Meet our Foster Cat

Around New Year's Eve:




Meet Willow, our foster cat. He's been hanging around our house for about a year. I snapped the above pics of him around New Year's. He used to just hang out during the day for a few hours on our back patio and was never seen in the evenings or weekends. This led us to believe someone just let him out during the day while they went to work. About 5 months ago, he started coming around more and more for longer periods of time. Walt actually saw him and didn't think he was a figment of my imagination! (This is why I have pics of him around New Year's Eve because Walt never got to see these cats that I talked about!) We noticed he started getting thinner and thinner and in May, we realized that someone was no longer feeding him. We started out with just water but then felt sorry for him and started giving him food. While he wanted the food, he wanted our attention and affection even more! It was bittersweet...loved his affection but sad that he was clearly starved for affection in addition to food! He has a friend, Langston, who comes around wtih him. (yes, we name the stray animals in our neighborhood!)

Why do I call him a foster cat? We want to make sure he fits in well with Grissom and my allergies. I am allergic to cats but have no reaction to Grissom even without being on allergy meds! I had a few issues when we brought Willow into the house and we've been getting Willow cleaned up and his undercoat groomed and it's gotten better. We're giving it 30 days and we'll decide if we'll keep him. If not, we'll find him a new home. He is growing on Walt and I though! After several days of keeping him in a bathroom away from Grissom, his first night free, he hopped on our bed like a dog ready for bed. It was the sweetest thing.

Before letting him in the house, we took him to the vet and got confirmation that he is a neutered male. He is healthy and the vet estimates that he's 3-4 years old.
How did we come up with the name Willow? In staying true to our CSI naming for felines (Grissom), Willow is named for Catherine Willows! If you're savvy, then you know that Langston also came from CSI for Ray Langston! :)

Willow's first night inside...7/21/10 (He definitely has the Siamese-talking gene!)


By the toilet seems the safest.


Peeking at Grissom


Thanks for the tuna!


Enjoying the couch.


Watching The Office reruns with us on his second night.