Luna- August 1992-November 12, 2008

Luna died on November 12. Kim found her in August of 1992 at Hendrix when some maintenance men rescued her from under the student center which had been fumigated by some exterminators. Her mother and litter mates died. Luna stayed alive and toxic. The chemicals took their toll. I don’t know if her cancer (of the larynx) was related to them, but sixteen years after the exposure, any tick that got on her neck would die.
From Kim:
She may have been the ugliest cat I had ever seen, but I took her home and vowed to take care of her. Angie protested at first, but eventually gave in. We kept her in a box in my room for a long time while she gained enough strength to live. Bill gave us tips on caring for her and we eventually nursed her back to health. She was always feisty and you never knew if you would get a kiss or a slash when you approached her. She was also finicky and always preferred to drink running water from the faucet as opposed to drinking from her bowl. She would wait in the kitchen sink or bathtub for someone to come to turn on the water for her. My fondest memories are of her curling up in a ball in my lap to watch television or sleeping by my feet on cold nights. She was a sweet cat and she will be missed.

From Barbara whom Luna called Barbar:
In the summer of 1993 Kim asked if we could take care of Luna "for the summer" while she went off to work in Tennessee. Fifteen years later she was still with us. I took her to the vet clinic across from the office on Halsted. The vet was asking me her name when I noticed that his name tag said "Dr. Luna". I was almost embarrassed to tell him hers....... I made the mistake of applying some flea and ticket repellent on her not long after she came to our house. She began frothing at the mouth and she stretched out on her side on the floor and began dragging herself around in a circle while she caterwauled (think of Curly on the 3 Stooges). We called Bill (the Vet) and he confirmed she was exhibiting signs of chemical sensitivity. I'd just made her more toxic! Her chemical dependency continued to exhibit itself. If she was near anyone wearing hand lotion, she would try her best to lick it off. She had brain damage. But she wasn't dumb. We taught her how to give "kisses" -- if you put your face close to hers and said "kiss," she would lick your nose. She was also the most petite cat I ever had -- probably to do with the initial rough start to her life. In spite of her handicaps she was absolutely fearless. One day a large dead catfish washed up on the bank of the lake. A bunch of turkey vultures were taking turns picking at it. Luna wanted part of the action and walked deliberately among them oblivious to any danger. Fortunately, I saw it happening and raced down to swoop her up before the vultures did. She was not happy with me. We also had a couple of dogs over the years that Luna lived with us. She got her bluff in early and they never bothered her. She survived long after the dogs were gone. She also managed to get stuck in trees before she figured out there were other places to hide from the neighbor dogs. The first time she got stuck in a small oak tree about 4 inches around. We didn't have a ladder tall enough to reach her and we couldn't climb the tree, so we had to cut it down with her in it! After that we rigged up a basket attached to a rake as a "cherry picker" to reach her. The last time the dogs chased her up a tree was about 3-4 years ago. She got about 20 feet up the tree and promptly fell out of it. She did not land on her feet. Miraculously, she wasn't hurt at all.
Luna went into heat and, as adolescents will do, could think of nothing else. She would caterwaul and “back up” to her friends. Finally, Bill satisfied her with a Q-tip. Apparently she never forgot that experience (does anyone?). Wish I could say that it worked, but she was no less frisky and in fact grew to love Q-tips so much that we had to keep them out of her reach. If she got a hold of one, she would wrestle with it until it fell apart. After she came to live with us I had to put away the container of Q-Tips I kept on the bathroom counter. We'd come home and find Q-Tips on the floor. Many years later (2006) I put a container of Q-Tips on the downstairs bathroom counter thinking that she was probably over all that. A day or so later we found about 18 Q-Tips all over the bedroom and bathroom -- on the floor, on the bed, under rugs, etc. Aside from the ongoing drama and entertainment she provided, I think what I loved about Luna most was her "honesty." She was uncomplicated and direct. You always knew when she was happy or mad -- the only two "emotions" she seemed to exhibit. I consider Luna our "miracle" cat. Her existence itself was a miracle. And I think she was in far more pain than we knew, but she plugged along almost "normally" all the way to the end. I knew something was up when she quit wanting to drink water in the bathtub a few days ago. She was a sweet kitty cat and I miss her, but I'm glad she's not in any more pain.

From Jim:
Luna was nearly blind, had poor balance, and the only cat I’ve ever seen who was slower than I. She was athletic character in spite of her lack of coordination. She loved climbing the screens and would be half-way up the window most times. She loved it when Scott would sing her special song How Much Is That Pussy In The Window when he’d see Luna perched in the windowsill. In her early days, she loved and was loved by Kim, Angie, Cristi, Ann, Jennifer, Bill and Scott. Luna loved drinking in the bathtub, showering in the sink, sleeping with Barbar, meditating with Jim, being with Kim, jumping into Aarika’s lapenjoying her discomfort, taking some of Cecil’s blood, and answering the phone. Luna also loved and was loved by Andrea who took care of her when we were gone. Luna was her favorite cat. Luna was tolerant of children and was the favorite of the young ones who could not get near other cats. She was grateful to Margot, Dr. Angie, Karen, Marilyn, Diane, Carol, Mayse, Sarah, Marilyn, Miranda and all at the cat clinic who took good care of her.
We all miss you Luna.