February Greetings to you, and to everyone like you who cares about kittens!
Let’s start with the best news first—adoptions! These kittens now have a home, and we want you to know about it because of all you’ve done to help them. Thank you for your generous gifts on behalf of their littlest beneficiaries.
Sweet, orange, FeLV+ Fortune Cookie got a chance through Tabby’s Place. His foster mom Gayle admitted, “He took a long time to come out. But he would happily play under the shelf behind my desk. He loved wand toys, especially with feathers, and the plastic ball track like in this picture. He’s a sweet, smart little guy.” All winning personality traits, so it came as no surprise that an Awesome Adopter quickly snatched him up. (But my sources say you’ll still be seeing more of him soon on behalf of Tabby’s Place. Stay tuned.)
Brothers Mercutio and Capulet had Shakespearean names, and parting was indeed sweet sorrow when I left them after a pleasurable visit one Sunday afternoon.
Before they moved into their room at Tabby’s Place, foster mom Myla took good care of them, saying, “They are such loves. Mercutio completely surrenders—he loves belly rubs!” And a human visitor was so captivated, they adopted both kittens together. Under their new names, Jasper (Mercutio) and Jett (Capulet) get to stay as close as brothers.
Miss Tumnus was on restricted activity due to injury and was overjoyed to have her splint removed at the beginning of January. “She’s quite energetic and is a super sweet and fun little girl,” says Tiana, who fostered Miss T along with, I might add, several other little ones. (More on them in a moment.)
Tiana noted that she had been calling her Willow, and shares the news that “I’m going to miss my little niece kitty when she leaves.” Willow/Miss T will soon be adopted as she has captured someone’s heart while in her foster home.
As promised, here are three more kittens enjoying Tiana’s foster hospitality. This trio at the top of the page is named for Beyoncé’s three kids: Blue, Rumi, and Sir.
Tiana allows that as feral kittens, “They started out pretty spicy, but they’re coming around so much! They love treats and wand toy playtime, and are a really curious (and very messy) bunch.” While I’m thinking of pop singers, is it better to be Taylor Swift’s boyfriend or Taylor Swift’s cat? At least a cat can hang around her neck on the cover of Time magazine.
Another of Tabby’s Place’s fine fosters, Donna, reports that tabby-and-white Kenny has made great progress while under her care. He began in a cat colony, but rescuers believed that he could develop and one day be someone’s pet.
It took some time, but with patient love, before long, Donna says, “He asked to be petted and have his cheeks scratched. He even came down off his perch and went nose-to-nose with another kitten and there was no negative reaction!” Here, Kenny has a front leg slung over housemate Linus’s neck. Both young ‘uns are now former residents, having gained new forever homes.
Finally for this month, here’s Mr. Peanut. His story is that he came to Tabby’s Place from another rescue where his needs were greater than their capabilities. He has a spinal defect that causes urinary and fecal incontinence, which led to many urinary tract infections. Due to the damage they caused to his body, medical staff expected surgery would be required. Happily, with a combination of antibiotic therapy, plus regularly expressing his bladder, his skin cleared up very well. His foster human Rey says, “He happens to be the cutest thing on the planet. He’ll come right up to you for pets and immediately start purring!” You probably can recognize the signs that someone is on the way to becoming a Foster Failure, and sure enough, Rey has adopted Mr. Peanut.
Did you hear about the Canadian cartoonist and cat lover who has gone on record with a worthy ambition for 2024? ‘Let me pet your cat’, they say, and they should reach their initial goal of 100 cats well before the end of the year.
Kittens, we get kittens… Donna took this video of her fosters, Symphony, and her five babies. They were picked up by animal control; the babies were rescued right away but it took a day or two more to capture the mom. The kittens (and one in particular) have been making up for lost time in mother’s milk. Donna says, “They are the size of a baked potato at this point and just adorbs.”
Before I go, someone in a position to know tells me that three older kittens arrived at the end of January. They say, “All three are very sweet and we named them after artists: Monet, Kahlo, and Dali.” We’ll be learning more about them, and I’m looking forward to telling you about them soon. The artist names reminded me that if someone has what it takes to be an artist, they’ll find a way to make art. Check out this giant cat, created in a Thai rice field.
Until next month, wishing you all good things!
Your correspondent,
John