When I was a child, I thought I could run with the tigers. I had no fear; I knew they would not harm me. Then I grew up. My conviction faltered, and like the fairies in Peter Pan, without belief, faded into the dullness of adulthood. Still, when I saw the big, dangerous cats in all their feline glory, I couldn’t help wanting to touch them, pet them, feel their fur like cloud made manifest under my touch. I wanted to hug them, hold them, bury my face in their solace of stripes.

I felt the same thing the first time I saw Lux. The photo of him in the MCAS cattery girl’s arms – I wanted to be that girl, to hold that big kitty in my own arms. The fact he was considered dangerous just made me want to hold him more. After all, he didn’t look dangerous; he looked like a poor sad kitty who needed my love.

When the Oregon Humane Society asked me if I could foster a special case, a thrill of excitement rushed through me. Not that I knew he would be the 911 cat who was in the care of cat behaviorist, Jackson Galaxy. But I knew it would be something momentous. In the 8 years I have been fostering cats for OHS, they have come up with some pretty interesting cases. Felix, the kitten with the atrophied leg who learned to reuse it through exercise and play; Polly, the feisty overweight Torti who swatted my hand whenever I came near; Emilio with the broken leg that just wouldn’t heal; Wiggie, Lola and Fraulein Fluffs, 3 dying cats I took in to hospice so they didn’t have to spend their last days in a shelter. I’ve seen a lot of cats and thought myself knowledgeable, but nothing I had done prepared me for Lux.

He was, and is, a one of a kind.  

…………………………….to be continued

Next up: 2. LUX – THE CALL GOES OUT