Greetings, My Friend!
Every day has been a great day since I came to Tabby’s Place! Having you as my sponsor makes every day extra special! The suite that I share with Xena (and now Lucy, our newest roomie, who looks like Xena) is wonderful, and I hope that you have a chance to visit me. I am lucky to have several cat beds and cubbies where I can nap or sleep as much as I desire. This must be a VIP suite!
Usually, you will find me curled up in a comfy cat bed on the visitor bench. I admit, sometimes it is hard to nap because I have a great view of the lobby and a big curiosity about the happenings. I am mesmerized by all the activity in the lobby. Staff and volunteers move through the lobby with lightning speed, on to their next tasks. Lobby cats come by our window to say hello, and I get to watch visitors enter the lobby for tours, or sometimes to drop off donations. The lobby cats are very welcoming to visitors, and there is a beautiful black cat named Olive who is paraplegic and as fast as a gold-medal Olympic sprinter. She must be fast because she is the official Tabby’s Place greeter.
I am learning that Tabby’s Place has several special community outreach programs. One is Paws to Read, which invites kids 5-15 years old to come to Tabby’s Place and read to us cats. The program also travels to several local libraries, where kids read to the Tabby’s Place cats. As you can imagine, I am relatively new, and still learning my way around. I almost flipped my cat bed when the suite door opened, and I was greeted by several kids who wanted to read to me! Cats do smile, and I was smiling. The kids were good readers, and I enjoyed it when they also gently petted me. I felt honored that I was chosen for this program.
Recently we held a Volunteer Open House. I don’t have enough toes to count all the visitors. Some visitors arrived before the doors opened, and some generous visitors brought donations, but all brought their smiles. Smiling is contagious for humans and cats. Everything looked so festive, and there were miles and miles of refreshments I could see from my suite. The cookies and lemonade looked mighty appealing, but I will stick to being safe and enjoying hypoallergenic cat treats!
My correspondent sold merchandise, which included Tabby’s Place t-shirts. Throughout the afternoon she waved at me, her signal that she would visit after the event. After the event ended, Tabby’s Place hosted an ice cream social for volunteers and their families. My correspondent described the amazing ice cream buffet, complete with a bazillion toppings and happy volunteers and families. After the event, my correspondent visited me. Usually, she carries a water bottle (I try my best to flip the bottles), but that day she also had a cup of coffee. This was my first time smelling coffee; I liked it. I enjoy spending time with my correspondent, working on the monthly update, and she loves taking photos of me. I’m blushing, but she always tells me how beautiful I am inside and out. In this update, I included my cute “crossed paws” photo, which is my trademark at Tabby’s Place!
My medical update this month reads like a large novel. I started with several episodes of vomiting this month. The vet staff reacts very quickly to any changes in my body and skin, and they immediately changed my wet food to address my continued loose stool. I learned that they need to adjust things carefully with me to make sure that my skin does not get agitated by the change. My skin began to get worse on the first diet change, so the vet staff stopped that and will recheck me in about 10 days. I also had an abdominal ultrasound this month to further investigate my GI system. My intestines are “diffusely thickened,” but my lymph nodes are normal size. These results are still inconclusive in determining if I have IBD (irritable bowel disease) or lymphoma. These conditions can be difficult to distinguish, but the first line of steroid treatment is the same for both. I now receive a monthly B12 injection, which is part of the treatment protocol for IBD as the condition interferes with B12 absorption in the GI tract. Some days I think I should go to veterinary school!
Whether your children are human or fur babies, have a Happy Mother’s Day! Sending you sweet big Josie kisses (filled with love)!
Love,
Josie
(With help from my correspondent, Ilene)