Lucy and The Fools

Lucy (est’d date of birth 3/19/12) came to us on March 19, 2015. She’d shown up almost two weeks previously at someone’s house during an ice storm looking for shelter. When it became clear that she was planning to stick around AND that she was pregnant, they called Challenger’s House for help.

She was hugely pregnant when we got her, and we expected her to give birth at any moment. Almost two long weeks later, after being fussed over and pampered and with her belly growing bigger with every passing moment, she finally gave birth to SEVEN healthy kittens – on April Fools Day, of course. Lucy cared for those babies wonderfully, and they thrived under her care. She further proved herself to be an exceptional mother when a 5 week old orphan kitten (Carlin) was found by the side of the road and introduced to her. She cared for him as though he were her own, and he blossomed under her love.

Lucy’s belly on March 20th (left) and April 1st.

Lucy.

Since her kittens opted to be silly and arrive on April Fools’ Day, Lucy’s official name is Lucille Ball, and her kittens are all named after comedians (Louis (“Lou-ie”), Rickles, Skelton, Shecky, Belushi, Roseanne and Gilda) and referred to collectively as The Fools.

Belushi.

Gilda.

Louis.

Rickles.

Roseanne.

Shecky.

Skelton.

Carlin. Estimated date of birth: 4/15/15

Carlin came to us on May 22nd at the age of approximately 5 weeks old. Someone found him in the road with a dead sibling laying nearby. We introduced him to the rest of the Fools and to Lucy. After some initial hissiness on Lucy’s part, she gave up, accepted him, and now treats him as one of her own. The rest of the Fools accepted him almost immediately, and treat him as a pesky younger brother.

You can read about Lucy beginning here and her kittens beginning here, and Carlin beginning here (there are links at the top and bottom of each entry; click on the one on the right to take you to the next one). You can see all the pictures taken of them during their stay with us here at Flickr.

Updates: Gilda was adopted on 6/27/15 – the very same day she went to Petsmart!
Rickles was adopted on 6/30/15.
Carlin and Skelton were adopted – together – on 7/9/15. Their big brother is Bill, from the True Blood 6! Carlin is now named George, and Skelton is Red. You can see them, Bill, and occasionally sister Izzy on Instagram!
Shecky was adopted on 7/11/15! His name is now Gir.
Roseanne was adopted on 7/14/15 – by the same people who had adopted Rickles!
Belushi was adopted on 7/7/15, and returned on 7/28/15. He was adopted again on 8/8/15.
Mama Lucy was adopted on 7/18/15 and is now Gilly! (Edited to add: She passed away unexpectedly in April 2020.)

	Lucy	Belushi	Gilda	Louis	Rickles	Roseanne	Shecky	Skelton	Carlin
3/20/15	9 lb 15.5 oz	----------	----------	----------	----------	----------	----------	----------	----------
4/4/15 - 3 days old	----------	4 3/4 oz	4 1/2 oz	5 1/8 oz	5 3/8 oz	5 1/8 oz	5 1/2 oz	4 3/4 oz	----------
4/6/15	----------	6 oz	5 7/8 oz	6 1/2 oz	6 3/4 oz	6 1/8 oz	6 3/8 oz	5 7/8 oz	----------
4/8/15	-----------	6 7/8 oz	6 5/8 oz	7 1/8 oz	7 7/8 oz	7 oz	6 7/8 oz	6 7/8 oz	----------
4/11/15	-----------	8 3/4 oz	8 oz	7 3/4 oz	9 5/8 oz	8 oz	7 7/8 oz	8 3/8 oz	----------
4/15/15 - 2 weeks old	8 lb 13 oz	10.1 oz	9.1 oz	8 oz	11.7 oz	8.9 oz	9.3 oz	9.6 oz	----------
4/22/15 - 3 weeks old	8 lb 11 oz	12.3 oz	11.6 oz	9.7 oz	14.5 oz	11.7 oz	12.1 oz	12.3 oz	----------
4/29/15 - 4 weeks old	8 lb 4 oz	1 lb .6 oz	15.5 oz	13.2 oz	1 lb 3.3 oz	14.8 oz	1 lb 1 oz	15.9 oz	----------
5/6/15 - 5 weeks old	8 lb 6.4 oz	1 lb 6 oz	1 lb 5 oz	1 lb 2.3 oz	1 lb 9 oz	1 lb 2 oz	1 lb 6.8 oz	1 lb 6 oz	----------
5/13/15 - 6 weeks old	7 lb 14 oz	1 lb 9 oz	1 lb 8 oz	1 lb 7 oz	1 lb 13 oz	1 lb 7 oz	1 lb 11 oz	1 lb 10 oz	----------
5/20/15 - 7 weeks old	8 lb 2 oz	1 lb 15 oz	1 lb 14 oz	1 lb 12 oz	2 lb 2 oz	1 lb 12 oz	2 lb 2 oz	2 lb	----------
5/23/15	----------	----------	----------	----------	----------	----------	----------	----------	1 lb 4 oz
5/31/15 - 2 months	8 lb 3 oz	2 lb 7 oz	2 lb 4 oz	2 lb 2 oz	2 lb 10 oz	2 lb 2 oz	2 lb 9 oz	2 lb 8 oz	1 lb 9 oz
6/3/15 - 9 weeks	8 lb 3 oz	2 lb 10 oz	2 lb 7 oz	2 lb 5 oz	2 lb 13 oz	2 lb 4 oz	2 lb 12 oz	2 lb 10 oz	1 lb 12 oz
6/10/15 - 10 weeks	8 lb 4 oz	2 lb 13 oz	2 lb 8 oz	2 lb 8 oz	3 lb 3 oz	2 lb 6 oz	3 lb 1 oz	2 lb 12 oz	2 lb 2 oz
6/19/15 - 11 weeks	8 lb 4 oz	3 lb 4 oz	2 lb 15 oz	3 lb 1 oz	3 lb 9 oz	2 lb 12 oz	3 lb 9 oz	3 lb 6 oz	2 lb 10 oz