Meet the Boss

Just a quickie today as I have a major mess to sort out. No, nothing bad happened! When I arrived here almost 7 months ago I was in a state of euphoria but also collapse. So things got pushed in cupboards and drawers so I wouldn’t have to look at boxes for ever.

As time went on I would find myself wondering where I had put this or that. Then if I was lucky I managed to find whatever it was without too much trouble but often I ended up pulling a bunch of stuff out and then shoving it somewhere else…..well you get the picture. But now that I have an office of sorts I need to get it organized, so…

Anyway I thought I would introduce you to Lucy, Ms Fluff, or as we call her these days “The Boss”. She is a Himalayan that came from a broken home in a tough neighborhood outside Seattle. As a kitten she lost an eye when a litter mate stuck a claw in it. When the family she lived with split up, she and her mom and a sibling were left behind. Not sure how long they were living “rough” but finally the owner of the house wanted to put it on the market and decided the cats had to go.

At the time my foster suite was pretty full and I wasn’t really planning to accept more cats until I’d had some adoptions. But when I heard this little gang were Himalayans…well what would Yeti have said if I turned away her kind? Fortunately Mandy and Tikka got homes within weeks but when I saw Lucy I knew the only place she would be going was upstairs to join my lot. It didn’t happen right away, but strangely enough I had another one-eyed Himalayan “upstairs” and he was an elderly boy, so when his time came, Lucy moved up.

As low cat on the totem pole, Lucy was pretty quiet and low maintenance once we got her awful ear infection sorted out. When she arrived she had been a bit “bitey, scratchy”, but we soon discovered that it was because she was in a lot of pain with her ears. Poor girl must have been in agony, but a great specialist got her sorted and there was no more scratching or biting.

By the time I moved back to New York, Lucy had moved up in seniority and is now #2, however Lily seems to have no interest in being Top Cat, so Lucy has asserted her position by default. She is my alarm clock. As soon as Lucy’s tummy says it should be fed, she marches in to my bedroom and shouts “GET UP! NOW!” And there is no going back to sleep once that demand has been made!

The rest of the day is punctuated with a series of Lucy’s demands. “TIME!” she will announce when she wants a little snack. One can try to ignore it but if you don’t react, pretty soon she will get the other cats rounded up and if you still don’t respond she may just come and nibble on your ankles. It’s easiest to give in and dish out a few kibble bits

We can’t have all-day kibble available because Colin would down it in one sitting. As it is, we have to feed him in a closed room or he would push his pals away from their dishes and down their food as well. He is huge and I will be embarrassed when he goes to the vet because she won’t believe he isn’t overfed. Perhaps she will believe it, though, as the other 12 are all in good shape. “STARVED!” Lucy would complain.