Happy second birthday to my puffy girl.

[seanan_mcguire]

Today is Alice Price-Healy Little Liddel Abernathy McGuire's second birthday. As of today, she can't be considered a kitten by even the most generous of standards, and must, at last, be afforded the sacred title of "cat." This does not prevent her sleeping on her back for hours with her soft white belly exposed. Nor does it cause her to develop an ounce of dignity. But it does make her wonderful.

I love all three of my cats, and I try not to play favorites. Right now, however, Alice is definitely my favorite, simply by virtue of not being dead. It's hard to express in words just how badly she frightened me when she got sick. Now, finally, she's shiny and grooming herself and talking to me in audible registers, rather than just making this heart-breaking rasping sound. She's better. I'm still going to keep a close eye on her throughout the winter, because this isn't sort of thing you forget quickly, but she's better. And right now, that makes her my favorite.

To celebrate Alice's birthday, she's getting a thorough grooming, possibly including claw-clipping if I can find where she's most recently hidden the clippers, and then I'm going to sit still for several hours while she gets love. There is no better gift one can give a cat.

Happy birthday, Alice. This is only the beginning.