Warm September Greetings to You, and to All Fenek’s Friends!

On behalf of everyone at Tabby’s Place, thank you for all you do to be a friend to Fenek. Fenek has been my friend for a full year, and neither I nor anyone else at Tabby’s Place waits for Black Cat Appreciation Day to show him the affection and devotion he deserves.

If you’d like to show some of that to him in person, this next will be welcome news. After months of COVID restrictions, Tabby’s Place is once again officially open to the public, every day (with few exceptions) between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m.

Fenek also has endured more in the past year than the average cat. The most alarming was in March when he was diagnosed with heart disease and hospitalized for several days.  There have been no further serious episodes since then.  The only signs of recent medical care are shaved areas on one foreleg and on each side of his abdomen, and even there, the fur is growing back. He moves slowly, but then he always did, slowly and with purpose, right from the beginning.

In health notes from the past month, despite a good appetite, Fenek lost some weight. Also, there was a bit of goop detected in his right eye, but there was no inflammation evident, and no treatment was required. No new medication or increases to existing meds were prescribed, so he’s holding steady.

On one visit, Fenek was curled up in a box and I could see he wasn’t inclined to move right away, so instead, I took a seat next to man cat Shifty and petted him for a while as he purred. In a few minutes, Fenek got up and started walking toward me, but along the way, he had to pass by lovely lady Rashida, who was curled up on another chair. In a most unladylike way, she whapped at him and he, ever the gentleman, refrained from returning a counter-whap. Retreating instead and turning away, he looked up and leaped from the floor to a windowsill where he could observe a bird feeder in peace. No need to risk confrontation, I can imagine him thinking. Another opportunity will come.

Before I left, Fenek did get his love and affection from me (I wouldn’t have gone home without giving him the chance!). I can only think of one time in the past year when we didn’t have any Quality Time, and that was likely due to a combination of his physical ills and the mighty summer afternoon heat.

But we’ve reached September, so I’m optimistic that the worst of the heat is over, as the official end of summer is just a few days away.  The high temperatures have also affected life where my wife and I live. We have bird feeders just outside the back door to entertain the cats, but in addition to birds, the open containers of seed naturally attract chipmunks and squirrels. From time to time, we see one of the bushy tails turn the area into an Eat-n-Sploot.

One thing more: Quinn’s Corner construction continues, and although the big official Grand Opening is now officially been pushed to the early Spring of 2023, it’s along well enough that anyone can see it’s going to be quite special. It may not be as fancy as this cat hotel in Paris, but it’ll be pretty, pretty, prett-tty good.

Wishing you all good things!

Your correspondent,
John