Happy 2018 to you, and to all Buddy’s buddies.

And happy 8th official Tabby’s Place birthday to Buddy himself. Each cat at Tabby’s Place has its official birthday on January 1st and with them we celebrate another full year of safety, medical care and good food, made possible with your help. Thank you once again for all you do to help Buddy have a good life. His health has been tip-top, with no medical issues during the past month.

Tabby’s Place cats are safe and warm, which under these weather conditions takes more effort than usual. That good life excluded trips to the solarium, which was closed due to the extreme cold in New Jersey. Even though the solarium is equipped with heated beds and cat igloos, they sat empty. The next electric bill will surely reflect those days in early winter when wind chills sank to negative numbers.

You might not think depriving cats of their customary fresh air would be a popular decision, although I have heard no reports of the closer quarters affecting any of the cats’ dispositions. And actually, the last time I visited them, prior to the visit from the bomb cyclone, nearly every cat was already inside, with the exception of Wolfie.

I saw no signs of conflict between Buddy and his FIV+ suite-mates on the day before Christmas. If any mice were inclined to stir, they must have wisely thought better of it. Visible through the suite window, the small evergreen in the lobby was elevated to keep earthbound cats like Olive away.

Cats were between meals when I arrived, so I was witness to the residents cleaning up, Buddy, Shea, and my ol’ pal Charlie were washing while others had already cleaned up and were napping. Little Buddy stopped what he was doing long enough to come greet me, and keeping in the spirit of the bath, I gave him licks to his forehead — with my thumb, I must quickly add.

In one piece of news from the suite, elder Amos has moved from Suite FIV+ to Chez Jonathan, keeping company with the Executive Director and founder of Tabby’s Place. Amos is following in the pawprints of many a great Tabby’s Place cat, and after a hard life lived outside, it’s good to see him residing in a place of honor. May he have many better days ahead.

You probably already heard about the tabby who created his own place of honor, claiming space in an outdoor Nativity scene. While I was reading about that, I took a strange side street off the information superhighway and found a site of feline inspiration.

Happy reading, and so long until next month!