Happy September, friends of free-roaming felines!

I hope your autumn is off to an outstanding start. We’re hoping that “outstanding start” describes our return to prison, too.

As noted last month, Tabby’s Place has returned to the site of our first large-scale TNR operation: a women’s correctional facility. Once again, despite our best efforts, unaltered cats have proliferated on the prison grounds, and so we’re back to spay, neuter and nurture them.

It’s almost certain the stray kitties were attracted to the prison by the presence of food, glorious food. If you’re a free-roaming cat in search of sustenance, you don’t care if it’s at a prison or a Pizza Hut. A dumpster is a dumpster is a dumpster, and a dumpster full of deliciousness is the place to be.

And so we’re back in action at the women’s correctional facility — and so are the cats. Dear sponsors, I must confess the cats are giving us a run for our money this time around. This is a wily bunch, and it will take all the time, patience and love we have to give to get them all. With you on our side, I know we will.

Meantime, we celebrate the small victories as they happen. Our team is currently working to trap a savvy mama cat and her little ones. Mama is as brazen as she is brilliant; she’ll stretch out full-length in front of us, happy to let us admire her. But when it comes to catching her, she’s two (okay, two hundred) steps ahead of us.

Mama has, so far, done an amazing job of keeping all her kittens out of our traps, too. All, that is, except for one. Meet Alyssa.

At around twelve weeks of age, Alyssa is on the upper extreme of “prime kitten socialization age.” Despite not receiving human affection earlier in life, though, Alyssa is even sweeter than she is cute. (Hard to believe, I know, but trust me!) Although she’s timid, she never hisses at us, and when we’re petting her, she’ll shyly show how much she loves being loved. Almost in spite of herself, Alyssa will head-bonk us, only to leap back in surprise — did I do that? We know there’s a loving forever home in the future for this little love.

And we know we’ll finally outfox Alyssa’s mom and siblings, too.

In the meantime, thank you, dear sponsors, for helping us to devote our energies and affections to each free-roaming cat we help. This is a patient, painstaking business, and it means the world to us that you value every single life we save. Have a beautiful month.