That's Purrfect: The Incredible Story of Lucky the Cat

Wednesday, 23 August 2023

The Incredible Story of Lucky the Cat

The rescue begins.

When Aivars and Sarah first met the cat they would later name Lucky, he was anything but his namesake.

The young cat was clinging for dear life onto a tyre attached to a ship, in dry dock on the Port River in Adelaide, Australia.

The couple, who did not wish their surname published, had gone kayaking on but the rough weather had forced them to take shelter in the calm water around the docks.

On his way to safer shores.

As they were preparing to row back to their car they spotted Lucky perched on the tyre. He looked very miserable and was obviously malnourished.

“He was thin, covered in dry sea salt and in distress,” Aivars said.

The couple rowed over to try and retrieve the trapped feline with Sarah having to hold Aivars’ kayak steady as he reached up to grab Lucky.

Lucky with Aivars and Sarah.

“His head was dry but the rest of him was soaking wet and stinking. He had all kinds of gunk coming out of his eyes and was bleeding from one of his teeth. He seemed way too skinny and emaciated to climb up the rope,” said Aivars.

Once he had hold of the cat, Aivars tried to row back to shore one-handed with Lucky under one arm and the paddle in the other.

“In the end we had to tie the kayaks together and joint paddle back to shore,” Aivars said. “He was already pretty chilled with us. In the car on the way to the RSPCA [Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals] he fell asleep in the back seat.”

Carolyn Jones from the RSPCA said Lucky was severely malnourished but bounced back quickly, putting on enough weight that he could be desexed and microchipped.

How Lucky ended up on his precarious perch is anyone’s guess. Ms Jones said cats were naturally curious animals and often found themselves in unfortunate situations.

“Cats never cease to surprise us,” Ms Jones said. “But given the set up it is hard to tell how Lucky ended up in his position.”