Hello, Bacon sponsors!

For the most part, it’s been another quiet month for our dear friend Bacon.  Unfortunately, he has experienced a fair number of sleeping seizures, and so his medication has had to be adjusted again.  His dosage had been reduced to allow him to be a bit more alert but with the increase in seizures, the medical staff has elected to adjust it to offer him more respite.

Bacon is a unique case.  Even in humans getting the balance just right on brain-altering drugs is a tricky thing, and a cat can’t tell you exactly what he’s feeling.  Our wonderful staff pays close attention to Bacon’s quirks and gives him the best care possible.  I often look into Bacon’s big green eyes and wish that he could tell me what he’s thinking—sometimes he’ll put one paw in my lap before chirping and scampering away.  Sometimes he wants to play.  Sometimes he lets me gently pet his forehead just above his eyes.  Sometimes he just wants to sleep.  I think by now he accepts me as a friend, but who can ever truly know?  All we can do is show him all the kindness we can in the ways we know he will accept it and hope that he knows we are doing the best we can to give him a happy, healthy life.

Bacon’s medication is mixed with his food, so it’s vital that he eats, but sometimes he can be particular.  Lately, the staff has been mixing his medication with baby food instead of wet cat food which he seems to love!  But he can lose focus and decide to wander off to say hello to Sally or check out a noise in the hallway.  With a little prodding (and a helpful human to hold the plate for him) he usually manages to get it all down.

His increased seizures did give his officemate Karina a terrible scare recently, which has led to a slight change in his accommodations.  During his seizures, Bacon can convulse terribly and sometimes hits his head on the sides of his crate.  One especially scary day he got his mouth stuck on the bars – and since Bacon dislikes being handled even when he’s lucid, Karina’s options for helping him were limited.  She did manage to coax him off the bars without further upsetting him, fortunately.  But this incident worried her, and she requested a new daytime home for Bacon.  Now he has a lovely, large, soft-sided cat house the same size as his old crate in which to sleep away the day.  It’s soft mesh walls will be much safer.  (And it has the unintended benefit of keeping Sally from being able to reach in and bop him on the head the way she likes to do sometimes.)

We hope that these changes to Bacon’s routine will help him be comfortable and safe.  As always, your sponsorship is invaluable to his continued care, and we thank you!

I’d also like to invite you to our Chip or Treat event on October 26th, where we’ll offer free microchipping for pets as well as trick-or-treating with the cats and a costume contest!  It’s a great chance to visit Tabby’s Place and enjoy a fun fall activity.  I hope we’ll see you!

Your correspondent,
Tara