Hello, Sponsors of our Littlest Ones!

It’s official: kitten season is in full swing!

With the warmer weather finally here to stay, spring has finally fully bloomed. The trees have shed their flowers and everything seems to be an extra vibrant shade of green. Our cats at Tabby’s Place are definitely enjoying the changing seasons after the long winter and are ready for lazy naps in the solariums or cozy walks in our strollers. And, of course, it means for anyone working or volunteering in animal welfare that the kittens are flooding in!

On April 1st, Tabby’s Place received a very interesting and unexpected gift: 17 black cats, 10 of them tiny kittens! 17 black cats may seem like a joke, but we promise you this is no April Fool’s prank. This family of cats was living outside on a rental property and was being cared for by the residents when the landlord decided that they all had to go—immediately! Finding a place to take in 17 cats all at once is no easy feat, and in an effort to find a safe place for them, the cat family was shuttled over to us.

It was quite a surprise for our staff to come into work and unexpectedly find a van full of cats pulled up to the door! However, we also knew that we couldn’t turn them away, especially given how small and vulnerable all 10 babies were.  Luckily, we were able to keep all 17 and find fosters for the two mommas and their litters of 5 each. The Fish Clan—all of the cats were named after fish you can catch in the videogame Animal Crossing—is now doing well and the babies are beginning to find their own forever homes!

While 16 of these cats were healthy and doing well upon their arrival, the tiniest of the bunch, a little one named Ramekin, was injured, weak, and sick. He was immediately treated by our vet team to try and stabilize him and was taken individually into foster to give him extra support. Over the course of several weeks, he received blood transfusions, oxygen therapy, and many other treatments and almost faded on us several times, but Ramekin had a will to live. He is now reunited with his family. Although he is only about half the size of his siblings due to his rough start, Ramekin is a strong boy who will just need some extra time to catch up.

One of the momma cats, Arowana, recently weaned her litter just as Tabby’s Place received four bottle babies, named the Bread Bunch: Focaccia, Pumpernickel, Ciabatta, and Brioche. We introduced these wee ones to Arowana and she happily accepted them! All four are now happily adopted by Arowana as their mama and doing well! We are so glad that we were able to find a mom for them.

Our resident kittens are also doing well.

Elliot, a sweet white and black boy with special needs, is enjoying life in our Young Cat room at the sanctuary. His foster brother, Otter, was happily adopted, and we are hoping that Elliot will make friends with some of the other young cats in his room. Two of his suitemates—J’Happy and Mr. Thief (two boys from the country of Oman)—were a bit boisterous in that room and didn’t get along with the other cats, but now that they have been moved to their own room, Elliot and the other cats are much happier as well.

Elliot has generally been in good health but struggles with using the litter box at times. Due to the injuries he sustained in his rear, he was constantly battling constipation and/or diarrhea as a young kitten and unfortunately has likely associated the litterbox with feelings of discomfort and pain (if you are familiar with Steven, a resident of our GI suite, he developed the same issue due to chronic constipation in kittenhood as well). Nonetheless, Elliot is one of the sweetest and happiest kitties at Tabby’s Place and we are hoping that he finds an understanding and loving home despite his health needs.

Lemon (calico), Miss Carrot (orange and white), and Princess Charming (black) are three other young cats from Oman who came along with J’Happy and Mr. Thief. Miss Carrot was adopted directly from her foster home and Lemon and Princess Charming have joined Elliot in the Young Cat room. The Oman cats are definitely unique and have some behavioral quirks, but we are looking for active, understanding homes for all of them!

Ruby and Nero, two sweet but shy siblings, had a very long layover in ringworm, but they are doing well. Nero recently found his forever home and Ruby will be joining the Otter youngins’ in the Young Cat room very soon.

Overall, April was a very busy month for our kittens at Tabby’s Place and we can only imagine that May will be more of the same!

Thank you for your continued support of our Kitten Fund and our littlest residents.

Your Correspondent,
Jae