The littlest cats at Tabby’s Place never got the memo that “kitten season” slows to a crawl when the temperatures go down. From Skyler and Marie to Elizabeth and Iain M. Banks (more on that name in a moment), we are awash in new babies.
It’s been a fabulous month for our “old” babies, with Sinatra, Milan, Paquita, Alonzo and Tom all being adopted. Sinatra had a brief hiccup on the way to his forever home, as he was adopted once and returned after a few days. His crime? It seems the blue-eyed boy doesn’t have the best balance, and tends to tumble over onto his missing-leg-area when in the litter box. Combined with his persistent diarrhea, this makes Sinatra…well, rather messy. Fortunately, his new family knows and accepts this quirk — and he’s bringing Milan along for the ride.
Little Skyler and Marie, a pair of feral-born sisters, just moved into the Community Room in the last week of October, and it’s no stretch to say that they are our craziest kittens…ever. The (literally) off-the-wall antics of these tiny girls make Sinatra look downright solemn, and adult cats like Bonnie steer especially clear of these tiny wild women. Although both Marie and Skyler (named for Breaking Bad characters) were born in the wild and raised by a feral mama, they have amazingly different personalities. While Marie (pictured at right) loves people, Skyler (below) is rather shy, although she made impressive progress while being fostered with a staff member. The girls adore and protect one another, so we will be looking for a home big enough for both of them.
Still in Quarantine at this point are brand-new babies Elizabeth and Iain M. Banks. At only 2 weeks of age, Elizabeth is still nursing her feral mama (who will be spayed and returned to a safe colony once Elizabeth is weaned). Iain M. Banks came in by himself, at age ~8 weeks, and is already on hold to be adopted.
So how did a small kitten get such a long name? For that tale, we have to go back to Catoberfest 2012. One year ago, a generous Tabby’s Place donor was the winning bidder on the opportunity to name a future Tabby’s Place cat. He’s waited patiently for the right moment, and finally announced his name of choice: Iain M. Banks. Our little tabby is named for a renowned science fiction author who passed away earlier this year. No word yet on whether the adopter will be keeping his name.
Astute Kitten Fund sponsors that you are, you may have noticed over the months a common thread running through their stories: almost every kitten that arrives at Tabby’s Place was born of a feral mother. Some mamas, like Juanita, become mooshes approximately .1 seconds after being captured. Others, like Zola, tolerate being a Tabby’s Place cat because we give them no other option.
Still others are feral through-and-through, like Elizabeth’s mother. Truly feral cats cannot adapt to life as a pet, no matter how thoroughly we try to convince them, and if left unaltered, a feral mama can bear multiple litters a year. That’s an awful lot of kittens to support through the Kitten Fund!
This fall, Tabby’s Place has embarked on a new labor of love – to reach all the feral kitties in our area through a Targeted Trap-Neuter-Return program. Imagine, if we could help all these cats, and their future kittens, to avoid the desperation of a life full of fear, hunger, and litter after litter of babies to care for.
As always, dear sponsors, thank you so much for all you do for our kittens, even if they do keep popping up all the year round! You are an integral part of the family that loves them, no matter what!