Happy Thanksgiving, dear sponsors!

What’s that? Am I a smidge early? They haven’t even inflated the Snoopy float. All the turkeys and Tofurkeys are frozen. Cranberry sauces still sit in their silver cylinders like corn-syrupy soldiers.

To which I say: happy Thanksgiving anyway!

When you’re at Tabby’s Place, you’re living a kind of Groundhog Day, except nine months later and glistening in gravy. Every day is Thanksgiving at the sanctuary for cats who “shouldn’t” have survived. Their lives are lights against the darkness.

And your love has us leaping like high school marching bands, minus the rhythm.

In November, as the temperatures tumble, we have more reason than ever to rejoice in you. That goes double for our free-roaming friends.

The life of an un-cared-for feral cat is wintry all year. Add the gales of November, and things become perilous indeed. But here you are, caring, charging through the cold with your warm, tenacious, generous hearts.

Your hearts have landed squarely in our colonies this month, delivering meals and mercies to friends who favor the outdoors. Since most of these monthly updates feature cats who have come inside, this month I thought you’d enjoy getting a glimpse of the colonels of our colonies, cats who give thanks for earth and sky.

Tabby’s Place volunteer L., who is one of the most selfless and loving human beings on the face of the earth, was kind enough to share a bit about her TNR work for Tabby’s Place (as well as this month’s amazing photos):

“Our TNR effort includes strip malls, gas stations, supermarkets, commercial office parks, schools, parking lots, wooded areas, hotels, and abandoned properties.

Trappers film with a wildlife camera to assess how many cats need TNR at new colony, or if a feral is suspected to be ill. Tabby’s Place supplies microchips, flea/tick/de-wormer, and medication as needed.

When a colony cat is old or sick, the caretaker will often take them in to live in their home (or to the safe haven of Tabby’s Place) when they can’t live outside anymore. Most ferals will become ‘feeder friendly’ over the years.

It’s a team effort trapping and managing colonies, as we provide shelter, maintain feeding rotations, and monitor the cats’ wellness. I have a master schedule I create monthly and text out to our team. It takes a village!”

And you, dear sponsors, are at the beautiful heart of our cats’ village.

Your donations support not only the urgent medical needs of sick and injured feral cats, but also the “daily bread” of our colonies. The majority of cats in Tabby’s Place’s TNR program will only set foot under our roof once, when they are neutered, ear-tipped, and vaccinated.

But you’re with them every day in their safe shelters, delivering delicacies, filling water bowls (which we keep heated once the temperature tumbles), and maintaining cozy cat houses. As our caregivers make their rounds, think of yourself right there with them, on the front lines of friendship.

These dear friends weave figure-eights and infinity signs between ankles, strong and healthy in their outdoor havens. Should one of them develop sniffles or worse, colony caregivers trap them and ferry them back to Tabby’s Place for treatment. But, among the hundreds of ferals in our family, such incidents are rare. As you can see in these photos, most of “Tabby’s Place outside the walls” is plump, hale, and happy as the day is long.

And you, dear ones, have been with them all for the long haul. You have the eyes to see these darling cats as true friends, even if they will never curl up on a couch. They are precious to you, which is why they have the chance to prevail.

You are the reason every day is Thanksgiving at Tabby’s Place. You will be close to my heart on the fourth Thursday of November. But then, you always are.

May you and your families have a blessed and beautiful Thanksgiving. This world needs more people like you.

Much love, your correspondent,
Angela