Dear Team Steven,

It’s February! We’re halfway through the winter here in the Jersey area and, if that wasn’t reason enough to celebrate, there’s Valentine’s Day… and Leap Year!

Steven has been in good health and in excellent spirits this month. There have been a few days warm enough for the senior fellow to soak up some sun in the solarium.  For him, this bodes well for the weeks ahead.  Like so many of us, basking in the sunshine is one of his favorite pastimes and he hopes that this year he can use that extra day to do it.

There is never a dull moment in Steven’s “Suite J” home.  Tabby’s Place tenants seem to move in and out quite regularly. There’s no cat better equipped to embrace this change than our dear Steven.  For an older cat, he’s quite remarkable this way.  Steven knows how to “go along to get along”—a quality we wish some of his suitemates would learn.  For example, Hazey and Cassie simply couldn’t seem to sort out their differences. After giving it a good try, we moved Hazey to new quarters. Her spot was quickly filled by Gator, who recently returned to Tabby’s Place from a little domestic vacation.

Of course, this is an arrangement which we are observing very carefully.  As some of you may remember, Steven and Gator have history.  Gator once bit Steven on the butt and the injury became infected.  With treatment, his wound healed nicely, but Gator wasn’t so lucky, as he developed FIP.  Gator was also successfully treated and remained housed alone until now.  His move to Suite J freed up a single office space for another cat that required isolated living. Gator responds well to the special GI diet offered in Suite J, so we’re giving these two boys a second try at a more positive relationship.

Ever the open-minded and forgiving fellow, Steven seems not to mind too much. With Gator, who can be somewhat moody, it’s more challenging to tell.  Staff are keeping a watchful eye on the pair, and each of the boys is given time in the solarium or the suite without the other.  By all reports to date: so far, so good. We’ll be sure to give you an update next month as this is an ongoing experiment.

To close, Steven and I are including a recent photo of the two of us together.  I was somewhat aghast when Steven suggested the idea (not being particularly photogenic). Nevertheless, he convinced me we are somewhat of a duo and that I needed to come out of the shadows.  You can imagine it is the rare person at Tabby’s Place who can tell Steven, “No.”  So here I am … the Robin to his Batman!  Nice to meet you all!

I’ll gladly return to anonymity now.

Your correspondent,
Tina