Dear Friends of Tux,
Daffodils are in bloom, tree buds are blooming, winds are blowing, and Tux is feelin’ fine. After a successful Aged to Purrfection visit last month to Brookdale of Hillsborough, Tux is looking forward to another visit with his senior friends in the near future. He promises to tell you all about it in his update next month. Stroller season has returned to Tabby’s Place (when it isn’t raining outside) and more volunteers are coming to pay social visits with the cats. This is all happy news for Tux.
In other news, by now you know that Tabby’s Place is building an expansion called Quinn’s Corner, for vulnerable cats with feline leukemia virus (FeLV). As we prepare to open our expansion later this year, our need for volunteers increases. Volunteers are a huge part of our operation, as we could not run Tabby’s Place without them.
Beginning in May, we will launch an intense volunteer recruitment campaign to find those willing to give the gift of time and make an impact on the lives of our cats. If you know of anyone who would be interested in volunteering (perhaps even you!), please let them know we will soon be reaching out with more details. (They can sign up to receive our emails here; scroll down to the “subscribe” box.) There are many types of volunteer duties to fit diverse abilities and schedules.
Thank you, as always, for helping to spread the word about Tabby’s Place!
Tux always tries his best to look on the sunny side of things, but keeping a positive outlook has been a bit challenging for him this month. To put things in context, we (Tux and I) would like to share a little news about the goings-on in the Community Room of Tabby’s Place. A short time ago some new cats joined the Community Room residents. Frankie and Jeannie are both older felines and know one another from their previous living arrangement. While the two seem to understand one another quite well and enjoy human attention, they are not particularly fond of or appropriate with the other residents of the Community Room. Frankie seems to have a particular interest in bullying Tux.
Tux and I got to enjoy some time together recently, only to have it complicated by Frankie. I was working in the Community Room that day and Tux had been crated overnight in the medical suite for a stool check (which was on the softer side for him). He was thrilled to return to the Community Room shortly after our morning meeting and decided that everything needed to be thoroughly sniffed and investigated. I love watching Tux when he is in “investigation mode.” He moves around with such purposeful focus while his nose twitches and surfaces get cheek rubs. The room met his approval and Tux moved into his favorite elevated place in a cozy bed by the corner desk. I was set up at that workstation with Dani on my lap. All was well until I heard a soft growl come from my left. I looked to see what was going on and realized that the growl was coming from our dear Tux. I have rarely heard Tux growl. He purrs and he meows, but growling is not really in his standard repertoire. I will say that his growl is as dignified and gentlemanly, as you might expect.
The growl was in response to none other than Frankie, who had just been released from his extended overnight crating (for poor behavior) and was on the prowl around the room. Every time Frankie came within a few feet of Tux (despite being elevated), Tux would growl softly and look unsettled. Just a few weeks ago, Frankie and Tux got into a scuffle that resulted in a great deal of hair loss by Tux (see photo). The best way to intervene in these altercations is to put Frankie in a “time-out” back in his crate. We have tried to simply move between the two cats, but Frankie is very focused when he wants to annoy another cat, and crating him seems to be the only way to draw his attention away.
Tux wants to assure you that he is okay. He’s dealt with other challenging relationships over his years in the Community Room and eventually, the staff and vet team hit upon a stew of behavior modifications that work (for the cats causing trouble). Physically, Tux has been in good health this month and for that, he has you to thank. Without your support, the staff could not provide the high level of individualized care that many of our cats require to feel their very best. Thank you for your support of Tux, Frankie, and all the cats of Tabby’s Place.
Your correspondent,
Lisa