Against All The Odds

Lucky was a pathetic, pregnant stray when we found her huddled near some dustbins.

When her four kittens were born, she showed no interest in them.   Perhaps her hard life had convinced her that her babies had no chance.

When we tried to intervene, to help feed them, Lucky retaliated by taking a kitten in her mouth, jumping over two high fences and placing it carefully at the paws of a guard dog Alsatian two doors up.

The inevitable happened and we sorrowfully buried the tiny, mutilated scrap.

Now nothing would satisfy Lucky but to get rid of the rest of her family.   Try as we could to stop her, one after another, the kittens were offered to the huge canine.

Finally only one kitten remained, by far the tiniest and the prettiest.

Her coat promised to be long and silky, her pedigree certainly having Persian lurking somewhere.   We held our breath; perhaps she was to be spared.

She suckled and gradually put on weight.   Her eyes opened and she was becoming a truly gorgeous kitten when she too was sacrificed to the Alsatian.

I sadly rescued the stiff-legged little body and placed it in a polythene bag ready for burial.   The ground was so hard; it took a long time to dig the grave.

When I retrieved the polythene bag, I was amazed to see that the little, black, ball of fluff, was definitely alive, moving and sending out heart-rending cries for help.

Amazingly, the kitten seemed to have no apparent injuries, so I had no choice but to return her to her undevoted mother.   I watched from a safe distance and was surprised to see Lucky welcome back her tiny baby.   She licked her, groomed her, and fed her, all the time purring at the top of her voice.

Lucky overnight became the perfect mother and reared Fluffy successfully.

It was as if she was so proud that the small kitten had survived against all the odds, that she was now prepared to tackle any hardship the world could throw at her. Fluffy is now five years old and beautiful.   The only sign that she ever lost any of her nine lives, is a slight limp and a big aversion to large dogs.

Sadly Lucky has died.   I think she had such a hard life before I found her that it took it’s toll.   I buried her with her kittens.

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