Hi y’all!

I swear, I just blinked slowly, and the summer was gone.  I hope that you are like me and enjoy all of the seasons.  Each season is like a different cat and has something unique and very special to give.  As you know, I adore the pretty red and orange leaves covering the big trees like foliage blankets.  Since I moved to the lobby last year, I am not a frequent visitor to Solarium A.  I was a bit hesitant with my last solarium visit and seem to be favoring stroller rides around the outside of Tabby’s Place.  My correspondent promised me a stroller ride when she volunteers next, and I will ask her to get some pictures of me cruising around.  Maybe down the road I will visit Solarium A again — with staff permission of course.

I love the expression when “things are flying off the shelf,” meaning they sell quickly or if you have a cat, the cat may have knocked everything off the shelf.  Tabby’s Place has really been busy with adoptions the past few months.  Based on the number of lil’ residents we have in the kitten room and in foster care, it seems like kitten season has been extended.  I am fascinated by the kittens, and I literally stand against the window facing the kitten room and watch those lil’ buggers running around.  I am petite myself, but I must look like a giant to the babies.

Have I told you today how much I enjoy life as a lobby cat?  Greeting visitors and new volunteers is a full-time job.  I particularly enjoy the end of the day, after I have welcomed visitors and enjoyed a delicious dinner.  Staff remove my diapie (if I have not already done so) and into my “private sleeping suite” (also known as my crate) I go!  The most important thing in my crate is a comfy cat bed and blanket.  I play hide and seek and crawl under the blanket.  We get to bed on the early side because the mornings start early.  I come out of my crate and enjoy my breakfast in the morning so that the volunteers who clean the lobby and our crates have lots of time before the doors to Tabby’s Place open at noon.

I don’t really miss having lunch since I am doing so well.  I enjoy the compliments about my body shrinking, and I do feel healthier.  Since you are my family and my sponsor, I would never lie to you.  If I see some leftover lunch, I try to be helpful and take bites, so the volunteers have less to pick up.  Just doing my part!

The other day when my correspondent was smothering me with kisses (I like kisses), she looked at me and had a tear fall from her eye as she thought back to last year.  Isn’t it funny that when a medical crisis has passed, and you feel fine, you almost don’t remember the bad times.  She mentioned sending you a sponsor update on my condition and how scared she was, but in her heart, she knew a Tabby’s Place miracle was on the way.  The biggest part of the miracle was having you as my sponsor and having you care so much.  In case I don’t say it enough, I’ll say it again: thank you, and I love you!

Have you ever laughed so hard that you felt like you would tip over?  This might be that occasion!  This past week volunteers who work with enrichment toys stopped by the lobby for a session.  My correspondent watched me like she was in a trance.  All I can say is catnip brings out my WILD side.  I thought boxes were fun, well I found something better, a brown paper bag that had catnip inside.  I must have looked like an alligator in the bag, thrashing side to side.  One of my lobby mates, Dani, quietly approached my bag wanting to play, and I swatted her away with the fastest paw in the west.  I did apologize later because that is not how a proper lil’ black and white southern kitty behaves.  My correspondent was thankful that I did not put my diapie on my head after the catnip!  My guess is that future catnip exposure will be closely monitored!

Happy health update this month!  I feel healthier and slimmer, and some of my diapies are too loose and will be altered.  I also wanted to mention the “Linda Matching Fund,” which is open through September 30.  This special fund helps Tabby’s Place cats who are critically ill receive all of the top-notch medical care they need to survive and thrive.  The neat thing is that your donation is matched by a group of benefactors — wow!  I will be forever grateful to the Linda Fund for helping me down the road to recovery, every step of the way.  Please feel free to donate at www.tabbysplace.org.

Here’s hoping your trees are filled with red and orange leaves and sending you lots of whisker kisses!

Love, Rose
(With help from your correspondent, Ilene)