Happy July, community cat cherishers.

I hope this month’s missive finds you delighting in sunshine, ice cream, and the special bliss of summertime peace. The world looks astonishingly different from this time last year, doesn’t it?

At least, it looks different to our eyes…but in the eyes of a feral cat, life is business as usual.

As usual, come summer, it’s a free-roaming cat’s “business” to get…well, busy, birthing the next generation. And so, once again we find ourselves up to our earlobes in the adorableness and heartbreak that is Kitten Season.

Where we last left off, Tabby’s Place had rescued a bundle of sweet smidgens from one of our managed cat colonies. Although we’d diligently spayed/neutered the adult residents of this colony over time, new “friends” showed up (as is common; strays are drawn to food sources, and to friendly feline neighbors). In June, we scooped up a scrumptious little litter: Breyer, Edy, Talenti, Blue Bell, and Haagen Dazs.

Happily, these squirmy little sundaes all thrived. We rejoiced, knowing how devastatingly fragile kittens can be. Especially when they’re born outdoors, and all the more when they arrive without their mamas, little ones are vulnerable to an armada of perils, from parasites to infections. The Tabby’s Place vet team is world-class in their skill and dedication, but even the best medicine available cannot save every kitten.

We “should” know this by now, but our hearts forget, and so they are broken every summer by the wee ones whose stories end too soon. (I wrote about this at length for our blog recently.)

And so it happened that heartache followed happiness again this summer. As the heat rose, so did the fever pitch of our TNR work, and we captured multiple mama cats and kittens.

These brave little families were in a world of trouble, living proof that TNR is life-saving, utterly necessary work. One timid mama, who we named Prisma, weighed in at only four pounds, scarcely more than a kitten herself. Prisma gave birth to three kittens while in our TNR trap, and two more after arriving at Tabby’s Place. She did her heroic best to nurse her underweight babies, but her own frailty meant she just didn’t have the milk to properly nourish them.

We then attempted to place Prisma’s infants with another nursing mama cat in our care, but it just didn’t work out. (Usually new mamas will gladly accept “bonus” babies, but not always.) The tiniest kitten, a precious tortoiseshell we named Namaari, passed away despite our best efforts. Namaari’s little siblings (Tong, Sisu, Virana, and Boun) entered the tender foster care of skilled Tabby’s Place staff members. As always, it is an honor — actually, that’s a vast understatement — to work with such devoted, selfless heroes. They leave me speechless!

If love could have saved them, every one of these cherished kittens would be flourishing today. But, I am deeply saddened to have to report that Tong, Sisu, and Virana all also passed away, despite the very best of care. Boun thrives on today.

Meanwhile, another little litter was born in the woods near our colony. Their mother never returned, leaving the nest of little niblets utterly vulnerable. Fortunately, our TNR team was there to scoop them up, but not in time to save all four. Two beautiful little black-and-silver boys, Victor and Chase, passed away, but their siblings (Gloria and Elaine) are doing well in another staff member’s tender care.

It was all quite overwhelming, even to our seasoned staff. (One’s heart never, ever, ever gets used to these goodbyes.) But it wasn’t over.

A tiny, trembling adult female showed up in our colony, weighing just three pounds and clearly having recently given birth. We’re almost certain she’s Mom to the ice cream babies, and we’ve named her Alina. Barely beyond babyhood herself, she’s finally getting the overdue kittenhood she deserves, as we dote on her with food, tender care, and all the patience she’ll need to thrive again. Alina is so anxious around humans, she will almost certainly return to her colony once she’s healthy and spayed. But in the meantime, we hope we can at least convince her that she is truly loved.

I suppose that’s our ultimate goal with every cat and kitten in our care, isn’t it? Although we’re painfully unable to control every outcome, we can guarantee each mama, papa, and baby that they will be loved without measure. Even as my eyes fill with tears every time I think of the tender tinies we’ve lost, I take comfort knowing that they left this world knowing they were treasured.

And let’s not lose sight of the very real triumphs: all of our selfless, courageous mama cats will thrive again (never to have another litter!), and galumphing hordes of healthy kittens will get to enjoy long, happy lives of love in adoptive homes.

Dear sponsors, all of this is only possible because of you.

I thank you from the depths of my heart as we face the bitter and the sweet of kitten season together. Your generosity is saving and changing lives, wrapping weary wanderers in belovedness every day. Thank you for being here with us, and for being the kind of friend our cats and kittens can always count on.

Onward together in love.

Your grateful correspondent,
Angela