Sometimes it’s time for a redo, an update, a refresh. And, we’re not just talking kitty litter, folks. We’re talking about leveling up for cats’ sakes.
Tabby’s Place anniversaries are blossoming bigger than ever this year. Nope, it’s not because they are “big” anniversaries, even though silver is a mere couple of years away. The number is 23 from the start, and Quinn’s Corner is well into toddlerdom at 3. The achievements from 2003 to now are many and much and impressive and inspirational.
Bringing Jonathan’s hopes, dreams, and visions to fruition was one thing. Keeping them squarely planted in reality and serving cats successfully and strategically has been a labor of love. The number of staff has more than doubled since the earliest days. The math for the number of volunteers? We’ve more than tripled since my first shift almost 9 years ago. But, what matters most is that all of these people are together on a mission.
In the beginning, Jonathan moved heaven and earth by plowing up an overgrown, disused corn field (well, not by himself) to begin saving cats from hopeless situations. Hopeless is a heavy word. Situations are varied and complicated and unique to each. Hence, certain kinds of saves were not always immediately in reach. Yet, with great efforts and a giant heave-ho, aspirations were identified and aspired to. Need gaps were identified and de-gapped. Amazing donors far, wide, large, and small, have brought Tabby’s Place beyond wound healing, elderly care, and FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus).
Beginning in 2023, FeLV+ (feline leukemia) cats had a new haven. And, in 2024, FIP (feline infections peritonitis) treatment was legalized in the USA. All of this means even more fragile kitties have a chance to thrive. Kitty Purry and her brother Leonardo Di Catrio came to Tabby’s Place as kittens in April 2024. Both FeLV+. Both in Quinn’s Corner. Both were stricken with FIP.
Leonardo and Kitty are thriving! They are also currently looking forward to their upcoming 2nd birthday. Their energy and antics are invigorating to all. Their sweetness is a salve and a boon to everyone who spends time with them. Their story is a reminder that anyone, no matter how frail or small, can beat the odds, no matter how big or odd. Among the very many cats who inspire the people of Tabby’s Place (Yes, family, that totes includes each and every one of you.), it is often little ones like Leonardo and Kitty that remind us that inspiration only gets us so far. We need to have aspirations, goals, aims, something to point toward, something to look forward to.
Aspirations have always played a major role in manifesting and maintaining the 5000+ cats-and-still-counting dream. Right now, in the hallway that runs from the lobby to Quinn’s Corner, inspiration and aspiration are face-to-face. For so many, it is just a hallway. For the lobby cats, it is the conduit to meals, since every blue-tray bearing feeder treads this path. For me, it is the space that makes my heart swell with joy and eyes well with hopeful, happy mists. Why? On the wall next to the Community Room, love’s labels abound. The individuals celebrated with nameplates all gave more than we collectively dared to hope. Combined with many, many, many other very greatly appreciated donations, Quinn’s Corner became a reality.
Opposite the wall of love stands the wall of hope. Upon it, there is a dream and a promise that will be kept in an imaginably near future. The aspirational promise is of a “Future Kitten Adoption Center.” As part of the Tabby’s Place family, you probably do not need a reminder of just how fragile the teensiest of felines are. Maybe you have, maybe you have not seen a 21-hour-old kitten get its first meal through a feeding tube. Maybe you have, maybe you have not heard about a kitten that seemed to be doing well until it was not. There are too many variations and variables and situations to even attempt describing. But, there are foster families, and there is the medical team. There is the rest of the staff. There are many volunteers. There are gentle hands and open hearts. And, if the past and present are predictors, the future vision realized will be amazing.
Frankly, I am amazed at every step, breath, and stroke of a brush that I take at Tabby’s Place. Watching the lovingest work continue this year even while the original suites were gutted of furniture, wires were rewired, sinks were replaced, and so much more was beyond impressive. Witnessing the efforts of so many has been an especially enormous inspiration this year. The best in care for the cats has continued, even while very many have arrived and well over 200 (And counting!) have been sent happily off to their forever homes.
When I stand between inspiration and aspiration in this well-lit hallway, I often see Ruchi. He reminds me that the littlest of us and the biggest of us are really just one gigantic us. When we act together as one we can help the most fragile, the ones in the most trying situations, the ones most desperately in need of hope. When we act together as one, we make the biggest things happen for the littlest among us. That is our reality, and it promises the brightest future for us all.