Happy spring, team TNR!
Yes, it’s true. If you’re a stickler for the equinox, spring in the Northern Hemisphere formally begins in a few days. But I believe I have a slam-dunk case that it’s already here:
1) March 1st was meteorological spring. (Yes! Isn’t that great?)
2) You‘re here, and you bring spring.
I’m not being sappy (although that is admittedly my native dialect). I’m being factual. You, dear TNR sponsors, are the power and presence of spring twelve months a year.
Just ask a little man of many names. Some call him Tony. Some call him Mr. Cat. But on winter’s final paragraph, he found himself calling for angels…and you came.
Tony was not a new face at Tabby’s Place. A lifetime ago, in 2020, we had trapped, neutered, and released this boy to a well-cared-for colony. Over the course of many seasons and one small global pandemic, Tony thrived.
Until he didn’t.
When you are a Tabby’s Place cat, it makes no difference if you are a feral outdoors or a lounge lizard in our laps. We are yours, and you are ours. Love is forever, whatever “forever” brings. So when Tony began limping, our team moved faster than a pizza delivery man on a Friday night.
Tony was less than impressed with our amore, but TNR involves a good deal of unrequited love. Thanks to you, Tony will welcome spring with full strength. He’s back in his colony, ready to dream among the daffodils and commune with the moon.
But Tony was not the only tale St. Valentine told St. Patrick as they passed the baton from February to March.
An essential task of responsible TNR is monitoring our colonies for new arrivals. Sure enough, one sandy little face popped up like spring’s first clover.
A good man spotted the toddler and took compassion, herding the kitten into his garage. This made it easy for us to trap the little leprechaun. Even better, the baby immediately recognized us as his pot of gold. Far from being aggressive, tiny tabby Mort began rolling around, purring, and exulting in our affection. Within hours at Tabby’s Place, he was giving forehead kisses.
In addition to looking remarkably like a sand cat, Mort has the ability to look in your eyes and convince you that everything is going to be OK. That’s usually our job, but I’m telling you; this is one sweet sage of a kitten, wise beyond his years.
Perhaps he knows that far stronger than luck was on his side. Little Mort had been meandering the outdoors with a nail bed infection and an upper respiratory infection, both of which could have become life-threatening in time. But you were here, dear sponsors. Once again, you were spring’s sweet song.
Your song spans the ages, and I will close with one last story of your kindness. You will recall dear old Wario, the colony cat who grew too frail to go back outside. For the past several months, this creamsicle curmudgeon has been settling into Tabby’s Place. His shoulders were starting to relax, and his soulful eyes softened when he met our gaze. Day by day, Wario was learning how much he was loved.
Love would change his life one more time.
Karina, our Director of Volunteers, is a living legend at Tabby’s Place for many reasons. One of them is her miraculous ability to get fading cats to eat, grow strong, and thrive longer than anyone might dare to hope.
Another is her selfless willingness to foster our most fragile cats, no matter how much it takes, no matter how many times it breaks her heart.
You guessed it.
Wario is flourishing with Karina and her partner. He’s gaining weight. He’s regaining vigor in the midst of old age.
It’s like watching a resurrection. It’s like watching springtime.
It’s all because of you, beloved sponsors. In all seasons, you are the strength and sweetness of our cats’ lives. Whether they return to their colonies like Tony, go on to get adopted (as Mort surely will), or live out their lives in a foster home like Wario, they are all your cats.
There are no words to thank you enough, so I will simply say: happy, blessed, beautiful spring, to the ultimate springtime people.
Much love, your correspondent,
Angela