Dear friends,

Have you ever walked into a room and saw something so out of the ordinary that you had to double-check that you walked into the right room? That happened to my correspondent the other day. She came to visit and caught me enjoying a grooming from my old friend, Toby. We were curled up in the same bed (not a big shocker). He was licking my head and neck (big shocker!). Just to clarify: I let another cat groom me and I didn’t try to beat that cat silly (big, huge shocker!).

I watched as my correspondent slowly backed out of the room, double-checked the sign outside, then slowly walked back in with a confused look and said, “Lester, is that really you?” I dished out a couple of cheesy smiles, to which she replied, “It’s like I don’t even know you!”

More shocking news: She pet me and Toby, and I didn’t get jealous. It was one giant love fest. What can I say? Even tough guys need love. Maybe it’s the influence of our two new female residents, Norah and Shiny. Norah is a sweet, young beauty who I’m betting will get adopted very quickly. Shiny is a bit shy with people, but she loves to eat!

We lost our sweet Cisco recently. He had been battling renal failure and his body had had enough. We all said our goodbyes, especially Rufus, who had been spending a lot of time looking out for him and keeping him company.

My health is good. I did sustain a nail injury while attempting an ill-advised leap onto the ramp to the Solarium. I didn’t quite make the jump and ripped a nail right off. Fortunately, a member of the vet team saw it happen and fixed me up nice and proper. I’m all healed and very grateful for our vet team.

As the weather grows colder, I’m sending you warm hugs and kisses. You are the best friends and supporters I could wish for and I feel so lucky to have you in my life.

Lots of love,
Lester
(With help from your correspondent, Mary)