Happy New Year & Happy New Decade, Pepita fans!

First things first:  Happy Birthday to Pepita!  Our amazing sweetheart turns 9, which is totally amazing to me. Tabby’s Place uses January 1st as each resident’s birthday since we don’t really know when many of the kitties were born.  The vet staff is quite adept at calculating an approximate age for each newcomer, and then we go from there.

I’ve been providing Pepita updates for 5 years now, which also amazes me.  She was such a little one when I first met her and has grown to be an even lovelier and sweeter petite treasure as each year passes.  Over those years she has provided such delight not just to me, but to all the staff and so many visitors and volunteers (and now to seniors in the Aged to Purrfection program), that I am honored to write about her.  I hope you have been able to experience Pepita’s love for you, her special sponsors, in person by visiting Tabby’s Place.  But if you haven’t had that opportunity, just know that her heart is sending you big waves of love each month.

Bummer!  A newcomer to Suite A is causing the residents to miss out on treats!  Clark is on a super restrictive diet to address some gastrointestinal issues, where he can only eat a prescription dry food (no wet food) and absolutely, positively no treats! Since we have so many volunteers and visitors at Tabby’s Place, the only real way to keep him on his diet is to ensure that no treats are given out to Pepita or her suitemates. If he gets even one little treat, it will throw off the wonderful progress he has made with his diet and everything has to start over.

But I often feel the kitties at Tabby’s Place all understand that others occasionally have special needs, so they get used to new routines all the time—even if that means no treats. On the plus side, Clark brings a handsomeness to Suite A that you would not believe:  he is a stunningly gorgeous lilac point Himalayan who stops foot traffic on a regular basis, as visitors touring our sanctuary pause to admire him. He is also sociable and cuddly and gets along just fine with his suitemates.

Pepita has had another good month of health, though we are still puzzled by her unexplained hair loss.  When I visited the other day, she was looking quite vibrant and there was very little left of the hair loss situation.  I do think she is on a good streak of fine health, so please keep your fingers crossed that this continues for our furry lap kitty.

The weather has been up and down here in New Jersey, with swings of very warm, spring-like temps to days of bitter cold and high winds.  Many a visit I would find Pepita inside, curled up and snoozing in a nice bed on those cold days.  Sunday was a great day with warm temps and mild winds, so, as you might expect, I found Pepita in the solarium, napping as she listened to the mesmerizing flapping of the plastic protectors against the outer fence that forms one side of the solarium, oblivious to the world.  She was ready for some serious petting, though, which made my heart sing!

Thank you for being there for Pepita year after year.  She is so grateful for you and all you do to allow her to live her healthy and happy life at Tabby’s Place, full of love from so many.

Bring on the new year and new decade, and let the adventure begin!

Your correspondent,
Sheila