Greetings, FeLVie Fans!

As usual, there is so much news that I hardly know where to begin. But let’s start with the new members of our FeLVie crew.

Joining Trifecta in the double positive (FeLV and FIV) suite is Checkers, a handsome black-and-white boy with a tail exactly like Oram’s (all black except for a very cute white tip). Checkers is quite cautious in his new home, but he is very treat-motivated, which is already helping with his socialization.

A couple of weeks ago, I was in to see the boys, and I said hello and goodbye to Pierre, a friendly, large, paler orange medium-hair; he had been in the double positive suite for just a short time but had already been adopted, and I was able to meet him just before he went home.

Turning to another FeLV suite, Hoopla Green was seen by multiple people relaxing on a shelf in her solarium. That’s great progress for her, as she no longer feels the need to hide in a bed on floor level (this shelf is about four feet off the ground). We have two new cats in this suite.

Regina is a lovely, petite, paraplegic tabby, not shy at all; she’ll come right up to investigate you when you enter the suite.

Batty (so named because someone thought she looked like a bat) is a small, all-black female. She’s clearly very nervous, as she’s lost some weight since moving in and was found pacing the solarium one morning while panting. We’re keeping an especially close eye on her.

And Miss Puff continues her amazing recovery. She had a repeat of her blood work run, and she’s doing so well that we might be able to decrease some of her medications.

To give you some idea of the dedication and devotion of the Tabby’s Place staff and volunteers, understand that we cannot simply put any old food down for the cats in this suite.

No! That would be easy and convenient.

Puff has ongoing gastrointestinal issues that require a GI-friendly diet. Like many felines, though, she’ll turn up her nose at many different kinds of wet food, so we are constantly trying to maintain a balance between what will be acceptable to her taste buds and what will be acceptable to her GI tract.

But wait; there’s more. The girls in that suite receive kibble as well as wet food. Puff and Batty require a high-fiber kibble; Regina cannot have that kind of kibble but will eat it if she can get into it.

So we must constantly remember to put kibble for Puff and Batty on a bench, where Regina won’t have access to it. Regina’s kibble, meantime, must be on floor level.

The one silver lining in kibble in this suite is that Regina can’t get into the solarium on her own, so Hoopla can have kibble wherever she prefers to eat. Lest you think this is an isolated incident, this kind of dance, where cats in one area require a particular diet that cannot be shared with other felines in the same space who will eat it if they can get to it, occurs in multiple rooms at Tabby’s Place every single day.

In more news, we believe that Sammy has a dental issue. She’s been less interested in treats recently, and she’s lost some weight.

In addition, she’s been seen drooling and her breath has become very bad, so we’re scheduling a dental exam for her to see if we can make her more comfortable.

The last time I was in, I went into this suite’s solarium and was amused to see Oram occupying a large cat bed on the bench. He opened an eye when I said hello to him, but was simply too comfortable to get up; I think we can all relate to that feeling! Meanwhile, Tucker was passed out in his favorite spot atop the cubbyholes, and Charles was curled up in a basket on the floor.

Tabby’s Place would like to indignantly deny a current rumor. It is not—repeat, NOT—true that our FeLVies are spoiled. They’re simply, um, properly catered to. That’s possible only because of big hearts like yours. Thank you!

Your correspondent,
Stephanie