Lady Luck

One day in September of '96 I was walking uptown with my 4 year-old son and another little girl I was babysitting. As we walked past a vet/supply office I heard a little crying meow and found this tiny black kitten stuck behind a planter. I pulled her out and took her into the supply store. I was friends with the woman who worked there and knew she often kept a cat there to keep the mouse population down. Occasionally, there were kittens and I just figured one had gotten away from her. No joy. At the moment, she had no cats on the premise. Now, I had a bit of problem. I didn't really want the kitten--we already had a cat and a dog. But I couldn't exactly stick the kitten back in the hole--the kids were already attached to it. So I took it home, thought maybe we could keep it as an outdoor cat. Except, the neighbor kids kept stealing it and sticking it in a cooler. I admit, I had never had a kitten before and she was wonderfully playful. The down side proved to be that she didn't want to share a litter box. I'm guessing she came into town on a grain truck; I rather imagine she was a barn cat. She is still, 15 years later, very skiddish. Lucky spends her summers outside, but because of the cold weather and her advancing age, she has spent this winter almost exclusively in the house. It's not been pleasant. The other cats pick on her so we've found piles in corners because they won't leave her alone long enough to get to the litter box. And the poor thing has a flea allergy, so once the weather gets nice and she starts spending her time outside, her fur will start falling out. Lucky was so bad last summer, I took her to the vet and after a serious of shots, she healed up and looked pretty again. She definitely is my problem child!