November Greetings to You, and to all Fenek’s Friends!
In November, the days are shorter and cooler, and on top of that, November doesn’t celebrate the cat the way October did. For example, there were Global Cat Day (10/16/23), National Black Cat Day (10/27), and National Cat Day (10/29). Overlaying all those individual days, October was Black Cat Awareness Month. So, that makes three days in a month and one month out of 12, and that sounds like a good start but could be improved. Of course, at Tabby’s Place, the cat is celebrated 24/7/365 or 366, as the case may be.
Besides all that collective national and worldwide celebration of the feline, in October Fenek himself was mentioned on the Tabby’s Place blog. Well, I can’t think of a cat who deserves accolades, and even encomiums, any more than our Distinguished Gentleman cat. One thing we can be sure of, it’s not going to go to his head. Calling it humility would be a stretch, but I feel confident in saying that he is properly appreciative of the good humans at Tabby’s Place who arranged to bring him here, and of the good humans like you whose support helps him live his best life every day. (Even if that day is not an official cat holiday.)
Fenek has been in good health this month. One might even say “feisty” since I’ve received a report that Fenek has been confronting Chicken Nugget, who is a much larger cat, but who also doesn’t have a corresponding amount of fight in him.
Personally, one afternoon I witnessed Fenek exchanging a few quick whaps with Taylor Ham. What brought that on? I can guess Fenek’s side of the story, but to be fair I’d want to hear, um, Taylor’s version.
Anyway, this isn’t being treated by staff as a major issue, as Fenek’s feistiness has been a known personality trait since his arrival more than two years ago. Remember, he came to Tabby’s Place from Brooklyn, where man cats are man cats.
In this month’s letter, there’s a picture of yours truly with Fenek in a familiar position. You may be able to make out the inscription of Quinn’s Corner on my t-shirt, and this was in fact from the day of the grand opening ceremony, October 7. On that day, I had a responsibility somewhere else on the grounds, but on a break, I made sure to visit him.
All I had to do was take a seat, and he got up from his blanket. As he approached me, he took a left turn that I wasn’t expecting, and I wondered where he was headed. But right after that thought, he reappeared on the other side of the table, easily making the leap from the floor to the tabletop and looking at me as if to say “Was there ever any doubt I’d get here?”, then stepping down to my waiting lap. Everyone who entered the room smiled to see the little old black cat so comfortable and contented.
Speaking of black cats, in a 1962 issue Life magazine featured photos of a movie audition that drew 152 black cats and their humans — what you might describe as a cat-tle call. Life magazine is one of those things boomers can associate with a bygone period, along with Saturday morning cartoons, rotary phones, typewriters, and tube testers in drugstores.
Before I go, just wanted to note that Tabby’s Place will be presenting Thanksgiving With the Cats in just a few days. If you’re in the vicinity of greater metropolitan Ringoes, New Jersey on Sunday, November 19, I hope to see you there.
Until next time, I wish you all good things.
Your correspondent,
John