Lucy Lui will be moving at the beginning of February 2011, as my cat lady neighbor had wanted to keep her after she took her to the vets in June 2010. But, was unable to at thaet time.
She should be much happier, as my neighbor is the one that fed her for the majority of the years she was a stray/feral and is actually able to pet her.
Lucy Lui, also comes running to great her when the neighbor comes to visit. (No, she doesn't do that with anyone else nor is she sociable with other cats.
History:
Lucy Lui has been in the neighborhood since at least summer of 2006, as a young adult, when I first spied her and very similar looking sibling together a couple of blocks from my house.
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| Lucy Lui in her classic doorstop pose |
After I caught Mason, in the late summer of 2006, I was told by a couple of other neighbors that they had seen another orange and white kitten also coming up to my house during the day to eat the food.
Concerned for the health and safety of the other kitten, I contacted Cats Are Tops and one of the members, Lydia came to the house several times, in the mornings to bait the trap and wait for a kitten or a cat to come.
We never saw or caught the other orange kitten, but Lucy was immediately enticed by the fish and was caught and taken to the veterinary hospital for a check-up, shots and to be neutered.
When Lydia brought her back to release her, she told me that the vet had decided not to clip the end of her ear, as he couldn't tell if she was someone's pet or not. She also informed me that according to the vet she had at least one litter of kittens in her life.
From 2006 to the winter of 2009, Lucy remained a feral and was mostly fed by my cat lady neighbor.
Lucy used to come through my tree house yard at dusk. Skim along the edge of the back property line and make her way through a hole in the fence on her way down the street for dinner.
Here in VA, we had a not so normal winter of 2009. In December, we had the first large snow storm and then proceeded to get hit repeatedly through February.
Not only was the cat lady neighbor able to convince another feral cat that she was feeding to take shelter in her garage, but Lucy, in spite of Black Jack's, alpha male territorial dominance stuck her ground and made her home in the garage, as well.
Come late spring, cat lady said that she thought that she might be at a point where she could pick-up Lucy and if so was going to take her to the veterinarian office for a complete check-up and shots.
What prompted this was of all things, Animal Control cited her for not having rabies shots for Black Jack and Lucy Lui. They told her, if she was feeding them, etc. than they were her cats and were required to have rabies shots and if she failed to comply then a court date had already been set for her to appear (so much for human kindness).
Imagine that.
Next came the million dollar question, laced with some Jewish grandmother guilt from cat lady neighbor "I have a huge favor to ask. But, seeing how "I" have done so many favors for you. I was hoping that you would give Lucy a chance and take her into your house once I am able to get her to the vets."
Well, there goes the next eighteen years of my life paying back what?
We were both amazed that after so many years outdoors that Lucy was actually free of feline leukemia and feline aids. (Thanks for Lydia and Cats Are Tops for coming and trapping her in 2006 and having her fixed and shots, etc. I am certain that that intervention was critical for a female feral cat to survive in the wild.)
Also, once again, with a different vet, she was gentle and froze, as opposed to going into defensive mode when she was taken out of the carrier for her check-up and shots. (I swear she is a beautiful cat and at one time, early in her life must have been someone's pet kitten and/or cat.)
Since June 2010, Lucy Lui has been a member of the household. At first she took over the guest bedroom and was often in the company of Tibet ("I love you Lucy" cat lady and I would sing out as he followed her gently) who admires her and has been desperately looking for other feline companionship.
Come mid August, I finally decided enough of her being enclosed in one room and the other cats feeling as if they were being kept away from something and I opened the door and she has been out ruling the house ever since.
Unlike, Mason, when the doorbell rings or the telephone rings she stays still right out in the open. Mason, still heads into the safety of a hiding place.
You can't tell me that this brave girl wasn't someone's pet at one time.
The name Lucy Lui, I gave her long ago, as she has a part Siamese and exotic appearance to her with the bright green blue almond eyes and the dark markings of her tail and face. The majority of the remainder of her body is all white.
She still mostly stays under cover during the day and once dusk comes she is wandering back and forth to the windows wanting me to at least open them a crack so that she can catch the scent of the wild outdoor air and the song of the crickets.
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| Lucy Lui breathing in the wild outdoor air |
Tibet still pines away after her. But, there has been progress. She allows Tibet to be within a foot or two of her and this week has even allowed Tibet to be next to her as they both gaze out the open window into the wilds of VA suburbia.
The photos above doe not do her justice. I will need to get a better photo of her showing the true color of her eyes and post at a later date.
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