Lucy

I love my cat Lucy, I do, but she's always had a cantankerous disposition. Maybe that's what drew me to pick her out of the litter. I still remember her looking at me with that arrogant tilt of her head when all the other kittens shied away. I thought, OK, this is a kitten who won't need a lot of tender loving care. Boy, was I right!

I brought her home and made her a soft little bed to lie in. Any other kitten would have been meowing for their mother or cuddled up sleeping, not Lucy. Every time I woke up during the night to check on her, she was still sitting bolt upright staring at me. Frankly it was unnerving. I have no idea whether she got any sleep that first evening or not. Thereafter, I never knew where she spent the night; she would disappear, only to show up in the morning. So much for bonding.

Was she affectionate? Never! In my mind, I would have this adorable, sweet, cuddly, little kitten who would sit by me in the evenings and purr itself to sleep. Lucy would sit in the same room and stare at me, or spend countless hours atop something looking out the window. If I picked her up and sat her on my lap, she would quickly escape.

Food was another issue. It took me several trips to the store to finally find something that she would eat and she has never wavered from that choice since. If I give her too much at one time, she refuses to eat it. Leftovers are not in her wheelhouse.

Lucy is immaculate. If her litter box goes beyond two days, she will stand beside it and howl until I get up and clean it. I can't say this is a bad trait, but it's obvious that Lucy has no patience at all. Moreover, a fearless disregard for anything else I may be in the middle of doing.

One day I thought it would be nice to get a leash and take Lucy for a walk so she could experience the outside. I found out that a walk with Lucy would involve dragging her down the street; she immediately laid down and refused to move. OK, I thought, let's see how she reacts without a leash. I gingerly took off the leash hoping that she would not dart away, never to be seen again. She stood up, gave me that haughty stare, and proceeded to investigate the yard, never getting too far away from the house. I've since installed a pet door and she comes and goes at will.

My friends are not fond of Lucy, some of them are weird-ed out. Any time I happen to have company, Lucy perches at the far end of the living room and sits there like a statue until they leave. If anyone tries to pick her up or talk to her, she will hiss and is not beyond a scratch or nip. Needless to say, no one bothers with her any more. Lucy is just another inanimate object in my home to them.

Trips to the vet are not fun at all. Lucy is way too smart to be coaxed into a pet carrier. Likewise, she will not jump into the car of her own volition. I have to pick her up and put her into the car. When we arrive at the vet's, I have to carry her into the office. I don't think my vet likes her very much and she certainly doesn't like him, but somehow we manage to get the job done and back home we go. Those evenings I can enjoy the icy stare of Lucy as if to say, I'm not forgetting about what you did to me today.

It's hard for me to believe that Lucy is socially active with anyone or anything; but apparently Lucy does have a 'cat friend', because she is pregnant. I think pending motherhood has been good for her; I've noticed she actually lies on the living room rug and sleeps now. I went to Pet World and bought a cat bed for the soon to be mother and her kittens. Lucy has taken to it; now we wait.

One morning I woke up to find a litter of five adorable kittens in the cat bed with Lucy. I bent down, admiring them and patted Lucy on the head telling her what a good kitty she was. She looked at me and purred. I guess she must have been pretty proud of herself. Lucy is a wonderful mother, cleaning and preening her little brood continuously. I watch them grow, day by day, and feel a slight regret that soon I'll have to find owners for them; maybe I'll keep just one.

One of my best friends wanted a kitten so he came over to watch them all play. He finally decided on a little black and white one. He said to me, “I've been watching that little one, he's different from the rest. He has an attitude, do you see it? Look at the way he sits with his head tilted, like he's better than the rest of the bunch.”

I chuckled to myself, Oh yes, I had noticed all of this, and who did it remind me of? Lucy of course. He has no idea what he's in for with this kitten. I simply replied, “Yes, he definitely stands out from the group.”

A few weeks later, my friend came over for supper and I asked him how he liked his new friend.

“I love the little guy to death, but to tell you the truth, he's not very friendly. I hate to say it, but he has this way of sitting and staring at me that's eerie. Oh, he's a picky eater too.”

Hmm, I thought. Like mother, like son. Now he has the cat's resentful stare to deal with.



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