Bella and Bailey turn 15 years old tomorrow!
Yup, they were born on Halloween. Unlike Velvet, they don’t look like Halloween cats. But they were born very shortly after we lost Velvet. So I have always thought they were destined to be our kitties.
I have looked at several websites that calculate cat years versus human years. The consensus seems to be somewhere between mid 70s to early 80s. In any case, they are getting older. We are grateful they are doing well. Both remain quite active and seem to move well.
As the photo above suggests, they are fairly cordial, but they don’t cuddle with each other. The only time they cuddled was when they were kittens. They stopped right after their vet visits to get spayed. I think Bailey still blames Bella for that.
Bailey
Bailey is our independent girl. Like most cats, she does everything on her terms. She can be super cuddly but often prefers to be near us. One of her many nicknames is Proxy, meaning she likes to sit near us but not on us.
She is definitely the more vocal of the two. She is nearly always right outside the bedroom door in the morning, ready to meow and get me downstairs to feed them.
Bailey is a petite little girl, weighing about three pounds less than her sister. She has every opportunity to eat, but for whatever reason, is the smaller of the two cats. She is active and has lots of energy, so I don’t worry.
Bella
Bella is very happy-go-lucky. She has always been the quieter of the two. But as she has gotten older, she is certainly willing to make her needs known!
We are fortunate, and grateful to terrific veterinarians, to still have her with us. She has survived three bowel obstructions. She is heavier than Bailey these days, which surprises me given her history. But she is healthy and that is all that I care about.
Hubby wrote this post about the challenges of dealing with long-haired cats. They both get daily cat laxatives. Bailey doesn’t need the laxative but views it as a treat and will lick it off our fingers. Bella, who actually needs it, forces us to spread the lax on her fur, so she will lick it off. Bella gets a good shave a few times yearly to control the hairballs.
With Bella and Bailey getting older, I am trying to remember to cherish every day with them.