Greetings, Pepita devotees!
“Shall I hang out in the solarium or shall I not?” seems to be Pepita’s constant question. Today was a very windy and chilly day and yet I found her out there with her steadfast crew of suitemates—Abe, Steven, and Rorschach—who regularly brave the cold, to relish the fresh air. A fresh new paper bag was offered for her pleasure, and she and Abe were trying to decide who really should go into the bag and what benefit there would be as protection from the wind. In the end, Pepita zipped in.
But not for long! I decided they all needed a few cat beds in which to curl up, so I went to the laundry area and secured a few. On my way back to the suite I also grabbed the treat bag, which is always a winning strategy to get their attention. And get their attention it did! Left to their own devices, they would each eat a bazillion treats, so it tests my discipline to give each only a few. Being surrounded by so many kitties all at once is fun—to a point! When they decide to gang up on me, I have to quickly hide the treat bag and resort to another favorite pastime: petting and cuddling. They seemed to appreciate the cat beds, too, as I’m sure they can generate and hold their own heat better when curled up in a ball in one of those.
The new feeding routine and diet in Suite A has been working well. The suite was transitioned to a new gastrointestinal (GI) diet so that a few of Pepita’s suitemates, Mary and Cindy, would not need to be crated overnight and those cats with leaky bums will produce less stool and therefore be more comfortable. Mary was already on this diet, but now she is free at night and generally not as leaky and not as messy, making her in better spirits. This is good for Pepita as well since less stool means an easier time during expressing.
It’s been another month of good health for our fur baby. Pepita continues to have some issues with hair loss on her lower back. The vet team and sanctuary associates discussed whether this could be due to over-grooming. She does not appear to be uncomfortable or bothered by this so they are simply continuing to monitor it. When I visited her today I didn’t even notice it, so perhaps it is just getting better on its own.
Our November event, Thanksgiving with the Cats, was a great success, with over 100 visitors, lots of donations, and much canoodling with kitties. Every time there is an event like this, we introduce Tabby’s Place to folks who didn’t know about it and expand the awareness of what we do. It is an essential part of continuing the great work of saving cats—having more and more people understand our mission and become advocates for us. We know you already are a wonderful advocate for Pepita and for Tabby’s Place, and we thank you for that from the bottom of our hearts.
This is a magical time of year! There have been many great adoptions in the last month at Tabby’s Place, including older kitties, FIV+ kitties, kittens, and cats that need to live in a single cat household. Let’s hope they all stick and everyone can live happily ever after with their forever families. Tabby’s Place enables any adopted kitty to be returned at any time, even years later, as it is better for them to have a home back with us than to be miserable in a home that isn’t working or to be surrendered to a shelter that is not as wonderful as Tabby’s Place. So fingers and paws crossed for all these adoptions.
I may have noted this in a prior update about this time of year, but it is one of my favorite quotes: “Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.”-Hamilton Wright Mabie. Pepita and I and the whole staff at Tabby’s Place thank you for your love of our sweet girl and for your support of our mission to save cats from hopeless situations. I hope you enjoy some of the magical photos our volunteer photographer, Ruth, took of Pepita in the wrapping paper.
We wish you a most beautiful and joyful holiday season.
Your correspondent,
Sheila