Dear Team Pepita,
The flowers are a bloomin’ and the breeze is fine! Pepita is delighted that spring is here. She is enjoying many stroller rides and lots of fresh air with spring in full bloom! Here is a beautiful daffodil from my front yard, as evidence that it is warm enough these days to bring forth nature’s beauty.
Our sweet princess is spending more time in the solarium again so that there is a 50/50 chance of where staff can find her when it is time for expressing. So imagine my surprise last Sunday when I went to find Her Sweetness and she was inside the suite! Well, it was a little rainy outside, but that never stopped Pepita from hanging in the solarium.
My surprise was then doubled! Let me explain.
The prior two Sundays Pepita was all about the love, waiting until I sat down on the solarium chair and, with absolutely not even a second of hesitation, jumping immediately into my lap for lots of loving, head bonks, purrs, and whisker kisses.
On this particular Sunday, when I found her inside, she came on my lap for about 10 seconds and then jumped up, eyeing the wand toy and paper bag I had brought with me.
Suddenly she was the energizer bunny, scaling the fold-down shelf where the Sanctuary Associates organize and administer the meds, then jumping back down, into the bag, pouncing on the wand toy, crushing the bag, and having an all-out play fest! It was an absolute joy to watch her acting like a kitten. It turns out that love wasn’t her thing that day—she was all about the “play.”
She looked so wonderful that day that I was not surprised to hear in her medical update that her skin irritation and hair loss were improving. That’s always a wonderful report and with it comes a reduced dosage of her allergy medication. Her fur was thick and lustrous last Sunday and her pretty face reflected how fine she felt.
We have a Facebook page just for volunteers so we can stay up to date on things, but also where volunteers regularly share pictures they take of the cats whenever they are at Tabby’s Place for a volunteer shift or stroller duty.
Pepita is a very popular subject for picture taking, as she always strikes fabulous poses. Often volunteers will post pictures of her with the word ‘model’ in the caption (“Pepita–the supermodel,” Pepita should be a model”). You can see why from some of the pictures I’ve included. Perhaps she has missed her calling?
We are hoping soon to expand the number of volunteers we can bring in to help the staff, now that vaccines are becoming more available. We won’t do this until it is safe, of course. But more volunteers means that Pepita will enjoy more visits, more laps, more playtime, and more adoration from her devoted fans. She is, of course, happy with those of us who can visit now and we are all delighted to bask in her joy.
Our sweet girl is loving life and so much of this is due to you! Without your love and support, she would not be able to get the special medical care she needs. Kitties like Pepita are likely to be long-term residents of Tabby’s Place as most adopters are not in a position to care for her special needs. Your support means the world to her and to all of us at Tabby’s Place.
I’ll send more fun stories of this adorable creature next month. Until then, know that Pepita sends you whisker kisses and lots of purrs!
Your correspondent,
Sheila