Lucy’s Storm: What a Feral Cat Taught Me About Rescue, Nursing, and Letting Go

 

In the summer of 2008, four years after we moved to Missouri, a feral cat made a decision that changed everything.

We didn’t know her name yet. We didn’t know her story. But we watched her soaked, trembling, and determined carry her newborn kittens one by one into our garage during a thunderstorm that shook the whole neighborhood. She chose our shed as sanctuary. And we chose to honor that trust.

We named her Lucy.

A Mother’s Instinct

Lucy had no collar, no chip, no known history. But she had instinct. She nursed her kittens for nine full weeks longer than most ferals allow. Even as we offered canned kitten food, she kept nursing. She knew they needed more. She knew they weren’t thriving.

We kept the shed warm, quiet, and stocked with food. Lucy did the rest. Her babies suckled and slept, curled into her belly, while the storm passed and the weeks rolled on.

When the kittens were finally weaned, we trapped them gently, socialized them with care, and found them new homes. Later, we learned both had underlying health issues. Lucy had known. She’d stayed longer. She’d held on.

Lucy in the woods by our home 2009

 Lucy’s Legacy

After her kittens were placed, we trapped Lucy, had her spayed, and released her back into the woods she knew. She couldn’t be socialized, but she could be protected. And so we did through blizzards, hawk attacks, and bitter cold.

Lucy lived for 17 years, defying every statistic about feral cat survival. She was cautious, camouflaged, and fiercely intelligent. She survived predators, storms, and illness. She sunbathed on our patio chairs, made friends with a gray cat who groomed her, and on her final winter night walked through our open door and sat quietly on the kitchen floor.

We gave her end-of-life care, warmth, and companionship. She passed peacefully in January 2025, surrounded by love and buried on the land where she was born.

You can read her full tribute on Cat Adoption Guide.

If you’ve ever watched a feral cat carry her babies through thunder, or wondered whether you’re doing enough know this: warmth, food, and presence matter. Lucy knew. And now, so do we.

God Guided Feral Cat to Shelter

When the sky turned dark and the air felt heavy we knew that this was a sign for a thunderstorm. Sure enough, the weather forecast called for high winds, hail and a warning of a possible tornado.  We hoped that the feral cat that escaped our shelter three days ago would come back and enter through the kitty door on our cat shelter.  My husband and I prayed that God would guide her to safety.

The rain came down hard, the wind so strong that mature oak trees swayed and hail was large.  My husband and I stayed at the back window even though we were told to seek shelter underground.   Then I saw the feral cat I call Lucy she was soaked to the bone but in spite of this horrific storm, she was able to go into our shed through the open cat door.


I believe this to be the grace of God that he has guided Lucy to safety once again. Lucy had escaped the shelter several days ago with a wound that was not healing, so I ran out to shut the cat door because we must take her back to the veterinarian for evaluation of her wound.

Photographs of the injured feral cat in our care.

My Veterinarian is aware that her wound is not healing and he advised me to bring her in for medical care. However when I tried to trap Lucy she ran away and I did not see her for several days.

The veterinarian did a culture on Lucy's kitten Natasha and found that the bacterial infection was not responding to the antibiotics was due to L-Form Bacteria. The kitten’s immune system cannot fight this bacteria and my veterinarian suspects that Lucy has the same condition and this is why she has not healed in three weeks.

My veterinarian prescribed the medication that is needed for Lucy to heal. Doxycycline an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections, and liquid vitamins to help Lucy with the infection and to boost her immune system. 

I am to give her one dose per day mixed in her chicken and liver canned food. I should feed her the medicated food when she is very hungry that way she will eat it. Otherwise she may shy away from it. Lucy must take the medication for 14 days. I have this one chance at healing her. I feel God brought her to me and that he is watching over her, he wants her to live and to return to her colony.