Happy New Year, Olive lovers!

Olive had a wonderful time over the holidays, with so many visitors coming to Tabby’s Place. Obviously, they were there expressly for her benefit! There were so many shoes and handbags to sniff that she was almost overwhelmed. But our little lobby greeter is nothing if not a trooper. When she has a job to do, she gets it done (at least until she falls asleep or becomes distracted), so Olive tried to make sure that everyone who entered Tabby’s Place received the proverbial once-over from her.

My very kind substitute correspondent noted that Olive likes to sneak kibble she’s not supposed to be eating from behind the front desk. The two types of kibble are placed in that location for the convenience of an elderly lobby resident who doesn’t get about much, but if Olive can get to it, she’ll start scarfing it down. However, that kibble can give Olive diarrhea. So if I see her eating either kind, I’ll remove the bowls.

Well, a couple of weeks ago, I did just that, but I was greatly taken aback by Olive’s reaction. As soon as my hands got near the bowls, I got growls. That’s not unusual, of course, but when my hands touched the bowls, I started getting a cussing out, expressed in yowls and angry hisses. When I wouldn’t back away, Olive attacked my shoes! Another volunteer who’d been standing by looked as startled as I was; I must have caught our feisty girl when she was very cranky, as I’ve never gotten such an extreme reaction before.

You already know how Olive dislikes getting her bladder expressed. But over the past month, in addition to the vocal indignation, we have occasionally heard a slight cough or two during that time. Right now, it’s nothing to worry about, but we’ll keep an eye on it. Aside from that blip, Olive has had a month of stable health.

As always, my thanks to you for allowing us to keep this special little girl comfortable and well cared for.