We met for the shoot at the Oregon Humane Society after it was closed. I knew some of the people, staff from the shelter, and that made me feel a little more at ease. A little…

My memory of those hours is bathed in flood lights and laughter. Jackson Galaxy entered with the aura of a rockstar buddha, emanating love for everything feline and for Lux in particular. He joked with the crew and welcomed my husband and me into the group. We chatted before cameras rolled, letting Lux settle from his ride. Jackson asked how many cats I’d fostered, and I said it’s around 45. I felt a little uncomfortable because there are foster parents who had done so much more. Still, I’d been chosen to represent them all, and I did the best I could.

The producer, an enthusiastic young woman in levis and a gauzy scarf, read us through the script, which was not so much lines as an plan of how the scene would go. I nodded and smiled, as I would continue to do long into the night. My husband, Jim, backed me up like a trouper. Lux hunkered in his carrier. They had got the jumbo size so he wouldn’t feel confined. It could have fit a greyhound, but all I saw on my first glance was a kitty bump under a soft blue blanket.

 It began just as you see it on the show, “911 My Cat’s Holding Me Hostage,” which would air so many months and plot-twists later: Jackson comes in the foster office with Luxie in the carrier; he greets us, then gets down to business- literally, as all but the sound man got down on the floor to say hello to the star performer. We ended up removing the top of the carrier since Lux was determined to stay put. Once the lid was off, he poked his head up, lovely cat. His ears were perky, his eyes wide but not dilated, no fear. He looked at each of us and gave Jackson a love blink. Jackson blinked back, a quiet moment between them.

Carefully we petted Lux’s luxurious fur. He was soft as a Siamese. He didn’t respond to the petting but he didn’t cringe from it either. It was as if he were in a world of his own. I would soon learn more about that world, and the monsters that lurked therein.

……………………………Continuing

Next Up: 7: LUX – COMING HOME