remembering The Willow

Today marks the one year anniversary of Willow's crossing the bridge. Where does the time go? It only feels like a month or two since we said that last good bye. It's still hard to believe that she's gone. What was at first thought to be a slow growing brain tumor ended up being faster than we could get her treatment.

We adopted Willow with her brother, Nahum, in May of 2009, shortly after Max died. She was full of youthful energy back then.

One of Willow's passions was hunting - she never got the chance to hunt anything big, but she loved hunting moths. We spent many nights hunting moths together. I would poke them with a stick to get them flying and she would hunt, dispatch, and snack! She was masterful hunter.

Back then, she didn't like to be held at all! Whenever we picked her up, she placed her front paw against the human and pushed out, so she could get as far away as possible! She would give us what we would become named as "the Willow-paw"! She was not the most affectionate cat then.

She loved hanging out on the clothes drying rack! It was her personal jungle gym!

Play, play, play... she never stopped playing. She would garb a little wool ball or mouse and swat it around the furniture. She would go nuts playing with toys. When she really got into the play, she would make her little special Willow sounds. She never really fully meowed but had her unique sound.

She was such a flirt! 

Her favorite food was pine needles! She would go bonkers over them! We guessed she once survived on pine needles as a young kit when her and Nahum were surviving on their own (pre-rescue). 

Over the years she became quite the cuddle bug and needed to make up for those lost years when she didn't like affection. She loved having her tummy rubbed.

Willow had a purr motor that never stopped! She purred when she slept, when she ate, when she did everything. She had a very rhythmic, soothing purr. She had the best purr!

Willow was not a rule follower! She could be mischievous, but she always did so out of her curiosity and innocence, never malice! Of course she had me wrapped around her little paw, I would do anything for her, including not see her as anything but purrfect. 

Willow always ate out of her special fish bowl.

Once she became cuddly, I couldn't sit down anywhere without her coming over and parking on me. She was my constant companion, which I adored! She would often choose to sleep in a lap or on one's legs.

The cats get breakfast and dinner - two meals a day. Willow decided those conditions might work well for the other cats, but she needed to spread out her dinner over several hours. So, she would only eat a portion of it at dinner time and then later would come asking for the rest. She would lead me to the bathroom where she could have the rest of her dinner in peace without the other cats harassing her. Of course Theo never understood this arrangement and always seemed to think Willow was getting extra dinner. There may have been a few times when she accidentally forgot to save some of her dinner for second dinner, I had to sneak her some extra! Seeing her sad, disappointed expression was just too heartbreaking!

I looked all over for a picture of Willow and Theo together but found none. Willow was never very close to Theo but she loved to harass him! Theo is so high strung, she developed the art of sneaking up on him and charging him when he wasn't expecting it causing him to jump a mile in the air! She so loved doing that to him, and didn't do it with any other cat - just him!

I love you sweet girl! You'll always be my precious little Willow - a delightful gift. I miss you, everything about you and always will. I hope you are getting as much cuddle time and hunting as you desire. Say hello to Max and Buddy and I look forward to being reunited with you.