Lucy's Page
May, 2001 - February, 2008
Lucy is Rude Ranch's most special needs resident. She arrived at Rude Ranch from a local animal control agency in February, 2004 when she was 10 days old.
Animal Control Officers had gone into a nearby house as part of a raid on an older animal hoarder and rescued a large number of adult cats. Then
they found just one all black, 10 day old kitten. Unfortunately they couldn't find her mother or any other siblings. The orphan (and several other cats) were
brought to Rude Ranch for care and later adoption. It wasn't long before we realized that something wasn't right with the little orphan... even though her
eyes were open, she stumbled around and crashed into things, and her legs and hips were jointed "backwards". Occasionally she would throw "fits" or temper
tantrums, were she would smack at the floor.
A veterinary neurologist soon explained all of Lucy's problems: although her eyes were functional, the connection between her eyes and brain never developed, meaning
she was neurologically blind, and the temper tantrums were actually siezures caused by epilepsy. While nothing could be done about her blindness, her siezures
could be controlled with daily doses of valium.
Although she doesn't have the best aim on the litterbox, Lucy lives each day to the best of her abilities. She is kept behind a baby gate in one room, to keep her from
accidently falling down a flight of steps. She has learned the layout of the furniture of her room and makes her way around it with few problems (or crashes), although every
now and then she will crash into a sleeping dog or another cat that has decided to take a nap in one of her major pathways. Because of the valium, she is also the soundest sleeper
in the shelter.
