The luckiest cat in the world. One morning he was being chased by coyotes, abandoned and assumed feral. He was haunting the lodge where we worked in Colorado, occasionally fed and petted by the grandkids and staff. Till one day he decided to cozy up to Alex. It was slow seduction culminating the afternoon that I was pulled outside to meet the cat. He purred incessantly, crawling up into my lap and rubbing his cheek under my fingers. "Isn't he a cool cat?" Alex enthused. "He acts just like a dog! Don't you miss having a cat?" I agreed that this was a particularly endearing feline. "Of course," he continued, "if we bring him home you would have to be in charge of the litter box." At which point I looked at him and said "I don't think so. You found him, litter box is in your court." We negotiated a bit more and I got to bundle the cat in the car and drive home with him. He did not appreciate the ride and fled to the woods as soon as we arrived home and I opened the car door. After a few minutes of futilely trying to lure him back, I put some food and water out on the porch and went back to work. That evening we were successful in luring him into the house and he refused to leave it again for several weeks afterwards.
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t later turned out that one of the ranch hands had been setting up the fire pit that particular morning when the cat had shot out of the woods closely followed by a coyote and taken refuge at the man's feet. He quickly disappeared once the threat had gone, only to return hours later to find a home with us. Alex named him Lucky and he settled into the family with ease. The vet felt certain that he had been abandoned, fortunately he was in relatively good health and familiar with the litter box. He was Alex's special buddy and spent log hours curled up beside him on the sofa or sleeping at his feet on the bed. Once he was settled in he loved sitting on the deck, surveying the landscape. He was an excellent hunter and quickly rid the house of the field mice that plagued us each fall and winter. He also caught them outside, along with birds and the occasional rabbit. Lucky was fastidious, grooming himself constantly and refusing to use the box unless it was absolutely pristine. He was lovable, always welcoming and happy to be near you, purring constantly to let you know that he cared.
Last evening Lucky was hit by a car, almost in front of our house. A neighbor witnessed the accident and came knocking at our door. He also helped block oncoming cars who would have run over the cat again had he not stopped them. People were very put out about the fact that Lucky's body was blocking the street. Although we rushed him to the vet, the damage was immense and he basically insisted that we put him out of his misery. It is a terrible thing to watch the life bleeding out of such a small body. There is no question that the car was speeding. It happens all the time in our neighborhood, I am sure we've been guilty of it ourselves. Word spread quickly and people called or stopped by to offer their condolences, even ones who were clearly unsure what to do in a situation involving a cat. It is a residential neighborhood and there are several neighbors with cats who we see every day. We thank everyone for their sympathy in a very difficult situation.
Lucky was one of the very best cats in the world. We miss him dearly. We remember him with love. He will always be our little man.
Runner came to us from Bobbi and the Strays in Glendale. He and his two siblings were rescued from under a car and he will have a scar from being burned by the transmission to prove it. We brought him home because as much as we miss Lucky, and we miss him every day, there's always another animal that desperately needs a home. He fits neatly on my shoulder and purrs like a machine. We can only assume that they named him Runner because he races from point A to point B. Thunder Cat would be equally appropriate. He's playful and sweet, mischievous and endearing, happily at home. And we are happy that he picked us.
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