Happy November, friends!

Adam and I hope this month finds you well. We are looking forward to our second annual Thanksgiving with the Cats event here at Tabby’s Place on November 17. The event includes tours, a mini silent auction, and feeding the kitties a Thanksgiving feast. We are wishing you a lovely Thanksgiving as well.

Now for the Adam news this month. It’s been a rocky month for dear Adam. He has lost a bit of weight, but our vet team could find nothing wrong in a physical exam, X-rays or bloodwork. Along with several of his suitemates, Adam also suffered conjunctivitis, which resolved with antibiotics. We’re monitoring our wacky boy’s appetite and weight closely, and we’re honestly concerned that he’s generally less lively these days.

I have to say, that as his correspondent, I am a bit concerned about our little tabby boy as well. He is just so sleepy! I really haven’t spent much time with Adam for the last two months while he is awake. He is usually so lively and into mischief, that this new sluggish behavior is strange.

I did spend a few moments with Adam while he was awake this month when I took some visitors on a tour a few weeks ago. The woman had been a volunteer at Tabby’s Place a few years ago and she wanted to see some of her old friends. As I took her and a friend from suite to suite, it was lovely to see her reacting with joy at seeing so many cats that she had loved during her time as a volunteer. When we got to Suite A, Adam happened to be awake. I was relieved to see that, I have to say. She went right up to Adam and started to pet him. He put his paws right up on her shoulders and was doing his cute little “asking for a hug” move. Of course she couldn’t resist giving him that hug. It was very sweet.

Other than that, Adam has been asleep every time I have been at Tabby’s Place this month, and strangely asleep for the many hours that I spend there each week. As our wonderful Development Director, Angela, described Adam to me this month, he has been “quite the sea lion”! It is truly an apt description!

This past Saturday I actually woke up Adam to see if he would interact with me and a new volunteer that I was training. The job that the volunteer was learning was spot cleaning Suite A for the afternoon cleaning shift. A complete cleaning is done every morning for Suite A and a deep cleaning is done once a week. Since the room is home to many incontinent cats, a spot cleaning is needed each day to make sure the room stays clean since so many kitties who inhabit Suite A tend to “leak.”

When the volunteer and I entered the room, Adam was sound asleep. After I showed her what to do to clean, I woke Adam up. I wanted to see if he would interact with me, the new volunteer, or both of us. He groggily got up, stiffly walked around the room, got a drink, sort-of used the litter box, and then went right back to the bed he was sleeping in and fell back asleep! I gave it my best shot!

Even in his sleepy state, Adam is very grateful to you at this time of year when we celebrate all of the blessings that we have. He knows his life is as cozy and comfortable as it is because of wonderful people like you. Happy Thanksgiving!