A black cat named Lucky lived up to his name when he survived getting hit by the blades of a lawnmower he was hiding under last month.
Gerald Kilpatrick, of LaSalle, said he didn’t think much when his 1-year-old cat was rubbing against his legs June 24 while he gassed up the mower.
Kilpatrick turned around to put the gas can back, and when he returned he didn’t see the cat.
He started the lawnmower and heard a “ding, like I hit a tree root.”
Kilpatrick hit the kill switch and lifted up the mower.
Out shot a cat.
Lucky ran to a nearby tree and Kilpatrick ran after him.
The cat’s right paw was gone. His left leg had scratches. Kilpatrick scooped up the cat and called for his 8-year-old son, Alex. The two grabbed a towel and hopped into the car.
Lucky purred as Alex held him, but blood began dripping out of the cat’s mouth and one of his ears.
When the family arrived at an animal hospital in Evans, veterinarians put Lucky on an IV drip and X-rayed his two front legs. One had a compound fracture and was another was missing a couple of claws. His jaw was broken too.
Veterinarians there told Kilpatrick to take the cat to Colorado State University, where they could give him more treatment. Workers amputated the cat’s left leg and wired his jaw shut to help it heal.
Lucky’s currently on a liquid diet, and his hair is spotty, making him look scrawny, but he’s still the same, sweet cat.
“He doesn’t even hate me,” Kilpatrick said.
Three weeks and $3,000 after the accident, Kilpatrick wishes he’d looked for the cat before starting the lawnmower.
“He’s just always curious,” Kilpatrick said of the cat. “If you have groceries and you’re getting out of the van, you open up the back hatch and he’s there.
“I should have known better.”
Liz Navratil: 303-954-1054 or lnavratil@denverpost.com
