May greetings to you, and to all our kind and caring Kitten Fund sponsors!
I’m sitting at the keyboard with a big smile on my face, and that’s because there’s so much good news to tell you about this month.
I want to begin with a quick update on Mango and Jalapeño, feline-leukemia-positive (FeLV+) siblings you may recall from last month. They have recovered from eye infections and, in even better news, were adopted together. Their adopter says that they have settled in very well already, and that they now go by the names Daisy and Hunter. Mango/Daisy can be seen nearby in an interesting pose.
Next, following up on Marjoram and her four spicy kittens, mentioned briefly last month. Their story at Tabby’s Place began when a member of the community came in with the kittens, who were barely beyond newborns. Their rescuer added that the mother cat had not been seen for an extended period of time. Tabby’s Place took in the two boys and two girls and named them Basil, Oregano, Rosemary, and Parsley.
The baby kittens were offered formula from bottles, which they all took to immediately. But the mother was still at large, and the person who brought in the kittens also agreed to try to trap the mother with a trap provided by Tabby’s Place. Fortunately, Marjoram was successfully trapped that night and the family was reunited.
Another mother became a Tabby’s Place cat shortly before giving birth to three kittens in mid-April. She was named Naomi, and the photo of her nursing them was supplied by foster mom Lynn, who mentions that “Naomi almost always has at least one kitten attached, usually Jimmy (white feet). The other two, Jeff (all black) and Tiffany (grey), are busy being distracted by each other.”
An earlier arrival named Ilya came to Tabby’s Place under different circumstances, as described by staff member and foster mom Rey.
“Shane and Ilya were born to their mom in an older man’s home on New Year’s Day. His daughter, seeing that one of the kittens was paralyzed, reached out to Tabby’s Place for help. Luckily, we had space and were able to take both of them in. We did their intake exams, and I took them home to foster the same day.
“When they came in, both kittens were quite shy. Ilya allowed handling and petting, but did not seem to enjoy it. Shane hissed at me the moment he saw me and didn’t want to be touched.
“I slowly worked to get them used to me by sitting with them and using wand toy play. Within a few weeks, both Shane and Ilya turned into affectionate purrballs who love pets and especially belly rubs!
“I fell deeply in love with both of the babies and hope that each of them can find a wonderful forever home. I’m sure someone special will come along for Ilya—someone who is willing to handle his medical needs!”
Now, Ilya lives in the lobby at Tabby’s Place, and I recently saw him playing vigorously with a little green spring toy, chasing it all across and around the lobby. Fortunately, I had a camera at hand, but he was so quick that all I could get was purr blurs until he stopped momentarily.
Meanwhile, Ilya’s brother, Shane, was adopted along with Yo-Yo, who is pictured nearby. All the recent comings and goings are detailed here by Angela, our Development Director and all-around Celebrator of Good Things.
In the header picture is an obviously playful tabby named Slim, and (spoiler alert) he too was adopted this past month. Telling us more about him is Megan P., who, with her mother, were his foster family. Slim was their fifth foster cat, and his story was that he was brought inside from a colony. Due to a degloving injury, he had to have his tail amputated, and if that wasn’t enough, not only did he have ringworm, but also, despite his very young age, he needed dental care due to excessive inflammation in his gums.
Since Slim was undersocialized, and Megan and her mom were experienced fosters, staff member Tiana thought of them right away. Megan says, “She texted me a photo of a very fearful Slim, asking if I wanted him to be our next project, and I instantly fell in love!”
When a cat’s initial experience with humans includes ringworm treatment, it should come as no surprise that, as Megan explains, “He came to us pretty unhappy. On the first day, he found a way to weasel himself underneath the vanity in our bathroom. I feared we would never be able to get him to come back out, but with the help of food, it only took a few hours. After that, we blocked off the vanity, but it turned out we didn’t need to because soon he wasn’t interested in hiding anymore.”
“He’s become a very sweet boy who loves to be petted. He’s so curious, and you’ll always find his giant eyes peeking up at you. The more comfortable he gets with me, the more his playful side shines. He could fight with a wand toy for hours on end!
“Plus, he recently made an unlikely friend. I have a pretty old household cat who usually doesn’t want anything to do with other felines, but one day, he slipped into the bathroom and made a home in a bed with Slim.”
All kinds of good things to report this month! Tabby’s Place helped them out of their hopeless situations, and your help made it possible. Thank you so much for your ongoing generous support of the Kitten Fund. And our total Tabby’s Place community came through gangbusters for our recently completed Cherish the Kitten Fundraiser, which met its big, audacious goal. Kittens in the future will have a nursery to look forward to and ongoing care.
That’s about all there’s room for this month, and I haven’t even had time or space to mention the Feline Flyers. But you can read all about bottle babies Bonk, Bump, and Barkey.
One thing more: Here’s a shift from tiny babies to one great big cat. Hong Kong International Airport was the site of a special Easter season display: an 11-foot tall orange cat that has been dubbed “Catzilla.”
Until next month, I wish you and yours good news and all good things.
Your correspondent,
John