Greetings, Fans of Tiny Furry Creatures,

Somehow, April has come and gone. An entire month of staying at home, wearing a mask if we dare to go out in public, and not being able to visit Tabby’s Place. We’ve reached week eight (eight!) of our closure and are staff and kitties are yearning for a return to some kind of normal. We know that being cautious is the best course of action, but it doesn’t lessen the strain of not having our normal army of volunteers here to help us.

We remain positive, however. Our cats are safe. Our cats are loved. Our cats are well taken care of, although they still like to complain that we didn’t get the *right* kind of wet food. Sometimes I think the cats miss the volunteers more. They miss the showers of treats and clouds of catnip and endless laps to lay in. We do our best to spoil them in their stead, but we’re less appreciated since they remember that we also do yucky things like medicate them or express their bladders and bowels. 

Although we’ve had to close discretionary intakes (i.e. cats we aren’t obligated to take and who aren’t in urgent need of care) due to COVID, we have recently had a whole group of newbies. Kitten season is officially upon us, as many of our new residents are on the young side.

Cardamom and her spice babies came to us via a good samaritan. The babies were found outside alone at first while a bad storm was brewing. We were worried that they would not survive if they stayed out in the elements, but we were also hoping that Mom would come back. Eventually, the tough decision to take the kittens without Mom was made and the group of five was sent to was foster homes. Later that night, however, Mom returned! She was promptly trapped and all the babies and Mom were reunited. We welcome Clove (white, Female), Nutmeg (tabby and white, Female), Anise (grey tabby, Female), Cayenne (light grey tabby, female), and Coriander (tabby, Male). The crew is three weeks old as of 5/11 and have already opened their eyes. So far, they are healthy and well-fed, as Mom takes good care of her babies. 

In addition to the Spice Babies, we have our Desperate Housewives litter: Rocco, Sonja, Luann, and Bethenny.  The Housewives were found during a TNR effort and their Mom could not be located. The four have been split between two fosters, as bottle babies take a lot of effort! All four are doing well. They are younger than the Spice Babies, as they were born only on 4/24. We can’t wait to see them grow up big and strong!

We also have two singletons, Tallulah and Sassy. 

Tallulah came from a colony, where she was found with a severe Upper Respiratory Infection. She clearly needed medical care and was rushed into foster with one of our experienced staff members. Despite her gunky eyes and runny nose, she has a feisty spirit and a big appetite. She has improved greatly since her intake and is putting on weight. Originally, she was being fed with a syringe of wet food slurry, but this Big Girl just learned how to eat out of a dish by herself. Way to go, Tallulah! 

Sassy is a tiny five to six-week-old ball of sass. She was also found outside and alone. Sassy arrived only the other day (5/11), so we are just beginning to get to know her. She seems to be healthy and is in foster. However, she has already earned her name, as she was not fond of being handled during her medical exam.

Continuing on the thread of happy news, we have recently been able to re-open

adoptions! We are currently using a tele-adoption model, as we are still unable to allow visitors into our sanctuary. Nonetheless, we have a lot of potential adopters lined up who can’t wait to meet some of our cats. Suzie recently went home and Veronica is slated to fly off to her forever home in the next few days. We are sure that more of our little ones (and our big fellas!) will be adopted very soon.

Our other kittens are healthy and doing well. Snippers, Periwinkle, Tipsy, Sasha, Sabrina, Figaro, and Circe have all had a month of good health and naughty antics. Beatty is recovering from knee surgery, but is doing well and, when let out of his cage for supervised exercise, he runs around like nothing ever happened! Once he is healed, he will be headed off to his forever home as well.

Thank you for your continued support, especially during times like these. We are doing our best to continue to serve our cats during these difficult times, but we have not been immune to the financial strain of economic shut-down. Donations, including our monthly sponsorships, help ensure that we are able to continue with our mission.

Thank you, stay safe, and stay sane!

Your Correspondent,
Jae