Happy Birthday Willow, 2014

I'm cheating this morning. I'm re-posting. I don't think I've ever done this before...and to be fair to myself, at least I'm adding a few notes here to update things. Anyway, today is Willow's birthday. She's *14*! Hard to believe. Seems like just the other day she was so tiny!!! I was going to do a post with some kitten pix...then remembered that I did one last year...and it has all the pix I'd want to show you...again!

I will update you a little. Since last year's birthday (as you know) we've added Spike to the household. And he's been a blessing for Willow....because it gives Xander someone closer to his own age to play with! There's much less jumping on Willow...and she appreciates that.

She's started having thyroid issues. As good as she always was at letting me give her insulin shots (still not needing those!), she's not very good about taking oral meds. She won't eat a pill hidden in any kind of food or treat, and she foams out liquid meds (a remarkable phenomenon wherein cats can produce 34 times more foam to come out than medicine going in when they don't like the taste!) My vet friend (she who brings us kittehs) told us about giving the thyroid medicine as a transdermal "gel" (more like a cream) that's placed inside the ear and absorbed through the skin. It's pretty cool that they can do that...and much less traumatic for all concerned.

Wil' also seems to have a little arthritis-type stuff going on...but who doesn't? All-in-all, she seems pretty healthy and content and we're so grateful to celebrate another birthday with her! HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILLOW!

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Our sweet Willow turns 13 today!! She and her dear brother Oz, who died in July, came to live with us when they were six weeks old. They were so adorable :D

Willow on left, Oz on right

Oz! You got somethin beside you! Don't worry, I'll get it!!!

I bitez your head!

This next one was taken the night we brought them home, or the next day. The two of them together barely covered LoML's elbow! They were virtually indistinguishable but for the dark patches on their heads. Oz's was dark grey and made a "V", while Willow's was dark brown and was a "slash" mark. Over the years, the marks faded away completely....

Teenagers:

Oz in front..

Oz in front..

Willow's our diabetic girl...well, at least she was diabetic...it's in remission right now (though I'm not sure that's the correct medical terminology). She was diagnosed when she was 2 years old. She was insulin dependent for the next 10 years, requiring shots twice daily. Sometime this past year...after we lost Oz maybe...her metabolism changed (?) and she no longer needs insulin! I continue to monitor her glucose levels and my vet tells me that there may come a time when we'll have to start it again, but so far, so good.

I believe Willow misses her dear, sweet brother...as we do....but Xander, a/k/a The Orange Menace, has kept her quite busy! :D He's ruthless as kittens can be, and takes every opportunity to leap on her, pin her down, and bite her neck (unless it's one of those times when he thinks he should lick her...which she never seems to appreciate since he does it while pinning her down). She's lost weight as she's now getting much more exercise than she was there for awhile. While she channels her evil alter ego when she has to go the vet's (can you blame her since her early experiences consisted of having to have blood draws every couple of hours?) she is one of the sweetest cats I've ever known. Another interesting fact is that she's decided it's time now to move to daylight savings time. :D She's my furry alarm clock. While she will progress to more attention-demanding tactics if I don't respond, she always starts out just by sitting by my head and purring. Loudly. :D

Happy Birthday girl!!!