One night Sam and I were out for a drive, and the moon was full, shining through the sunroof.  I leaned my head against the back of my seat, watching the light glimmer down as my husband drove.  As so often happens to me, I slipped into trance and the next thing I knew, I was hearing the words "cat-in-the-moon, cat-in-the-moon", over and over again.  I suddenly knew there was a kitten recently born that would end up with us.

About five weeks later, I was waiting for a bus and a friend wandered up to say hi.  She looked at me strangely and then said, "Do you know anyone who wants a calico kitten?  I've got a little one who needs a home."  Well, since calicos are my favorites, and we were looking for another baby, I said we'd come over and take a look at the cat.  I had forgotten about the incident in the car at that time.

We went over that night, and I held this tiny, tiny ball of swirling colors.  She looked up at me, then reached out and bit my pentacle (a lady-on-the-moon pentacle) and something clicked.  I knew she was meant to be with us.  On the drive home, I put the carrier on my lap because the kitten was so afraid and, just then, a beam of moonlight came splashing through the sunroof and bathed the cat with a silvery glow, and I burst out laughing.  She was a 'cat-in-the-moon'!  We named her Luna, and she's been my 'special girl'--a problem child whom I just adore.

Luna, as I said, is a bit of a problem child.  She has an aggression problem towards our cat Tara, though we can't fathom why, and so she needs very tiny doses of a veterinarian prescribed medication to control her temper.  But she's a good girl otherwise, cute as could be, and we just accept her bad days along with her good ones.  Tara has learned how to cope, and the medication keeps any real fights to a minimum.

Luna's got several peculiarities, the most striking being her love of earwax.  Sounds gross, I know, but she's crazy for the stuff and will steal used cotton swabs if I'm not careful.  She's actually tried to lick the inside of Sam's ears before.  She also goes into kneading frenzies where that's all she wants to do, she'll purr and knead, knead and purr, and go on for a good half-hour that way.

Her favorite game is to go into the bathroom and sit on the vanity, then start yowling because she can't figure out where everybody went.  We'll call, "We're here Luna..." and she'll yowl back, and this will continue until one us goes in to carry her out and convince her that the world hasn't ended.

November 1998 Update On Luna:  She continues to do well.  We thought she might have kidney stones and took her to the vet for an x-ray, the vet said she was just acting quirky as usual and there was no problem.  Not much else to say except that she still stalks Tara, is still on her medication, and still likes to play the "I'm all alone in the world game".  We humor her.

January 2000 Update on Luna:  Since Tara is now living in my office to keep her away from Luna, we have taken Luna off the valium.  She fell, when we first moved here, off the dresser and sprained her butt, but she seems to be doing fine now and is as happy as ever.

January 2001 Update on Luna:  Luna has to undergo surgery in a week for a twisted knee that didn't heal last year like we all thought it did (when she fell off the dresser).  She should be fine but needs the operation to prevent problems down the line.  Otherwise, she's quite happy and off the valium still.

October 2001 Update on Luna: So far, so good.  She didn't have to have the operation after all, though it's not ruled out for the future.  Now and then she'll limp for a bit, but usually she seems just fine.

November 2002 Update on Luna: We've decided that the operation isn't going to be necessary.  She limps a bit when she first wakes up but seems fine now.  She's scratching on our new sofa which I'm trying to put a stop to with Feliway.  Otherwise, she's still the same dear Luna.  She's gotten obsessed with her kitty treats, though, and she will knock the container on the floor and paw it and meow for half an hour at a time.  I usually give them a few treats in the evening and she's gotten used to the routine, when it's disrupted, she gets *very* upset.

April 2004 Update on Luna: Luna's doing much better in many ways.  Although she's still the bully, she's become more affectionate the past year, mainly to me.  She is still kitty treat obsessed and still very run by her routine.  Her hip bothers her now and then, when she sleeps wrong, she'll have a limp for a little bit after she wakes up, but overall, she's doing good.  I exercise her by throwing her kitty treats way down the hall so she has to run for them, then I'll throw the next one the other way--she's more than willing to put in the effort to get them.  She just turned 11, but it's hard to believe, I'll tell you that--she seems timeless to me.

November 2004 Update on Luna:  Well, in late July, the 26th I believe it was, Luna and Meerclar accidentally escaped.  Keeter did too, but only for a couple of hours.  By the time we realized what had happened--and that they weren't under the bed or in the closet--several hours had passed and we were frantic.  It was a bleak period there--thought we'd about go crazy and  I couldn't work, couldn't think, was crying all the time.  Two days after Luna disappeared, I had the urge to head out in the yard with the catnip.  I got out back and looked around and lo-and-behold, there was Luna!  Looking tired and scared and thoroughly hungry.  I caught her once but she slipped out of my grasp so I yelled for Sam to grab the food and I took it over near her...well, that was all the incentive she needed.  She started to eat, I caught her up tight and ran inside.  Man, she ate like a piglet and was a very good girl for a couple of days until the shock wore off.  We took her to the vet and she was fine, had lost a couple ounces but wsa okay.  It took two weeks for the Meerclar to come home, and we remained totally trashed until she showed up, but our family is all together again and nobody seems any worse for the wear except us.  We're paranoid about doors being open now.

January 2006 Update on Luna:  Luna's fine.  Her leg still acts up and she's still a little thuglet/needy babe, but she's basically doing great.  Her bloodwork showed a little bit of high cholesterol, but over all, our wayward chickie is holding her own.  She's still as needy--and as thugish--as ever, and pretty much Luna is...Luna.  She's going on 13 years old come April, and it's hard to believe.

April 2007 Update on Luna:  Luna's aging just fine so far.  We don't see her slowing down much, she's pretty much still the Luna she was last year and at 14 now, she's still a little bully.  I've noticed her trying to usurp Keeter a little, and I know it's because Keeter's slowing down.  Keeter tends to back off more from her, though now and then she still gives her 'what for.'  Luna has, however, gotten more cuddly with us--she comes in on the bed more than she used to, she wants petted more.  I'm not sure if it's a phase, or if she's just decided that being cuddled more is a good thing.

July 9, 2008 Update on Luna:  About a month ago, Luna developed a bunch of fast-growing cysts in her liver.  She made it through the life or death surgery that removed half of her liver, but our little girl just couldn't rally back.  Today, we had to say goodbye to her--we petted her and whispered to her as she slid into the arms of Bast.  We're going to miss our cat-in-the-moon girl.  Luna was 15 years old.