment. Any mouse that dared to brave his way into the Lisanti Palace never made it out alive. As far as sneaking out he was very crafty. No door or window could be too secured or he would be gone. I remember he had been missing for three days. I was walking home from the Wild Cat at 2 am and he jumped out of the bushes at City College and into my arms. He was ready to come home.
He was the smartest cat I ever had also. He could open door knobs. If one left food out no matter how it was packaged he would find away to get it. He figured out how to open a butter container and ate two whole sticks in one sitting before I caught him. Alfie even once ate two 1 lb 8 oz pizza dough balls I left out to proof. I never saw his stomach as fat as that night.
At the end of his life Alfie was still very strong for a cat his age. He still loved to play right up until the end. His appetite always superb. He was the sweetest old thing with his white whiskers and salt and pepper coat. Sure he was def, partially blind and walked with a bit of a limp. In human years he’d be around 95 and that isn’t too bad in my book.
Alfie was an excellent cat and he will be missed. Even an insensitive fool like myself had a soft spot for him. He is survived by Charles & Raymundo, two three year old snow shoe cats. They will continue on in his stead. I know a good number of you did meet Alfie and knew him personally. Please for him and myself leave your favorite Alfie story or memory and what he meant to you in the comments. It would mean the world to me.
Surfing Ruined My Life 