Greetings Kitten fans,

Somehow, summer is almost over. June and July have passed in a mere blink, but at Tabby’s Place, kitten season is still in full swing.

July has been an excellent month for adoptions. Leia, Blossom, and Bubbles went home together (yay for a TRIPLE adoption!) and Utonium and Buttercup also found a home together. Rocco, Cayenne, Chewy, Jester, and Han went home in July. Tuck and Tig, two orange tabby brothers, are also on hold together.

Newbies Zuko, Storm, and Paige, a trio of beautiful little tuxedo siblings, are doing well. Storm and Zuko went home already, leaving just pretty little Paige. She is in a new foster home and is a bit scared now that her siblings have left, but we are hopeful she will find her own family very soon.

We also recently took in a litter of newborn kittens and their feral Mom. We are happy that Momma Disney and her little ones—Mickey, Minnie, and Daisy—are doing well. They are all together in foster and we are glad that we could keep this little family together, as neonatal kittens have the best outcomes when they stay with their mothers.

While we have had several happy and healthy litters pass through our doors this kitten season, July has belonged to a few very special “special needs” kittens: Heather, Rosita, and Tempura.

Heather is a sweet little girl who was brought in with worrying neurological issues and several bite wounds. We are not certain what attacked her, but she is healing well and is loving life in foster. She loves to play and rip up paper bags and does not allow her neurological quirks to get in her way. We are still evaluating her and do not yet have answers about her condition, but so far, she has shown to be very resilient.

Rosita has proven to be a little bit of a behavioral challenge. When she first arrived, she was a bit on edge, but we assumed that her behavior was due to being separated from her kittens and all her raging Momma hormones. As time has gone on, however, she has continued to be very spunky and feisty. We have started her on some behavioral medication and moved her to the feral room so that we can evaluate her better and also see if some of her aggression is due to being caged.

I recently spent some time with little miss Rosita and she seems to be a bit calmer now that she has some more space to run around. She let me pet her for a short while, but she is still a bit nippy and becomes overstimulated very easily. At only 10 months old, we are hoping that we will be able to help teach her some healthy boundaries and find a regimen that helps to regulate her aggression. She will likely have behavioral issues for the rest of her life, but we are hoping that we can learn more about how to manage her needs. Eventually, we will have to explore the idea of introducing her to a suite and other cats, but for now, we are not ready to do so until we know more about her. We are in it for the long haul with Miss Rosita and are dedicated to helping her.

Tempura, whom you may have seen recently featured on our Facebook page, continues to do well despite her neurological condition. At this time, we are simply monitoring her and making sure that she remains as happy and healthy as possible. Her condition does not seem to be changing, but we cannot confirm a diagnosis until she is big enough for imaging. For now, however, she is very spoiled and loved by her foster family and is currently enjoying the company of Tig and Tuck, who will be going home as soon as their diarrhea resolves.

 

She loves to play with her kitten companions as well as her canine foster sister and has enjoyed some time outside in the garden. If she does have cerebellar hypoplasia (CH), she will be “wobbly” for the rest of her life, but Tabby’s Place has had several CH cats over the years, all of whom have found homes. We remain hopeful that Tempura will live a happy, healthy life, no matter her special needs.

Thank you all for your continued generosity to all kittens. Without your support, we would not have the resources to take in and care for these special little ones, especially special needs kittens like Rosita, Heather, and Tempura.

Your Correspondent,
Jae