I don't think of myself as a cat person. I enjoy the companionship of a dog more. They'll fetch, and hunt, and come running every time they see you like it's been weeks since you saw them -- even if you leave the yard for 5 minutes and come back... same slobbery greeting: "Oh Hi! Where have you been? I haven't seen you in ages! I'm glad you're here! Wanna play?" Or something very similar to that...
Cats on the other hand are loners. They could care less about where you go. When you're home. As long as they have food and water, you could drop off the face of the earth and they wouldn't notice. Lucky was that way. She tolerated us. And only us. Strangers in the house were not welcome. She had a very negative impression of Kim's dad. She'd sit on the opposite end of the couch from him and hiss the entire time he was there. Others got the same treatment from her, just not as bad. The four of us were the only people she allowed in her space.
I found her in the middle of an intersection in 1995. I had a soft spot in my heart for this abandoned kitten. She was about three weeks old. Her eyes weren't even open. I took her home and bottle fed her. I even rubbed her back side with a warm towel so she'd do her thing... The vet said that mimicked what the mother cat does. Because of the circumstances in how she came into our lives, we named her Lucky.
When she was about 6 months old she cut (and broke) her tail. I splinted it with popsicle sticks and masking tape. It healed, and more importantly, didn't cost me a visit to the vet. She was a joy to watch. She played hard. I'm sure she set land speed records running through the house. She'd sleep on our water bed (back in the day). She'd fight with the dog. She'd bite you if you tried to pet her. She was a great cat.
In recent years, she developed Diabetes. She'd been blind for about 4 years. She was losing weight. Often times she missed the litter box. But she had mellowed in her old age. Readily accepting ear scratching. But it was time. She injured her eye last week. There was no hope that it would heal.
This morning when I took her in, she was still a great cat. Her motor was running at a smooth idle. She purred louder than any cat I've been around. I wrapped her in a towel and we all said our goodbyes. There were tears all around. Kaylee took it hard. I took it harder than I thought I would. But it was hard. She's been in my life for 15 years.
When I handed her off to the technician Lucky hissed at her...
D
