My dear sponsors,

Things have been a little topsy-turvy in my world this month. It’s not simply the change of seasons, or all the kids heading back to school. Quite frankly, I don’t get the whole school thing anyway. What do you really need to know besides 1. Eat, 2. Sleep, and 3. Kick the Occasional Other Kitty’s Butt? Those three points just about sum it all up for me, personally. But I digress.

No, it’s something more insidious that threw the lobby into disarray this month. A bona fide lurker…ringworm. Friends of Tabby’s Place know that ringworm is the enemy of Tabby’s Place, and the people around here clean (rather obsessively) in order to avoid any appearance of the fungus. But The Worm made it through our defenses this month, and my lobbymate Gingko was the poor kitty who got caught.

Now, don’t get me wrong, Gingko and I aren’t exactly buddies. You know me well enough to know that I’m above that whole “buddy” thing. But I’ve got a healthy respect for any retired brawler, and Ginkgo earned his reputation the hard way. Lately, he hasn’t been feeling well, though, and the ringworm is just an added indignity at this point. Am I developing a compassionate side, friends? Hmm. Don’t hold your breath.

Ringworm isn’t a particularly dangerous health condition for a cat; ringworm’s danger is contagion. That funky little fungus can live for ages and spread to other cats easily, and regular cleaning products don’t do squat against it. You have to use bleach. And here’s where the topsy-turvy comes in: Gingko is a lobby cat. Gingko contracted ringworm. Everything that Gingko may have been in contact with needed to be sanitized with bleach…which means the entire lobby, and everything in it, needed to be sanitized.

I didn’t get sanitized, thank you very much, but I did have to be crated for the whole process, as did all of us lobby cats. Let me tell you, there is nothing like forced confinement to make a cat appreciate his freedom. Good thing the humans did a thorough job cleaning, because I do not want to go through a day crated like that again anytime soon. I’d much rather spend my days as I did today – sleeping in the lap of a person who adores me.

And might I add…I’m not picky about my laps, either. Today’s lap nap wasn’t a particularly comfortable sleep. I had to sort of prop myself up with two legs to make it work. But if someone offers me their affection, I feel bound to accept. I am a principled lap napper, if nothing else. Any chance you’ll come on over so I can give your lap a try? I promise not to give you ringworm!

Yours,
Boots