Dear Carrot Friend,
Carrot had a fairly quiet month. At the moment we only have one home we are visiting for the Aged to Purrfection program, so he hasn’t been back to visit the seniors. As we get into the New Year we will be adding more of the senior homes back, so the cats in the program will be busy once again.
In the next week or so we will be reaching out to all the senior homes we formerly visited, to find out if they are willing to have us return. We had 5 homes in our program pre-Covid and we are hopeful they will be happy to have us resume the visits. We also only have 6 cats that are in the program at the moment: Carrot, Angelo, Rose, Pepita, Tux and Steven. We plan to start screening new cats for the program soon. Any cat that joins the Aged to Purrfection program needs to be very outgoing, while also being mellow in new situations. We need cats who won’t hurt the residents we go to visit, and also cats who enjoy being in these environments. I can tell you, we don’t have many cats who meet all the criteria to join Aged to Purrfection.
Over the last few days, Carrot has actually been inside the suite most of the time. It has been pretty cold outside, so I don’t blame him. Carrot and his friends all decided it’s too cold to be outside. They do still go out to the solarium each day, but once they get too cold they head back inside to get warm. We did put out the heated beds and heated water bowls, but those only helps so much.
Ever since Pepperoni went home, Mousy has been desperate to find a friend. Mousy and Pepperoni were such good friends and were always together. It was sad to separate them, but we couldn’t stop Pepperoni’s chance of his own home (he is doing great in his new home, and his owner loves him very much). Mousy has tried to make friends with several of the suite C residents, including attempting an ill-fated snuggle with Siesta. We all felt bad for Mousy, as he loves other cats so much, so we were thrilled when we saw Mousy had finally found someone who would be his friend and share a bed with him. Yes, you’ve guessed it…. it was Carrot. Since then we have seen Carrot and Mousy together a few times, which really helps Mousy feel much happier. Our little Carrot is such a wonderful boy, he can make friends with all kinds of different cats, and his calm energy is good for nervous cats like Mousy.
J’Happy and Mr. Thief moved out of Carrot’s room. They were both eating lots of things they should not eat, like toys, bedding, etc. We had to move them into a room on their own, with only plastic toys and bedding they can’t eat. I don’t think Carrot and his friends miss them too much, as they are both very hyper boys and often caused trouble in Suite C. J’Happy and Mr. Thief are on hold to be adopted, together, which is wonderful news. They will be heading home shortly, as soon as their new momma makes her home safe for them, so they can’t eat things they shouldn’t.
Gator also moved out of Carrot’s room. He was being a bully, and with some big personalities in that room, like Wilbur and Joshua, it wasn’t a good fit for any of them. Gator is doing much better in his new suite and gets along with his new suitemates much better. Oscar, who was returned to us recently, is new in Suite C. So far Oscar is doing quite well in there, apart from one small disagreement with Wilbur.
We finally have a few of our socializing volunteers back so the cats are all getting more attention. We are slowly rebooting all our socializing programs, which should all be back in full swing by the beginning of the New Year. I know Carrot and his friends love all the visitors, and it provides great enrichment for them all.
No medical news this month, which we like to hear. Carrot is a healthy boy. We are still checking his calcium levels, but it remains unchanged.
That’s all the Carrot news for now. Thank you so much for your support of Carrot—it means so much. Carrot and I wish you all the best for a wonderful holiday season, and a healthy and happy 2022.
Your correspondent,
Karina