Warm August Greetings to You, and to all Fenek’s Friends!

I appreciate it that you’ve taken time out from playing Stray for a few minutes. When I was younger, I favored sport simulation games like Strat-O-Matic, but if anything would spur me to invest in a game console, Stray would be it. (Either that, or maybe Bunhouse.)

Over the past month, I was able to visit Fenek several times, each one after a pleasant summertime ride on rural New Jersey roads. The roads were often lined with wildflowers, and in particular, chicory, whose blue flowers thrive even in the poor soil next to highways.

There was a pretty good crop of wildflowers on the grounds at Tabby’s Place, but in preparation for the opening of Quinn’s Corner, landscapers have cleared away the daisy fleabane, Plains coreopsis, and Queen Anne’s lace. (Although not before I took some pictures of them, and the insects some played host to.) The parking lot has been enlarged as well, in anticipation of increased numbers of visitors and volunteers.

Getting back to Fenek, he had a blood glucose curve done this past month and his insulin needs continue to vary. Medical staff are keeping a close eye on him and will check his blood glucose levels twice a day before administering insulin. The other health concerns have eased back so they’re not in an urgent status, but the staff knows that can change at any time. If and when it does, the care they give will be with your help. Thank you for caring so much.

Not sure whether this is a sign of feline spirit or just plain grumpiness, but I’ve been told that one morning Fenek became aggressive toward both Shifty and beautiful Rashida. As a result, Fenek was given a brief time-out away from the rest of the lounge until he cooled off.

Personally, I have never witnessed that kind of behavior from our Distinguished Gentleman cat. I’ve also never seen another cat attempt to get to my lap before him, either, and I suspect I know why. During one of my visits, as I entered the lounge I saw Fenek curled up in a good-sized box labeled with the name of an online retailer who supplies Tabby’s Place. I sat at the table near him and pulled out a chair next to me so he could hop up more easily.

As expected, he got up and climbed over the edge of the box, but then he walked to the side of the table farthest away from me. While I watched and waited, he jumped onto a chair and got onto the table. With his head up and a determined look in his eyes, he strode across the table toward me before stepping down and settling down on my waiting lap. Same expected result, only he did it *his* way.

Not long after, someone entered the lounge, which is home to several cats, but she was carrying just two plates of food. She put one of them down on the chair where senior lady cat Samantha was resting. The other, she placed on the table directly in front of Fenek’s face. Is that service or what?

Although Fenek could eat while on my lap, he still had to jump down to get something to drink. Notice that the water dish in front of him is a heavy ceramic bowl. That’s because Shifty was making a habit of playing with the light metal dishes and knocking them around the Lounge, leaving sizable puddles to clean up. As it is, even with the more substantial containers, there’s still a towel under every one of those ceramic dishes out of respect for Splashy Shifty.

Before I go, here’s a tip of the cap to all the places that are using Stray to dovetail with their business of helping real-life strays.

And with that, I’ll let you get back to your game. Until next month, wishing you all good things,

Your correspondent,
John