“And they lived happily ever after” – Lucy’s Story

We moved to a new house on the 9th. But this presented a problem for Lucy, a community cat we fed and played with in our gardens at our former home. We drove back every day to check on her and feed her but we knew that couldn’t be a permanent solution. She couldn’t come with us for reasons beyond our control. But she’s such a sweetheart, wonderfully tempered and full of love. We knew we had to do SOMEthing.

So we started looking for someone to adopt her. I tried many organizations and groups. I kept hitting “We’ll help her… let’s put her on a list and we’ll get to her in 4-5 months.” But it’s winter, and getting even colder soon. I posted in all sorts of groups about her situation. Finally, in a Facebook group called “Michigan Barn/Working Cat Program (CCU)” I got a response from a woman: “She is welcome in our barn. North of Big Rapids.”

We started chatting in Messenger. They have a hay barn and three barn cats, but there’s enough work for a fourth.  The family has a 14 year old girl. Turns out she’s the one who saw Lucy’s pic in the group and petitioned mom to get her. Big Rapids is a two hour drive north from us, but the woman said ‘let’s split the drive’ and we agreed to meet in Mount Pleasant.

Yesterday was the day! Lucy had spent the night in our sunporch; we captured her the night before so there wouldn’t be a big hunt to find her when we were ready to leave. After lunch we were ready to go. Just had to pop Lucy in our cat Chive’s carrier and leave. “Just”. Lucy is a VERY STRONG CAT and had fought the carrier the night before, and was fighting it again today. It took a lot of Feliway calming spray and both of us to get her in but we managed it. Whew.

She yowled the first 30 miles. Loudly. Then, she fell asleep. A thick fog appeared – the temperature was just warm enough to turn the snow on the ground into a thick white fog. It was especially surreal while driving through wind farm country… suddenly seeing a huge wind turbine loom out of the fog, over and over. Finally we got to Mount Pleasant and to the meeting spot. Mom and teenage daughter were already there. Both lovely and charming. Now, to make the swap to their carrier.

WHAT? They’ve brought a carrier the size of a small shoebox! Lucy’s paw would fill it! Oh dear. But Ken and the mom tried for a while since cats can fit in small places, but there was just no way. Meanwhile, the daughter and I chatted. She was SO EXCITED about Lucy, her eyes actually sparkled. In the end, we gave up and just gifted them our carrier. They’d need it for vet visits to get her a checkup and shots anyway. Since they’d be paying for the vet, we just called it even. After a while visiting, we headed back home… with a stop at Petco to buy a new carrier since Chives has a vet visit today.

So, finally, Lucy gets to have TWO families (a cat family and a human one!) and a safe barn filled with hay and mice to catch. And if she settles in nicely, they want to train her to become their indoor/outdoor cat at the house! I love how the mom described Lucy’s situation. “This kitty really needed a soft landing.”

Later last night, I got this pic in Messenger with the text, “Sitting on my lap in the barn, trying to get used to things”.