Heather & Willow

It has been two weeks since Linda dropped off Heather and Willow at our place, and now the time is nearing for her to pick them up again. This came about because Linda really didn’t want to board her cats in a kennel, where they would be well-cared for but they wouldn’t receive the kind of personal attention that I was able to give them. In addition, the cost of boarding two cats for a couple of weeks is prohibitive, and Willow requires a little extra attention because of some health problems. So the cats came to stay with us, and took over the room that generally houses Lena’s litter box, food and water. I learned to prepare their food since they eat raw meat with some supplements added to it, and also learned to give Willow her pills.

I tried to introduce them to Lena, hoping that Lena would accept them since both of them are 10 years old and pretty mellow and friendly. But Lena would have none of that and stalked Heather around the living room. Willow went back to their room soon after I let them out and stayed out of Lena’s way. From then on I decided that in order to let them out, I’d have to put Lena in our bedroom and close the door. But while I’m away at work they have spent their time in their room and they don’t seem to mind. I was a little worried at the start of their stay that Willow might not be able to keep her food down since she’d been vomiting a lot. But it seems that the homeopathic pills and the more holistic approach to her health that Linda’s new vet takes has really helped—she has had a great appetite and never threw up anything. She’s also being gradually taken off some medicine that had bad side effects and she generally looks and feels much better than before. Yay! Heather is very healthy and only has the occasional hairball, but I’ve been brushing her with the amazing Kong brush that I love so much. I think Linda will be getting one of those because she was so impressed when she tried it on Heather before leaving for her trip.

Heather and Willow are a funny pair. Heather is a gray tabby with a smiling face and a bit of a belly. When she meows, she opens her mouth and eventually a raspy squawk comes out. She loves tumbling to the floor in order to get petted but does not particularly like being picked up. Willow is a dark gray Oriental cat (can’t remember what breed) and is much sleeker than Heather. She has a long face and long skinny legs that don’t look like they should support her body. But she’s very agile, loves climbing, and will stay in your arms or up against your shoulder for a long time and purr. The two adore each other and have been living together since they were very young and came together from the shelter. A few times I’ve seen them lick each other’s heads or bat at each other’s tails. I wish Lena could have a friend like that, but she just doesn’t like other cats, whether they are young (she couldn’t stand Ninja Kitty in OKC) or old, energetic or mellow. I guess living with Beardsley and Sedgwick (her former feline housemates before we adopted her from our friend) was really traumatic for her. I’m just glad that she doesn’t seem bothered by Heather and Willow’s presence in the house since I’ve been able to keep them away from her.

As much as I’ve enjoyed having Heather and Willow staying with us, I’m also looking forward to them going back to Linda’s. I need to be able to spend more time with Lena, and besides, preparing their food and waiting until they ate it made me leave home later than I would have liked on more than one occasion. But it’s given me a chance to get to know them better and I’m sure that now when I go to Linda’s place, they will be happy to see me.