Willow

Willow is my daughter, Megan's, cat.  He is a boy, despite his sort of girly name.  People have teased Megan about it, but she named him as soon as she got him, and she said, "He is definitely a Willow".  Period.  At first it did seem a little odd, but we're all used to it now, so we don't think anything of it.  My husband calls him psycho, and sometimes I do think that's a more fitting name!  It bugs Megan when we take Willow to the vet, and they refer to him as "her".   Do you remember the 80's movie Willow?  That Willow was a boy, too, so our Willow is not alone!

Almost two years ago, we walked into the pet supply store to get food or treats.  I don't remember exactly what we were after.  This place not only sells supplies, they do have a few animals from time to time.  This time, they had one tiny kitten left from a litter.  They'd sold the rest, and the runt was all that was left.  Of course Megan fell in love instantly, and asked to hold the kitten.  They said the kitten was female, and 8 weeks old.  I've been around cats and kittens all my life, so checked it out for myself, and this kitten was most definitely NOT a female.   They didn't care though, they just wanted to sell this last kitten.  They had sold all the rest for $50 each, but since he was the last, and such a tiny runt, they'd let us have him for $25.  Since we already had a cat and four dogs, I said, regretfully, thank you, he's cute, but no.  Megan instantly went into begging mode! "I'll pay for him myself! P L E A S E, mom!! We can't leave him here!"  I knew her father wouldn't be pleased about a surprise kitten.  Megan is a cat addict, he is a dog addict.  But this kitty was pulling at my heartstrings, so I let her call him.  No surprise when he said, "NO WAY! Do NOT bring another cat home!"  But Megan persisted and wore her daddy down.  He finally said it was up to me, probably hoping I'd be willing to make the "NO" stick.  I wasn't.  This kitten was so cute, and so tiny...no way was I going to leave him there with an opening like "It's up to you!"  Usually we prefer to get our pets from the shelter, but how do you walk away from such a sweet little ball of fur?  My heart is waaaaay too soft for that!

So Megan used her own money and bought the kitten.  I bought the kitten food, and whatever else we were originally there for.  And with that, Willow became part of the family.  He is quite the character, and always entertaining.  We were lucky, he wasn't really interested in shredding everything in sight.  He has always been very mellow, which is rare in young kittens, but he still has some wild adventures.  He's just quiet about them.  Very stealth.  Watch your toes if he's hiding under the bed and you walk by!  Fully grown now, he is still a very small cat.  Buddy, our other cat, is of average size, but dwarfs Willow.  Seems appropriate, since the Willow in the movie is also a dwarf.  Megan has commented several times over the last couple of years that Willow is the best $25 she ever spent, and I agree.



Willow, 10 weeks old, in Megan's hat.

Willow, in his favorite napping spot.

Willow, last week, "Turn on the TV, I'm missing my show!" Actually, he loves this spot because he can see out two windows at the same time. Gotta keep track of the neighborhood, you know.