Happy May, Team TNR!
I hope this gentle month finds you with sunshine on your shoulders and honeysuckle on the breeze. Thanks to you, love is in the air for some unlikely sweethearts.
You’ll recall Bernard, the brash begonia who bloomed into our lives last month. With his humor and bravado intact, Bernard has fully embraced the role of Romeo, gazing love-struck into the many eyes that adore him.
No doubt this is aided by his no longer being “intact” by another definition. Once neutered, many former ferals find their snuggly side!
Meanwhile, Roberta continues her journey of trust. Our Community Room proved overwhelming for our elderly feral. Roberta is a delicate case. Her age, visual impairment, and heart disease mean it would not be safe to return her outdoors, but she is deeply distressed by human handling.
Fortunately, Roberta is a Tabby’s Place cat, which means there is no limit to what love will do on her behalf.
One of the (many, many) beautiful things your donation provides is the care of a designated Behavior Team, with the skill, training, and intuition to ensure every cat feels secure, and loved in her own “language.”
For Roberta, this meant a move to a bright, open suite with access to a solarium (sunroom). Almost overnight, we saw Roberta take a sigh of relief and un-scrunch her shoulders. She shares this space with gentle cats, and human affection will come on her own terms, at her own pace.
Meanwhile, it is poignant to glimpse Roberta in her solarium, where birdsong and fresh air kiss her stripes. She has the simple joys of outdoor life, with the safety and adoration of living at Tabby’s Place. This is possible because you, dear sponsors, love her exactly for who she is. It is a glimpse of heaven for this brave girl. Thank you for making her your girl!
As Roberta found her sunbeams, your next girl and boy were found in desperate need. We received a call about two older cats in ragged shape … with microchips indicating that they are Tabby’s Place cats. Sure enough, Tchotchke (male) and Trinket (female) were part of a TNR project from 2016.
We mean it when we say, “once a Tabby’s Place cat, always a Tabby’s Place cat,” so our team hurried to get these old friends back home. Unbeknownst to us, their primary caregiver had passed away, leaving the cats at the mercies of neighbors. Fortunately, one such neighbor was merciful indeed, and reached out for our help.
Now ten years old, candy-striped Trinket and little licorice Tchotchke both arrived with painful conjunctivitis in both eyes. Our poor little lady was missing most of her teeth and had a cardiac arrhythmia, a raging ear infection, and a mass in her left ear. They had not arrived a moment too soon.
As you read these words, Tchotchke and Trinket are in the care of our vet team. Although the duo is not exactly cooperative for their eye medication, our staff excels in love and tenacity. With gentleness and confidence, they are ensuring that Trinket and Tchotchke will have everything they need to heal and thrive.
Dear sponsors, you know all too well that cats like Bernard, Roberta, Trinket, and Tchotchke are invisible to most people. Yet you are not “most people.” You are true lights in this world, with eyes of compassion and hearts of grace. It is thanks to you that each cat will feel their worth and dignity, and know that they are safe.
This time next month, we should know if Trinket will need surgery for her ear, and if she and her brother are strong enough to return outdoors. Come what may, they will know the strength of love, because of you.
I will close with a small request.
People as generous as you seldom think of themselves. But the cats and I yearn for you to have every beautiful happiness. So, please carve out a little garden of joy for yourself this month. Slow down long enough to let springtime catch you. Receive some of the love that you put into this world.
Do it for us at Tabby’s Place, because we love you very much.
With gratitude and affection, your correspondent,
Angela