Anyone connected to Tabby’s Place: A Cat Sanctuary comes to understand that every story eventually becomes a sob story. Many stories begin that way too. It is to be expected in the business of “saving cats from hopeless situations.” But, another thing to be expected at Tabby’s Place is the unexpected. The unexpected runs the gamut from majestic Samaritans walking in with unbelievably generous donations, to cats leaving signs of their overnight parties strewn across floors, and to long-time volunteers suddenly meeting the cat or cats they could not live without.
Every day at the sanctuary also brings things we see all the time. Reports about poop in a sink, vomit pretty much anywhere, hairballs in hall-crossing overhead tubes, missed litter boxes, and so forth, abound on internal communications.
Sniffing bedding for unwanted aromas is a matter of course. Nobody questions the existence of door-dashing by the likes of Prescott, Buffy, and Uni. Nobody questions the aging process and the challenges that go with it, including changes in appetite, increased sleepiness, and decreased agility.
In other places, growing familiar with patterns can lead to taking things for granted, maybe to boredom, and possibly even to contempt. This is absolutely not – nor anywhere near – the case with the Tabby’s Place cats of Ringoes, New Jersey.
The longer a person’s involvement at Tabby’s Place, the broader their list of experiences grows and the more familiar the unusual becomes. The more there are of all the things leads to ever greater engagement and appreciation. As evidence, at least one volunteer was recently recognized for their 20th service anniversary, and the sanctuary’s 20th anniversary was celebrated just last year.
The service recognition lists for 15-year, 10-year, and 5-year anniversaries are growing longer. The lengths of staff anniversaries are similarly impressive. All demonstrate the contentment that comes from taking care of cats and each other regardless of the old, familiar challenges and as well as familiar surprises.
For the record, these surprises at Tabby’s Place are part of the daily routine, including a young cat scampering to the top of the fence in a solarium and a kitten perching upon a door handle. Familiar challenges – albeit sometimes surprising – include medical diagnoses for things never-before-seen-at-the-sanctuary.
For all the surprises and medical challenges, staff figure out solutions and volunteers help wherever possible to achieve resolutions. Due to the quantity of cats and the particulars of the place, no day at Tabby’s Place is quite like any day that has ever come before. All the days that follow will be equally varied and interesting, often in delightful ways. Surprises are sometimes of a more dubious sort (refer back to internal reports of things found in unusual places). But, where cats are free to be cats, no kinds of surprises are all that surprising.
One recurring surprise, though – one that never fails to delight and engage visitors and regulars – is the view of cats from the underside. When walking down the hallway between the original suites and their solariums, up above, clear tubes cross the hall.
Often, a cat like Bing or Allen – solo or accompanied – will be watching the passersby with interest, from a safe vantage. Excitement erupts at the initial view. Spotting toe beans on display brings giggles. Thus, even some of the shiest cats at Tabby’s Place have an enormous impact on the feel and joy of the sanctuary. Repeating the experience tour after tour never gets old, but it does bring smiles of contentment.