A great sadness has fallen over Tabby’s Place.

The cat who lived and loved beyond limits has crossed beyond our sight.

There were many reasons we called her “The Mighty Quinn.”

How many cats enter hospice at five weeks of age?

Just when most kittens are learning to pounce, Quinn was an old woman in a toddler’s body. An angel rescuer spotted her face-down in the snow, a motionless ball of frozen fur. At first sight, it appeared the little tuxedo was already gone.

But the angel crouched down and sensed a flicker of life. Although it seemed too late for this kitten, the angel had heard of a place where “hopeless” is not the last word.

She raced the limp baby to our door, pleading for a miracle. We had to save this kitten. After all, she already had a name … Quinn.

Through our vet team’s devotion, death released its grip. Quinn revived. She was soon warming up in adoring arms and chirping for breakfast.

But the celebration would be brief, snapped in half by a simple blood test.

The year was 2015, and Tabby’s Place had rescued over 2,000 cats. Our alums included diabetics and seniors, FIV+ goofballs and paraplegics more graceful than Audrey Hepburn. We were the haven for cats no one else could take. We welcomed them regardless of “age, temperament, or most medical conditions.”

Actually, all medical conditions, except for one: the infectious, unpredictable, poorly understood feline leukemia virus (FeLV).

Snap. Quinn’s blood test was complete.

Quinn was FeLV+.

How many cats crash through our one and only limit?

There was never any thought of turning Quinn away. She had not survived the impossible just to become an orphan again. But love would have to get creative.

Since FeLV is transmitted between cats through friendly contact, such as mutual grooming or shared bowls, Quinn would need a private suite. We repurposed a small office and made it as cozy as possible, lavish with toys.

It was a little solitary for an energetic toddler, and we urged volunteers to spend as much time as possible with Quinn. After all, she didn’t have much time. A kitten infected with FeLV could not be expected to live more than a few months.

How many cats think “expectations” are hilarious?

Tabby’s Place is a magnet for miracles, and we have learned to dream big. Yet no one dared to imagine what would happen next.

Love stepped into our building on two legs. In fact, for the rest of this story, we will refer to her only as “Love.” Quinn’s Mom was as humble as she was heroic and always asked to remain anonymous.

Love had shepherded dogs and cats through their final seasons. Hospice is a hard calling, yet Love had a heart unmatched on Earth. She came to Tabby’s Place in search of “the hardest cat to adopt.” A hush fell over the building. Could she be the one?

Karina had the courage to speak up. “You must meet our little girl!” She led Love to Quinn’s private suite. Their bond was instant. Yes, she would adopt Quinn. She would love her for however many weeks were left. Tears flowed down every face as the Mighty Quinn left in Love’s arms.

It takes courage to bind your heart to any animal or person, not knowing the hour when you will be parted. It takes Love to embrace a cat whose lives are measured in months, at most.

How many cats let Love talk them into living, and living, and living?

Love sent frequent updates on her girl. Quinn grew lithe and confident, a black-and-white cat living in full color. Quinn and Love became inseparable. Each day was as precious as a hundred years. Love did not take one hour for granted.

But Quinn was not taking cues from FeLV.

Weeks frolicked into months. Months became a year, then two. Quinn seemed to mock her prognosis. Time only made her stronger. Love consulted the finest veterinary specialists. They were elated and mystified to discover that Quinn now tested negative for FeLV.

How many cats personally advance the state of veterinary medicine?

As Quinn flourished in Love’s light, FeLV research sparked new glimmers of hope. Infected cats were living longer than was once thought possible. In some cases, it seemed a cat’s immune system could even snuff out the disease, or send it undercover for years. Far from a death sentence, FeLV could be a chronic condition.

Life is a chronic condition.

We all depend on love, not guarantees. FeLV+ cats have the clarity of knowing each day is precious. Long or short, their lives have worth. This is the Tabby’s Place way.

If only we had the specialized housing for these “ultimate Tabby’s Place cats.”

How many cats build a dream on the strength of Love?

Love returned to our door with her heart burning. She could not live with the thought that cats like Quinn had nowhere to turn, not even Tabby’s Place. Inspired by her soulmate, she would fund their haven.

Tabby’s Place could do what we were born to do: take every cat, and love them beyond all limit.

Love’s dream came true in Quinn’s Corner.

How many cats change the world forever?

Quinn is not just the namesake of Quinn’s Corner. She is its heart, like a purr that rumbles each room and whispers in each cat’s ear, “live!”

One little cat loved one person so intensely, together they glimpsed all the cats they could save. The frozen hopes of FeLV+ cats would melt in this great light.

And the cats “nobody wanted” would gallop, cuddle, and live in the sunbeams and safety of Quinn’s Corner.

How many cats will be saved because Quinn lived?

The living legends multiply by the month in Quinn’s Corner. Ponce de Leon had even more hopes than toes, and he wiggled them right in the face of both FIV and FeLV. Today he and fellow alum Andy exult in their forever home.

Kitty Purry and Leonardo DiCatrio beat FIP, a feat once unimaginable for FeLV+ cats. Pierre‘s surfer-boy swagger enchanted an adopter all the way in California, who drove cross-country to cherish him. Regina commands volunteers to promenade her in a stroller and hand-sew her “scoot skirts,” purring so loudly that “paraplegic” sounds irrelevant.

The toast of our therapy cat program, Trifecta adds FIV and diabetes to FeLV, then multiplies kindness from nursing homes to cancer support groups. Meek but peaceful, Hoopla Green kisses every sunbeam in her solarium as though she can’t believe they are real. Once reduced to sleeping in the street and trying to follow people into their apartments, Braveheart basks in bliss.

More than a dozen FeLV+ cats have been adopted. Quinn’s Corner bustles with joy.

Yet Quinn’s legacy was just as much “worth it” for the cats whose time was short.

We will not forget their names, nor the ways they added to the sum total of love upon the Earth. Durin, Puff, Abacus, Mr. Man, Tortellini, Sweetie, Charles, Tucker, Checkers, Unicorn, and all of our friends were meant to be Tabby’s Place cats, Quinn’s Corner cats. Their lights shine on.

You can almost glimpse them in the green-gold eyes on Quinn’s portrait.

How many cats live eleven more years than expected, yet hundreds fewer than we yearned for?

The news of Quinn’s passing came like an ice storm on a perfect, golden October day.

The Mighty Quinn was as mortal as any of us, but we had savored the luxury of forgetting. Cancer crept up slowly, then all at once. The cat who saved so many others left this world gently. She did not suffer. She crossed the great expanse in arms that adored her.

She still whispers: “live!”

She is present in every square inch of Quinn’s Corner, her breath filling each cat’s sails.

She is the sun in their window boxes and the strength of the arms that hold them.

She is the reason they are here … and now, they all get to find their own reasons, and their own Love.

She is mighty beyond the limits of this lifetime, and we are here to live out her legacy.

Quinn, beloved, we will not let you down. Be with each of the thousands and thousands of cats you will save in the decades to come. Be with their adopters, Love’s echoes across time and space.

Be mighty for us when we are afraid.

Until we meet again, thank you, Quinn.

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