Greetings to the Greatest-Ever FeLVie Fans!

2023 is almost over, FeLVie fans. I can’t imagine how that happened, but let’s get to the news; as usual, there’s quite a bit this month.

We must start on a sad note. Earlier this month, we lost Tortellini. If you’ll recall, she had been very ill. She was hiding, she had a high fever, and she wasn’t eating. After a few weeks of treatment, however, she had rallied. While her blood work was still quite abnormal, her fever was gone, and she was eating well. She was even returned to her suite. But the staff came in one morning to find her flat out, hypothermic, and with an increased respiration rate. She was clearly in distress, and we were out of medical options. We’re still not sure exactly what happened, but it was certainly complicated by her reduced immunity. We will miss her very much.

In more positive news, Durin got his annual echocardiogram, which showed that his heart disease has been stable since 2022; we’ll check him again next year.

And in the most exciting news this month, Christmas came early for our fun-loving Derby. Derby has been adopted into a forever home!  Before Derby was adopted, there was a cardboard house in the boys’ suite, and Tucker decided that this belonged to him. Other cats were allowed to use it, but not when he was in it. As you would expect, little Derby did not understand such restrictions. He did not see any reason why a cat occupying the house should be off-limits from his front paws poking in; he just wants to play. Tucker was pretty tolerant of this, but now Tucker need not worry—as Derby now has his own, very real home to live in with his new family! And he is clearly enjoying his big bed (see photo).

Trifecta has settled into Suite F very well. When I was in recently, I saw a volunteer go into that room and sit down on the floor. I was busy paying attention to more of our FeLVie crew, but when I looked back again a minute later, Trifecta had settled himself in the volunteer’s lap. I was in the building for over an hour, and every time I checked, Trifecta was still in that lap. I really couldn’t tell you who enjoyed this more. The volunteer had clearly fallen under Trifecta’s spell, and was petting Trifecta gently and providing some either-side-of-the-neck skritches; for his part, Trifecta seemed delighted and showed no inclination to move. Durin was dozing nearby, and it was a very sweet scenario.

Our Oram is a fine big boy, but he might be getting just a little too big. He weighs almost seventeen pounds now, and we are thinking about the best way to put him on a diet.

Poor Charles just cannot seem to rid himself of the yeast in his right ear. After repeated trials, it’s clear that this infection is not responding to the medications we’ve been using, so we’ve discontinued those meds and Mr. Charles will soon be seeing a specialist again.

Hoopla Green is making good progress with us. Two of the volunteers who clean her suite each week have noted that she’s much less upset by their presence and will even eat while they’re cleaning her suite. She still spends most of her time in the solarium, but we’ve put a large heated mat out there for her, and she loves it (of course, if the weather is too bad, our solariums are closed off, and the cats must remain indoors).

Puff has lost a little weight and is drinking a fair bit of water, but she’s a known hyperthyroid kitty and is on daily medication for this, so we’re keeping a sharp eye on her. One of our staff calls her the ultimate “door dancer;” she watches through the glass and begins pawing at it and mewing as soon as she sees someone looking her way. Puff loves visitors, and if you pay too much attention to other cats while in her suite, she’ll let you know about it.

Sammy continues to be affectionate and curious with us, but our tortoiseshell is secretly a calico, it turns out. She has white on three toes, as well as a patch of white on her tummy.

And new to the suite is Sylvia, a pretty brown tabby with a bit of white on her muzzle. She is still finding her way among the rest of the girls, but she’s obviously very fond of people. She enjoys attention and will “knead” vigorously with her front paws when you pet her.

Maybe you’ve been helping our felines in need for years. Maybe you just joined up as a sponsor this month. In either case, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I wish you a peaceful holiday season, and may 2024 be a year of happiness and good health for you and yours.

Your correspondent,
Stephanie