Tabby’s Place visitors often ask tour guides if the building is loud because there are so many cats. We used to have a standard response, “No…except for Grecca.” Having recently lost our chattiest of friends, an unwanted silence has descended upon an already quiet place.
Silence and sound are funny, though. When the volume on one thing – like a stereo – is turned up to 11, other noises fade into the background. We call that “background noise” (hee!). Once the volume is adjusted into a more regular range of decibels, other sounds begin to stand out. When hollering abates, peeps and squeaks can be more readily distinguished from other sounds in a place. Now, peepers and squeakers who once strained to overcome other voices are making themselves heard.
In fact, Tootsie only recently squeaked up at me for the very first time ever. It was one solitary, tiny, adorable mew for attention. The reverberations are still being felt around the globe. What followed this thunderously small peep was a mixture of petting and photo shoot. Tootsie is not only beautiful, she is also extraordinarily sweet and exceedingly cooperative. A model citizen of Tabby’s Place! Pun most definitely intended.
Not to be outdone by this upstart from the “wrong side” of the gate (outside of the executive office), Gallium is honing her vocal skills. Much like a star from The Metropolitan Opera House, she tests her voice before opening up into full-throated song (“full-throated” being a goal, not yet a reality). Currently, Gallium is at the stage of open mouth, show teeth, open wider, and make a peep. Repeat once or twice. Now, take a bow…and a nap because naps are good.
But, you won’t catch Izma napping! High octane Izma might actually need a little oiling. The sounds that come out of her mouth are reminiscent of the Tin Man’s knees, but far louder. It seems plausible, possible, probable, and even likely that Izma is a former resident of Oz. We’re just grateful that the tornado that caught her up had the wisdom to bring her to Tabby’s Place!
A different tornado swept Polaroid up into Tabby’s Place. As it happens, he is now Izma’s roommate. So, she is auditioning him for a duet, maybe a version of this one. In a snapshot, Polaroid is doing great! Ever braver, it is difficult to get a picture of him with both his mouth closed and his tail at rest at the same time. He opens wide to let out tiny squeaks. Once he’s all tuned up, maybe those squeaks will deepen. Whether they do or not, Polaroid is nearly ready for his Broadway debut.
Meanwhile, over in the Community Room, Bob has no need to run through any vocal warmups to deepen a squeak. It isn’t clear that he ever did or if he ever had trouble finding his voice even though he does have trouble hearing. Either way, Bob does not peep. Bob does not squeak. Bob hollers for attention and fish mush. Bob is my hero.
You are also my heroes. You are the ones who listen for the smallest voices. In the absence of voices, you look for the littlest and least who are actually the greatest and mostest. You show your love and support with every donation with every “Like,” and during each visit. You bolster the chorus, so all the cats that come to Tabby’s Place can find their own voices.
And that brings us back to Bob. It seems relevant that we have an amazing staff member named Jae. So, that probably means we actually need a cat to fill the role of Silent Bob. We’ll keep looking.