Polydactyl Texas Cat ‘Will O’ Wisp’ In Running for Next Cadbury Bunny

Will O’ Wisp is a cute, blue-eyed cat who loves her brussels sprouts and spinach. She’s bunny-soft and, as it turns out, she might just be the next Cadbury Bunny. And this year, she’s the only kitty and the only animal from Texas in the competition, The Denton Record-Chronicle reports. 

Will O’ Can Give You A Thumb’s Up

This isn’t the only thing that’s remarkable about this cottony ball of fur. She’s also a polydactyl kitty. This means this sweet cat also has a thumb, thanks to a genetic mutation. But when Will O’ Wisp was a kitten, things weren’t exactly on the up and up for her. After she was rescued her tail was in really bad shape due to gangrene. So part of it had to be amputated. Poor little kitty.

But the good news is that little Will O’ Wisp found a loving home with Sarah Elkins. Now she had a safe place where she could recover and her humom grew to love her quickly. The two have now been together for 2.5 years.

“My late cat passed in a sudden manner, and I was extremely depressed,” Elkins says. “I saw Will O’s photo on Humane Tomorrow’s Facebook [page] and I had to meet her. It was an instant connection and I fell in love.”

This sweet kitty definitely had to learn how to deal with losing part of her tail, but in no way did it dampen her fun-loving purrsonality.

“OMG, her balance was terrible but that didn’t stop her from launching herself around on the cat shelves,” Sarah tells me.

She Has Lots Of Time To Play And Loves Her Kitty Siblings.

That must be really adorable because when she’s feeling playful she makes a lot of cute kitty noises.

“My favorite thing she does is she coos,” Sarah says. “She goes ‘ooh Wo wo wo’ when she runs.”

I’m guessing this is common because she has three kitty siblings to play with— Yin, 7, “who is the queen,” Juju, 4, and Samhain, who, at 2.5 years old is “the baby. She’s also a terror.

But along with several playmates, Will O’ “loves to play dress-up.”

But Will O’ Hit A Scary Bump In The Road.

However, last year Will O’ had another frightening health scare when she developed pancreatitis, which can be very dangerous in cats. The Cornell Feline Health Center reports that the prognosis in sick cats can vary widely depending upon the severity of the disease. 

“For cats with mild to moderate forms of disease, the prognosis for recovery is generally very good, though repeated episodes are possible. Pancreatitis can, however, be fatal in cats with very severe forms of acute pancreatitis,” the Center reports.

Fortunately, little Willow is one tough little kitty and there was no way she was going to let this disease stop her.

“It was such a close call,” Sarah says. “She was just so positive and tried so hard to eat and push through the pain. She loves food so it was terrifying to see her not eat for a week. Luckily with the right meds and my amazing vet she was able to pull through.”

Perhaps the luckiest thing about this is that Will O’ didn’t have to have surgery. This left Sarah $6,000 in debt, but like all of us who love our cats, she says she’d do this again “in a heartbeat.”

The contest is supposed to end Monday, March 22, and Will O’ definitely has competition—including 3 dogs, a horse, a bearded dragon, a sugar glider, a tiny parrot, a hedgehog, and a llama. Cadbury is donating $5,000 to the American Society for The Prevention of Cruelty To Animals, along with an additional $5,000 donation for every 5,000 incremental votes totaling up to $20,000.

If Will O’ becomes the next Catbury, er Cadbury Bunny, Sarah intends to donate most of the money to the Ukraine Animal Fund. She notes “I can slowly pay back debt, but they need help right now.”

This darling cat has been through so much. She is a testament to just how tough a cat’s spirit can be. I’m giving a thumb’s up to this plucky little polydactyl kitty.

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