Happy February, Team TNR!

I hope this month’s missive finds you wrapped in love. Valentine’s Day is always fraught with feeling — good, bad, and otherwise — and you deserve all the love in this wild world.

This time last month, we were just getting to know two phenomenal felines recently saved from the wild winds of winter. Agnes and Toulouse had weathered many storms living outdoors, and it was time to spend their happy golden years in the embrace of Tabby’s Place.

But the road to bliss bears its bumps, and our gentle seniors have had a tumultuous month. Fortunately, they’re safely buckled in with our love and tenacity, all thanks to your generosity.

First, Her Royal Awesomeness herself, Agnes: this conquering calico has gained two pounds in her short time with us. (Did I tell ya Tabby’s Place was uniquely gifted in the art of plumping up cats?) That weight will be a blessed buffer as she faces some nagging medical issues. In addition to dreadfully bad teeth, Agnes has had a recurrent bloody nose. Our vet team did a nasal flush and tracheal wash, both of which were (fortunately) uneventful.

But, chest radiographs revealed that Agnes does have a “focal bronchial pattern.” According to people far smarter than me, this can indicate lower airway disease, such as asthma. We’ll be repeating these radiographs to determine how to proceed. In addition, once she’s a bit stronger, Agnes will be spayed and have a full dental. (So far we’ve removed one problematic tooth, but we’d like for her to be a little healthier before anesthetizing her at length.)

For her part, Agnes is as happy as a whole flock of larks. As of this writing, she’s happily settling into our Director of Operations’s office, where she will be doted on lavishly every single day. That’s just the perpetual valentine she deserves, wouldn’t you say?

Speaking of our Director of Operations’s office, that’s where Toulouse is taking her naps these days, too. Agnes’s fellow TNR alumna is quietly finding cozy contentment in this sunny little room, even as we work gently on her medical issues.

Toulouse has been struggling with a bit of diarrhea, as well as an upper respiratory infection. We’re treating both with medication. She’s had a bit of blood coming from one of her eyes, for which we have no explanation, so she will be having a full ocular exam under sedation. If necessary, she’ll also have an opthalmology consult. Meantime, she’s getting a course of antibiotics…and a ceaseless feast of affection, on her own timid terms.

Now, I want you to pause and just consider everything you’ve read, dear sponsors. This is all rather remarkable, if you think about it. Here are two tattered old cats, easy to ignore if you were driving by the farm where they found themselves bereaved. Easy, that is, for someone other than you.

But because you are you, Tabby’s Place can be Tabby’s Place…and we can love the stuffing out of these spectacular girls. Honestly, I think you and I and all of us on this adventure together are the most fortunate people in the world: we’ve been gifted with eyes to see and hearts to feel great love for these extraordinary cats.

The landscape ahead may still be bumpy for our beloved Agnes and Toulouse, but it’s no longer lonely — never again. Love will lead the way in all that we do. And — as you know better than most — we’ll receive even more love than we could possibly give, just by knowing these amazing girls.

And so, a happy, blessed, beautiful belated Valentine’s Day to you, dear sponsors. May you never forget how much you are cherished by at least two species, and may you always know what a mighty force of good you are in this world.

Your correspondent,
Angela