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Lucinda DeVille [a.k.a. Snuggle-Puff, Love Muffin]

Lucy's first instinct is to play. Survival comes in a distant 2nd.
I first found little Lucy wandering between the apartment buildings where I live and crying out. She was just a tiny little baby and she had no business whatsoever being out on her own at so young an age. She was not at all ready to fend for herself. But, she was not without caution. She wouldn't let me get near enough to her to catch her. So, I put my hand on the grass and wiggled my fingers to make the grass twitch. Pounce! She jumped on my hand and almost instantly realized that she had been tricked, and jumped back into the brush. Well, it worked once, so I tried again. I wiggled my fingers and out she jumped, and right back she jumped. But the second time she was a little slower. So, not one to give up easily, especially when the life of a helpless little kitten was at stake, I wiggled my fingers a third time. Same result: out she jumped to pounce on my fingers. But this time, before she could jump away, I got her.

She meowed plaintively at first, but I stroked her and calmed her down. Her footpads were soft and pink, which told me she had not been outdoors for any length of time. It may have been her first (and only) day out on her own. (I certainly hope that was the case.) I took her inside and she's been with me ever since.

Lucy came to me just (I think it was 3) days before I went into the hospital for major back surgery. The older cats I could leave for several days with an ample supply of food and water and they'd be fine. Lucy was too young for me to leave her without someone to attend her. So, I asked some close friends to look after her while I was in the hospital. They tell me that she became friends with their small dog, Bonnie, while she was there. However, I brought her to visit some months later and she was absolutely terrified of being out of our home. As a small kitten with the world constantly changing, she was adaptable. But after life had settled down and she got used to our home, she wasn't too happy about upsetting the status quo.

Lucy's favorite sleeping spot seems to be on top of my computer monitor. Her big, bushy tail will hang obstructively in front of the monitor making it difficult for me to see, at times.

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