Dear Sponsors,

Hey, Olive lovers, it’s time for an update on our feisty black and white girl! Medical news first, of course, and I’m delighted to tell you that there is none this month. Olive has enjoyed four weeks of stable, good health.

In other news, Olive has a new “suitemate.” FlipFlop, so named for the deformities in her hind legs, is our newest lobby resident. No sooner was FlipFlop installed in her temporary crate in the lobby than Olive positioned herself in front of the crate, sniffed deeply, and hissed loudly in FlipFlop’s face. Sigh. Why can’t we all just get along?

From Olive’s point of view, this tactic worked beautifully, as FlipFlop quickly settled into a few favorite lobby spots and steers clear of Olive. From the human point of view, well, it’s Olive, so as long as she can co-exist with another cat in the same general area, we have to regard that as a win.

Periodically, though, there are advantages to being one of the humans who cares for Olive. She will frequently “hide” herself when she thinks the time is approaching for her to be expressed. Luckily for our staff, Olive’s definition of “hiding” is similar to that of a toddler.

Olive believes that if she can’t see you, the reverse must also be true, so her “hiding” usually takes the form of simply turning her head away from the human in question. Even more comical? On those occasions when Olive does manage to disappear from view, she’ll growl when a staff member approaches, quickly revealing her location.  Despite all of the attempts to hide and growling, we’ve noticed that Olive is quick to scoot over to staff and volunteers around 4 pm for her evening “treat” meds.

Thanksgiving will be here very soon, and this year, in addition to everything else, I’m giving thanks for YOU! Talk about sticking with us through thick and thin! I wish I knew some brilliant means of expressing how grateful I am that you’ve continued to help us care for Olive in a year that’s been so difficult for so many of us, but as it is I can only thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Your correspondent,
Stephanie