Dear friends,

It has been busy around here, with lots of new kids on the block. We acquired four new roommates over the last few months: Stafford, Prince, Oscar and Chad. Prince and Oscar are shy and rarely left the tube to the solarium. They were losing weight, so the Tabby’s Place staff closed the tube at night so they’d have to stay in, where food is readily available. Shy but sweet Prince was quickly adopted. And newbie Knickers will be joining our crew soon. Sadly, our gentle boy Chachi went to the Rainbow Bridge. I miss his gentle ways.

With all these changes, the dynamics of the FIV+ Suite are changing. The loving cat piles of not-so-long-ago are now a distant memory. Recently, when I was snuggling up to my correspondent, a newbie (I won’t name names) attacked me from behind, which triggered another newbie to attack the attacker, and before you knew it all three of us were entangled and cussing like sailors. Luckily the dust-up ended quickly, but the stare downs and hissing lingered for a few minutes.

We FIV+ cats sometimes get a bad rap for being tough guys. But the truth is, any cat in a new environment needs time to adjust. I’ll just need to keep a wide berth until they get more comfortable and confident.

In more heart-expanding news, our lobby friend Anka got to visit with seven- and eight-year-olds at an elementary school. Their teacher is a devoted Tabby’s Place volunteer who shares stories of all the cats with her students. The little love-filled humans made toys and Christmas cards for all the cats at Tabby’s Place. I got my own special card and toys from these tiny angels.

Thank you for all your love and support. It means the world to me!

All my love,

Lester