You have heard about how I adopted new kitties after the deaths of each of my first 5 kitties, but Willow came for another loss. I work with animals and there are always the ones that are extra special. My favorite, and I often said the ONLY dog that I would have actually taken home with me, had died unexpectedly. I sat in the shop and could not hold back the tears. Well, I did not know just how much this affected my until I went to adoption days at the shelter. I honestly only went to bring a donation and pet the kitties. I had 8 and felt like I was pushing my husbands patience.
There sat Willow. He and his brother were found as strays and adopted out together. They were shy to say the least and the new owners could not deal with the fact that they did not respond to the people in the household. So back they came. Now they sit in seperate cages in the hopes that they will be better off alone. The feeling was that if they did not have each other to depend upon, they would turn to their new owners for companionship. I petted Willow for an extended time, he just appealled to me.. And the entire time, he would lick my hands. The shelter people said that he was not doing well at the shelter being in a cage. And also they could not believe how he was responding to me. They never saw such a sight as this cat constantly licking anyone.
So I got to thinking......Maybe I could foster him, just to get him out of a cage. If I could get him more social he'd have a better chance of being adopted. That is the lie I told myself. Deep down, I loved this cat. I wanted to go back to my house for a carrier and to try to prepare my husband for this shock. Do you know that I actually cried in hysteria fearing that I would lose my husband's respect (I kinda promised I would not bring another cat home) I am sure you know the feeling.....when you are expected to get yelled at and insted they say "I am dissappointed in you!" Well, I took my chances, and even though Charlie said (and I quote) "You can have anything you want" I still felt an extreme amount of guilt....BUT...........Willow came home.
Now the story doesn't end because Willow IS SHY !!!! WOOOOO HOOOOOO I thought we'd never break through that thick shell he had. He did not venture off of the 2nd floor of our home (where we started him) for 2 full weeks!. It took him 4 weeks to venture up on our bed for some pets. 6 weeks for him to sleep with us.and almost a year before I could hold him in my arms.
But you know what....I still love that cat!!!!!D
Thanks for listening
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Thanks for telling us Willow's story.
He sounds like a wonderful man.
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