Hello Kitten Fund Sponsors,

Welcome to a brand new year! And, in true animal welfare fashion, the stream of needy animals never ends! This December and early January we have seen many of our kittens in foster care find good homes and have welcomed several special needs kittens!

Rosita, once a scared and feisty little girl, was adopted! She is in a home with someone who understands that she needs help learning boundaries and is willing to work with her so that she doesn’t get overstimulated and exhibit negative behaviors. We are so happy for her!

The last of the pasta boys, Rotini, was also adopted. He was always the shyest of the trio, but he truly blossomed during the last few weeks of foster. Foster families can do so much for shy, scared animals, and Rotini is a testament to that. We really couldn’t do what we do without our amazing foster parents!

Nikita and Pappardelle are doing very well together in their forever home. At a few months older, Pappardelle still has Nikita beaten in size, but she is quickly catching up. The two enjoy hanging out together and snuggling.

Cicada continues to do well in foster. She has proven to be a bit of an odd-ball and can be quite feisty towards humans. On the other hand, she enjoys the company of other cats. Hopefully, she will mellow out and be ready for adoption soon.

Gingerbread and Elf warmed up quickly in foster care and were adopted already. Nick remains very shy and wary of people, but he loves other cats. He has moved into the Community Room, where he dutifully introduced himself to every other cat in there to try and find a friend. He has been seen hanging out with Bianca, a special needs girl with Cerebellar Hypoplasia, who also loves having feline friends. Bianca is a bright, bubbly girl and hopefully, some of her cheerful demeanor rubs off on Nick. We are hoping that Nick will be able to be socialized. If not, we will discuss the option of finding a barn home for him in the spring.

We also welcomed a litter of kittens named after Indian dishes: Samosa, Chutney, Aloo, and Idly. They are doing well in foster but came from a feral colony, so they are working on socialization. Samosa warmed up quickly and already found a home, but her siblings are still wary of people.

This month, we welcomed a few special needs kittens: Moonlight, Legolas, Sundae, and Blizzard.

Moonlight is a spunky calico girl who’s full of attitude, even though she’s only four pounds! She loves to run around like crazy, entertaining herself with any toy she can find or flinging herself across the room after a wand toy. When she’s not actually liking a crazy (but adorable) little gremlin, she loves to be held and is content to be cozy and purr the day away.

Moonlight also is 100% incontinent and has several spinal abnormalities. For Moonlight, this means that she cannot go to the bathroom on her own and has to have her colon and bladder expressed three times a day. She needs a special diet to keep her digestive system running well and her back legs are also notably weaker than a normal kitten. She also will have to have her tail stump amputated, as it is wounded and non-functional.  Moonlight doesn’t know she’s any different, and quite frankly, you really can’t tell her that anyway! She is happy and absolutely adorable and I’m so grateful to be able to foster her!

Legolas is another one of our newest special needs kittens. Legolas is a stunning black and white boy who’s four months old and has no back legs! He was a little nervous when he first arrived but is warming up quickly in foster. He’s a sweet boy and can get around and use the litter box on his own.

Sundae (tabby and white) and Blizzard (black and white) are two brothers who were born with pectus excavatum. This is a birth defect where the breastbone is pointed inwards. In serious cases, it can hinder breathing, growth, and the ability of the heart to beat. Luckily, Blizzard and Sundae both have very mild cases. Right now, there is no medical intervention needed. The two should be monitored to ensure that they continue to grow as expected. There may be some mild complications later in life, but for now, they are very healthy and joyful little ones. They are already loving all over their foster family and are clearly lap cats. They would love to be adopted together into a family that can give them lots of love and attention.

Thank you for your continued generosity towards Tabby’s Place!

Your Correspondent,
Jae