Meet the Cat

Name: Lucy (from “Lucille”)

Nicknames: Lucy Cat, Babycakes, Pretty Girl, Piggy, Boo-Boo, and, occasionally, Demon Cat from Hell

The Story Behind the Name: We took our honeymoon in Greece. Our first night, we were booked into a beautiful hotel in Thessaloniki where we were a bit taken aback to discover that the “double” bed was actually two twins shoved together. We had our romance and then each of us retreated to his/her bed for the night. After a few moments silence, out of the darkness came my husband’s voice with a poorly imitated Cuban accent. “Good night, Lucy,” he called.

“Good night, Ricky” I sang out, giggling.

When we found Lucy, we tried calling her “Lily” for a few days. I insisted we test it out. So we’d walk around saying, “Hello, Lily.” “Good morning, Lily.” “Good night, Lily.” Then one of us suggested the name Lucy and I said let’s try it out. That night as we went to bed we both called out “Good night, Lucy.” We burst out laughing and she’s been Lucy ever since.

Weight: God help us, somewhere in the 15-17 lb range. When I have the cats in their carriers, one in each hand, I look like an unbalanced scale tipping to one side as I walk to the car. I don’t even have to look down to know which carrier “Piggy” is in.

Coloring: Black & White.

Personality: Insane. Can go from comatose to 120 mph in two seconds flat. Never shuts up. Loves to chase food. And no one believes me, but she is the biggest lover cat. That’s because she doesn’t trust strangers and hisses at everyone who comes in the door. But I use her as a pillow and she’ll sit there and purr. She’s adamant about being groomed twice daily. She’ll “bark” at us when she’s ready to be brushed and insist we follow her up the stairs to her favorite grooming spot on top of the guest bed. She’s also very dog-like. She knows her name and we can be anywhere in the house and call out “Lucy!” and she’ll come running. That, and she sits in front of my desk while I write and follows me around the house.

Favorite Toy: Large striped tunnel we keep in our hall. She likes to throw herself into the tunnel so that she, and it, skid along our hardwood floors. She’s skidded herself into a plaster wall more than once doing that. That’s our Lucy Cat!