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LUNA - WHO KNEW HER HOME
By Lori Miller
Four years ago, I lost my beloved cat, Barry, to PKD. I swore I would never, ever adopt another cat. Barry was the greatest
cat I'd ever known and I was devastated by his death. He was a twenty-five pound, five-year-old, domestic shorthair of pure
white. He was deaf, but he never seemed to have a handicap. In fact, he was so special! He could use vibration in the house
to know when I was in each room and he would find me with no trouble. We called him the "circus cat" because he did so many
tricks; including teeter-tottering by himself by moving from one end to the other and never letting it fall.
Two weeks after Barry died, my sister called me about one in the afternoon, and said her husband had made a horrific discovery
on his job where he works at a car demolition business that crushes and recycles cars that are no longer road worthy. He was
starting to crush a car that had been brought in the day before, when he heard the most awful scream coming from the trunk.
He opened the trunk and saw a mother cat and her four kittens who had been locked in and left to die. The poor mother had been
caring for her last living kitten. She was killed by the prong of a crusher, as she tried to protect her baby. My brother-in-law
felt terrible, and he immediately called my sister to come and help him save the tiny baby that was still clinging to life.
My sister immediately called me and said she knew that I had just lost Barry and she wondered if I wanted another kitten. I
cried when she told me what had happened, but my heart was still breaking over the loss of Barry. I told her that I couldn't
keep the kitten, but I would be willing to foster it and find it a good home.
She brought me a box with this tiny tortie kitten with her fur all messed up and her eyes not even open yet. I cleaned her
and made some formula, which she drank from the bottle so quickly that I realized I didn't need to worry about any adjustment
period for bottle feeding. Over the next few weeks of healthy growing and a few vet visits, just to be sure; she blossomed into
quite a gorgeous kitten. But, she had no name and no permanent home. My kids and my hubby got so attached to her; while I kept
my distance, other than to care for her as a loving nanny cares for her charge.
Then, the time came when she was eleven weeks old and I ran an ad in the newspaper to find her a home. I found myself judging
everyone who came to see her; and I quickly found fault with all of them. Every night, I told her, "Well, kitten, maybe tomorrow,
we will find you a new family."
A few weeks later, there was still no new family, and Luna (I should have known it was all over when I named her) was sitting
on my son's bed, purring and cuddling with him. Luna was so comfortable that my husband said, "Looks like she has made herself
at home". At that moment, I knew that she did and I could not find her family because we were all ready here. She has been a
darling cat and everyone still marvels at her beauty and her temperment. Barry would definitely have approved.
Luna now helps me socialize my rescue kitties. She is so gentle and calm that it really helps to make the new visitors feel
safe, so the tiny kitty that I rescued continues to help me with other kitties. She is my best advertisement for opening your
home to a kitty in need and all the good that comes along with it.
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