Greetings, kitten lovers!
Kitten season tends to hit like a train: you wait and wait, and then all of a sudden it barrels into you in a barrage of sound and fury. Just in time for our sixth annual Kitten Shower, the train is in the station—and meowing!
Our most mature arrival is 5-month-old Scoots, who calls the Community Room home. Scoots is paralyzed as a result of injuries sustained at just two weeks old. But that hasn’t dulled her boundless kitten energy one bit! She can usually be seen scurrying through the Community Room and giving a good telling off to anybody who gets in her way. If you’d like to learn more about Scoots or sponsor her, you can find more information here.
The mission of Tabby’s Place is to give every cat the best possible chance at a happy and healthy life. And we relish the triumphant stories of cats like Scoots who fly right past adversity with little more than a dismissive squeak. Unfortunately, every story doesn’t have a happy ending, as I learned this month.
When I was asked to pick up eight kittens from a shelter in Baltimore, I had no idea of the emotional journey that lay ahead. I knew that all eight babies had severe upper respiratory infections and would need medical care. I found out on my way to pick them up that one was worse off than the rest.
I picked up a car full of babies who would soon get heroic names: Nakia, Okoye, Shuri, Stark, Thor, Ramonda, Xandiarian, and Agent Carter. (It’s a pop culture kitten season around here—fans of the Marvel Comics movies will recognize these names.) All eight babies were very sick, but little Agent Carter was worse off than the rest. She was very small and was having trouble breathing and keeping up her body temperature.
Once the kittens arrived, they were started on medicine and TLC, and Agent Carter was put on heat and oxygen support. I sat with her, gently petting her and watching her slowly get comfortable, while our amazing staff checked in the rest of the kittens. She found it very soothing to be touched, and her labored breathing would calm every time I stroked her fur.
It quickly became clear she needed round-the-clock care, and she was brought to an emergency facility. After a week of fighting, Agent Carter’s tiny body could take no more. She passed away.
I include this so that you know just how much your sponsorship helps. Without your help, we wouldn’t have the ability to give our most fragile residents all the care they need. The good news is that the rest of the Marvel kittens are doing much better in their foster homes and are expected to recover fully. Too often kittens never find their way to safety—or are rescued too late—and never get a chance. Thanks to you, many many kittens receive love and care and go on to live long and happy lives. But the losses are no less heartbreaking for it.
In happier news, a volunteer rescued a pregnant cat named Sunflower, who has since given birth to babies Lucy and Desi. Also among our 2019 kitten class are Philbert and Praline, Tornado and Monsoon, and two more pop culture litters: the Homestar Runner kittens (Trogdor, Marzipan, Bubs, and PomPom), and the Party of Five kittens (Griffin, Justin, Alexondra, Jacob, and Daphne).
And some of our babies have already gone home! The entire Twin Peaks litter (Ben, Cooper, Dale, Leland, and Diane) are now in their forever homes, and Calla and Dahlia went home together. And in extra happy news, a Tabby’s Place volunteer has adopted Lex (the sweetest kitten with the cloudiest eyes) and reports that she is doing wonderful in her new home.
I can’t wait to see all these young ones make their debut at our Kitten Shower on Saturday, June 22. We’d love to see you too!
Your correspondent,
Tara