Ahoy, me hearties! Avast ye! It might seem a wee bit strange, but Tabby’s Place is being run like a pirate ship these days. The cats (and several hundred people) are keeping things under smooth sail, no matter how the winds blow or when there are seas of change.

As for the cats’ roles, they are many and myriad. Olive and Prescott are key lookouts on the main deck (lobby): Olive minds the gangways (main entrance and doors to Quinn’s Corner); Prescott keeps tabs from the crow’s nest (cat tree) and also in the forecastle (Community Room). Both of these keen watchers have been training additional lookouts, like Trent and Corduroy, because there can’t be too many sets of eyes trained on the paths of incoming donations or grub on blue trays from the main galley (the kitchen; plenty of fish mush for all…and maybe a few pints of grog).

On such a large ship as the ark that Jonathan built, eyes are really needed everywhere. Additional lookouts throughout Tabby’s Place include Uni, who likes keeping tabs from the crow’s nest in the original suites hallway (connecting tube) and Murdock, who often positions himself on the highest possible bit of rigging (overnight crate or scratcher) that allows for a view through a porthole (window in the door). Rori, for her part, was tested out for the main deck, but she showed a strong preference for her station in the forecastle and happily sits there. Marcia has the quarterdeck (command central, aka Jonathan’s office ) under control.

Winky, on the other hand, is trying to take over the crew deck (staff lounge), but Taylor Ham’s leadership, Leo’s faithful stewardship, and Ruby’s, well, Ruby-ness, are enough to ensure that no mutiny will succeed. No need to worry! They won’t make Winky walk the plank, but they will make sure he walks the walk like all proper Tabby’s Place cats, which is to say any which way at all.

The stealth operator in all of this chooses to lie low (on the floor) in the crew deck (Quinn’s Corner) awaiting his opportunity to execute special maneuvers. It’s none other than Trifecta! As an able-bodied sailor, it may seem at a glance that there is nothing particularly special about Trifecta’s role. It would be a mistake to make that assumption. The gentle, grey tuxedo has an enormous impact on how the ship runs, especially with forging and maintaining alliances. Trifecta is key for keeping up friendly relations with other pirate ships, especially as part of the Aged to Perfection and Paws to Read programs. Home or away, he is a delight to crewmembers and landlubbers of all ages.

What Trifecta and the other cats won’t tell you is exactly how much swabbing of the decks, repairing of the rigging, navigation and charting, plus other chores are completed by the human crewmembers on a daily basis. Of necessity, there is more than one cook in the galley at feeding times with such a lot of victuals to prepare.

Many hands can be seen with mops and buckets on all decks every morning and on multiple decks in the afternoons. On top of all of that, unlike on traditional pirate ships, Tabby’s Place has a fully operational laundry room so crewmates can keep bedding…and clothing in special cases, like for Regina George (resident mer-cat and would-be model for a figurehead on the prow), clean and sanitized throughout each day.

Keeping everything shipshape is one of the highest priorities at Tabby’s Place. From captain (That’s Jonathan, no matter what Marcia or I might tell you.) to quartermaster to boatswain to, well, every single crewmember, daily duties help achieve the prime directive (Wrong ship?) of Saving Cats from Hopeless Situations. As a side mission, there is a lot of emphasis on providing enrichment.

The cats are cross-trained with wand toys, handmade catnip sacks, balls, lap time, grooming, and a whole lot more. Plus, they’re given whatever language lessons they want, including speaking like seafaring rapscallions, even though Catonese is notoriously difficult to translate into Pirate.

With all of this preparedness training, the cats of Tabby’s Place are ready to celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day on September 19.

Aaaaarrre you?

More Blog Posts