The Adventuress Lucy - Our Calico cat

by Bev Wood
(Adams, Mass.)

The adventuress “Lucy”!

When my husband was on his daily walk at the cemetery last summer. He heard a “mew mew” coming towards him from the nearby woods. He looked over and saw this little kitten running towards him. Mew mew she said again and began purring as he picked her up in his arms. What a cutey you are he said. I’ll bet my wife will love you dearly.


He knew I would because we had just suffered the loss of another kitten we had adopted recently. When he approached me with her he said “honey, look what found me?” I turned to see a tiny multi-colored kitten with a fur coat that looked like a ragged sweater buttoned up in a lopsided way. Four different colored socks. and a half painted face. She looked like a vagabond.

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Well, there was no way not to fall in love with this poor little kitten. I took her into my arms and the next thing I noticed was hundreds of fleas living off her body. So, off to the vets for flea medicine and a check up. We have two other cats at home and there was no way her fleas were welcome in our home. As well as any other nasties that she might be carrying.


Afterwards our vet told us she was flea free and with a series of shots to protect her from any feline diseases. She was discharged as a perfect specimen of a wild and bossy female calico cat who would probable rule the two older cats as well as her two new owners.


How could she know? Well. we found out later that calico cats have a reputation like no other cats.


Upon entering our home she ran wildly in every room investigating every nook and cranny except the den where we put our two other cats. Hiding them behind a closed door and safe from the “new cat”.


For days she growled at anyone or anything that came within a foot of her food dish. It was funny and sad at the same time knowing that her hunt for food in the wild must have been difficult.


After her initial meeting with our two other cats she showed them that she intended to be the “boss. By this I mean she tackled, bit, scratched, hissed, and meowed her way around them.


In January she needed a booster shot . Oh boy, we thought, this ought to be a “trip”. So, we put our growling kitten in the carrier and loaded it into the car. The objection soon turned into enjoyment. . She loved it! Looking out the windows crooking her head this way and that. Watching the other cars and the trees. Every thing she saw was new and exciting. Our other cats hate to ride in a car and they meow all the way to and from the vets.


Everything went ok at the vets until they brought her out from the back room. Her face looked like she was saying “ If that human touches at me again with that thing I’m going to bite her!”
Needless to say the ride home was very quiet.


My Lucy……what a girl (lady?) someday.
I know that a lot of young animals chase their tails. But with Lucy, it’s her passion. It’s an entity she seems unable to understand. Try as she may, she can never catch up. It’s always just out of her reach. As I watch this, I feel the need to hold it for her so that she can get it, but it’s not allowed in the rules. She must catch it with her own abilities. Round and round and round she goes until she swaggers to the floor. Sometimes I think her eyes are still going round and round. Then it’s up again continuing the chase.

Bath time is one of her favorite times. Besides watching me lounging in bubbles.
She must taste test them to make sure their of the correct consistency. She dips a paw into the soapy bubbles lifts it to her nose, sniffs, licks and then shakes it off. After two or three times I think she’s satisfied that it correct. Why she loves the taste of soap I’ll never understand.

While sitting on the side of the tub one night , her tail slowly lowered into the water getting the tip wet. She had a look on her face that said “Did I do dat”…….


There is no safe place for anything. Her ability to leap tall buildings at a single bound, run faster than a speeding train. Mmmm? Where have I heard that before? SUPERCAT?????

“Lucy, what a lovely young lady you’re turning into”, I said as I was watched her washing and preening herself. With those long whispering white whiskers and the color of her fur all the oranges, blacks and whites blending into a beautiful tortoise haired cat. I was thinking that in a few short months she has been growing up in our house becoming one of the best pets we’ve ever had. When I look at her I see ………
“Oooo nooooo” I said, as she leaped into the air at Mr. Jinx, tackling him to the floor, rolling him over amid the screams and growls of a humiliated and unaware older brother. Circling, ears pulled back, staring, eye to eye, watching and ready, they began to turn. Round and round as if in a ritual dance. She leaps at him first, knocking him down again rolling and growling. He grabs her by the neck with his strong paws holding her tight, she struggles but cannot free herself. Holding her, he seems to be telling her to say “Uncle”. Lucy, being such a stubborn girl, refuses. Mr. Jinx does not give up either. They both lay on the carpet tangled for what seemed like hours. Finally, Lucy lets out a tiny squeal and Mr. Jinx lets her go.

A beautiful young lady, not quite yet.


I can’t wait till tomorrow when a new adventure begins.

Lucy has moved into our home, our family and our hearts.

Proud owner of two cats and a Lucy.

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