Lucy: My ‘Sweet Padder’ Ive always had cats, always had males, who for one reason or another always went to new homes. Id loved them, but they just were not for me. Not much of an animal lover myself, but something was missing. I needed a baby. As a mum of 4 children, and no plans for anymore, I decided to get another cat. After not much thought, Id settled on a female grey tabby cat that was for sale in a local newspaper and just a few miles drive away. This is my story: December 13th 2001. Travelled to have a look at the kitten Id set my heart on without even seeing. It was a late winter night, but I just had to have this cat. Alison opened the door, and a small, beautiful kitten came running up to me. I instantly fell in love with her. She was called ‘Lucy’ and the most beautiful and very unusual cat Id ever seen. Shorthaired, grey and silver striped. She settled into our home really well. She was the best, very affectionate. And the kids loved her. When I bought Lucy, I was told she was just 10 weeks old. Having always adopted older cats and never had a kitten before I took her word for it. She was quite on the large side, but id never imagined she’d actually be 2 months older! This was confirmed on a visit to the Vet. February 19th 2002. Catch a glimpse of Lucy in the garden with a black & white Tom, Oh no! Yes you guessed it; she was getting herself pregnant! I was quite happy about it, although I felt her a little to young, but after good reassurance from my local vet that she would be okay, we continued her pregnancy. The babies were due on 24th April 2002. She didn’t really like being pregnant, but guarded her tummy, she wouldn’t let us pick her up, or pett her. 5 weeks into the pregnancy, Lucy had an accident. We don’t know what happened, but we think she was either kicked by a human, or clipped by a car. I rushed her to the vets, and she was given the all clear. She couldn’t walk for days, and the certainty of the survival of her unborn babies was in the balance. It was touch and go. About a week later, we saw the first twitches of her unborn kittens moving inside her. The relief I felt was overwhelming. She continued to plod along and held onto the babies until the bitter end. ‘Mummy’ April 25th 2002. Kittens one day overdue. Id gone out in the morning to do my shopping, when I got home about 11am, Lucy was sitting on my kitchen windowsill, obviously distressed. I rushed indoors, with not a thought about all my frozen items that had already begun to melt! She was being very, very clingy and kept sitting down. As I petted her, I noticed a large bubble coming from under her tail. Id read a lot about kittening, but nothing had prepared me for the actual event! After being reassured (again and again!) by my vet, I decided to follow her advice, and leave Lucy to it. 12.45pm: Took my 4-year-old son to school, just a short walk away, and returned home just after 1pm. 1.05pm Lucy delivers the most beautiful ginger kitten, straight onto my kitchen floor! She’s growling at it, but soon cleans it up, and settles down to feed it. She needed help delivering it, but luckily I had a friend round, I was in no state to help. As the tears of joy rolled down my face, I watched my sweetheart become a mother. All my reading had gone through the window; I was a useless mess! 1.36pm: Lucy delivers a 2nd ginger kitten. 3.00pm: A third, this time a black tabby 3.45pm: A fourth, this time a black and white, the kids all witnessed this one being born, which was lovely. We thought this was the last one, as her tummy was much smaller, and looked empty. 4.45pm: Have to leave now, to pick my husband up from work. Just get all the children in the car, when my son asks me for a drink. I go back inside, fill his cup with squash, look down in Lucy’s box to check she’s still okay, and out pops another one! This was the last one. 5 kittens! I couldn’t believe it. After she was vet checked, I was told ‘I can feel 2-3 kittens, but maybe more’. The next step was sexing them, and naming them. Lucy had 4 boys and 1 girl. We called them in age order: Parsley, Oscar, Peter, Beanie and Bonnie, the youngest and female. Lucy didn’t enjoy motherhood, she was a good Mum, but you could tell it wasn’t for her. I never once saw her pick one up, but she washed them and fed them. For a 7-month-old cat, she was brilliant. I did all I could to help her out. She very quickly became upset, and this was the time I decided they had to go. Id had enough of them too, having 4 young children and 6 cats in the house became difficult, and as the kittens became older, they were more of a handful! Little Bonnie went to my eldest daughter’s best friend, and is reported to love her new family. Ive not seen her myself, but I know she’s really loved and very special. The day the kittens left, we had Lucy spayed, I never wanted to put her through all that again. She also had her full course of injections. We kept one kitten, little Oscar. He was so sweet, and the spitting image of his Mum, only ginger. Lucy never really like him around. He’d pounce on her when she came indoors, and she’d go back outside for some peace. She didn’t understand how much he wanted to play with his Mum; she just wanted to be with me. He also continued to suckle on her, which she didn’t like. Lucy became very depressed, hardly came indoors, never purred, and never came to me to pad me, and have her cuddles. She had done this since the day I got her. I made the tough decision that Oscar had to go. On Friday 3rd August 2002, Oscar left us. The tears flowed, but I knew deep down I had to do this for my girl. It worked! She was back to her normal self again. The next few days she was a different cat, I had my darling back. It was the best feeling Id had in a long time. Sunday 4th August 2002 Lucy is 1 year old today! ‘Goodbye’ On Wednesday 7th August 2002 at about 7.50am, Lucy was killed in a car accident. Right outside my home. She was killed instantly. My husband found her lying on the pavement, which probably meant whoever did this, had picked her off the road, and placed her there. From the severity of her injuries I knew she hadn’t been hit by the car and staggered there to die herself. She always wore an identity tag, but nobody has called to say sorry. I have tied a notice to a tree where I found her, and laid some pink flowers in her memory. Shortly afterwards, we took her dead body to the vet, for a mass cremation. Inside was her favourite toy, a little catnip mouse that she used to carry around. Her 2 glittery balls, and a lovely card that said it all, which my daughter made. We all kissed her soft tummy, and said ‘Goodbye Sweet Padder’ The tears I have shed for Lucy will never end. I cry as I write this, nothing will ever come close to the love Lucy gave me. Lucy was my best friend. I loved her. I keep thinking, what, but and maybe. But it could have happened any time. I know Lucy is watching me from her new home on the Rainbow Bridge, and that she’s now free from pain. To say ‘she’s just a cat’ isn’t fair. To me she was my child, my baby. I have thought about getting another cat, but I just cant at the moment. I never thought this would affect me the way it has. The pain I have gets stronger, everytime I think of her. I think I hear her bell all the time, but she just isn’t here. Time will heal, but I just cannot let her go right now. So now, I hope writing this will make it better. I know my love for Lucy will never leave my side. Goodbye my darling Lucy, I will miss you forever. In loving memory of Lucy 4th August 2001 suddenly and tragically taken from me 7th August 2002.