Dear Kitten Fund Sponsors,

Kitten season is right around the corner! With all the warm weather we’ve had this winter, we are anticipating a lot of kittens. We haven’t had any come through our doors quite yet, but we have a lovely group of older babies from last year.

Venus and Serena, two beautiful long-haired tabbies, have found a forever home with their foster mom. They came back to us for barely 48 hours before their foster mom realized she just couldn’t live without them.

Little Miss Periwinkle continues to make progress in terms of her socialization. She now has a stash of her favorite wand toys in the Community Room and absolutely loves her lickable treats. She occasionally allows some gentle petting, especially with volunteers who regularly interact with her. We are very happy with her progress but she still has a ways to go. Her new roommates Tipsy, Bing, and Beatty are also a good influence on her and she is happy to be around cats her age (although she still has a thing for cuddling with older men, like Tux).

Snippers continues to be a bright little ball of energy.  Her upper respiratory infection (URI) is completely gone and we are now dealing with her orthopedic issues. Last month, we were unsure of why Snippers was not regularly using the litter box. After some observation of her toilet etiquette, one of our staff noticed that she would often cry out while squatting and move from box to box when trying to go potty. Our vet staff took some x-rays and discovered that her back legs are a bit of an orthopedic nightmare. She has luxating patellas in both knees as well as irregular hip sockets. She underwent surgery on one side and is healing very nicely, but she will likely need to have the same procedures on her other side. In the meanwhile, she is doing an excellent job of messing up her cage as soon as we clean it and spraying litter across the entire room as she chases her toys.

Cotton continues to be a total charmer. Every visitor who walks through our front door immediately oohs and ahhs at his majestic fluffiness. He laps up all the attention and also loves to explore. Cotton has acquired visiting rights in the Community Room, as he enjoys some (supervised) time playing with the other young cats in that room. On another note, however, we have discovered that he will need surgery on his back legs, as there is a bone sticking out of his stubs. He will have a surgical consult soon.

Figaro and Circe, our Puerto Rican pair, are doing well but are still in our Ringworm area. Hopefully, they should be clear soon.

Newbies Suzie, Tipsy, Beatty, and Bing are settling in nicely. The four came with a group of cats from rescues in Georgia and North Carolina last month.

Suzie is a sweet and gentle black and white kitten with no health issues. She was recently moved to one of our suites and we hope she will be adopted soon.

Tipsy, another handsome black and white youngster, has acquired his own fan club. He is incredibly gentle and will roll over for belly rubs if you approach him. He also loves to be held and will curl himself right up under your neck. He came to us with the diagnosis of Cerebellar Hypoplasia (a non-degenerative neurological condition that causes wobbliness), but our vet staff isn’t entirely convinced. He definitely has a bit of a wobble in his hind end, but he doesn’t seem like a classic case of CH. Nonetheless, he is happy and otherwise healthy at the moment so invasive diagnostics don’t seem to be in his best interest. No matter what, we love this beautiful boy!

Beatty and Bing are two special needs brothers. Both were born with microphthalmia, a condition where the eyes are much smaller than normal. Beatty’s case was more severe and his eyes were non-functional and a source of infection. His eyes were removed at his previous rescue, but based on his behavior, it’s difficult to tell he’s 100% blind! He is incredibly playful, outgoing, and inquisitive. He chases wand toys, climbs cat trees, greets visitors, and explores our desks just like any other cat. He often wows guests and volunteers with his ability to navigate so well.

Bing, on the other hand, is much quieter and unfortunately has some significant health issues. We discovered Bing’s issues when we sent him for a surgical consult for his eyelid agenesis and his pre-op bloodwork came back very abnormal. Unfortunately, we are looking at a very likely diagnosis of FIP. FIP, or Feline Infectious Peritonitis, is when the feline corona virus (not the same as COVID-19) mutates and causes a whole host of problems.

We are still exploring alternative diagnoses, but sadly Bing has already begun to decline. He is still happy living in our Community Room with his brother, but we are monitoring him closely. FIP is a ruthless disease that currently has no cure or widely accepted treatment. He is dearly loved by our staff and volunteers and we will take good care of him for as long as he is with us.

On a happier note, February was a busy month for intakes and we have a group of older kittens and young adults who are beginning to clear quarantine. I will have an update on them next month.

Thank you for your continued support!

Your Correspondent,
Jae 

Postscript: In light of the arrival of COVID-19 in New Jersey, Tabby’s Place is currently closed to the public except by appointment. Please click here for our official COVID-19 response.