Happy October, Team TNR!

I hope the cozy heart of autumn finds you as giddy as a gourd with googly eyes.

Pardon me if I sound a little slaphappy. It’s just that this golden time of year is sweet potato pie for the soul … or, maybe it’s the kittens.

Yeah, it’s definitely the kittens.

You may have heard that “kitten season” is a spring and summer sprint, cooling down with autumn’s chill. Apparently, the cats of New Jersey did not get that memo. But thanks to you, there are new beginnings for newborns in and out of season.

September’s doors had just swung open when we took a call about a colossal creamsicle cat. The weary stray looked like she was carrying a hippopotamus. Autumn would be unforgiving unless love intervened.

And, right on time, there you were.

Colony caregivers scooped up the waddling mama. We promised her she was no burden. With a beautiful new name, Solana, our peaches-and-cream cutie settled into a nest of blankets with one of our most experienced foster families.

Coziness did not come a moment too soon, as Solana gave birth within hours.

Because of you, this gentle mother and her five babies are an October orchestra of purrs. Tiny Whitaker, Trinity, Mel, Langdon, and Samira will never know the fear and hunger their mother once faced outdoors. These hungry, hungry hippos are as plump as pumpkins, and they can’t imagine a world without love.

(That’s also Langdon living large in the top banner, in a photo taken just a couple of weeks after the first. I do not make the “hippopotamus” comparison lightly.)

And now, at last, Solana herself will have the kittenhood she has always deserved.

But in TNR, there is always another apple falling from the tree, and you make sure we are there to catch them. No sooner had Solana settled into safety than we learned of an orchard of orphans in the very same colony. There were two — no, four — no, make that seven. Motherless and ailing, the bewildered babies shivered like bare branches.

Once again, you provided for a life-saving rescue mission. Tenderhearted trappers worked patiently to pluck each fading sunflower from peril. First came eight-week-old Beefsteak and Brandywine, then their timid sisters Giulietta and Granadero.

Our vet tech described the latter as “hissy at first, but good kids,” and who could blame them? Inside Granadero’s satellite dish ears were a flotilla of fleas and mites, and our team treated all the kittens for plentiful parasites. If they had not come to Tabby’s Place when they did … well, there are sentences we do not need to finish.

Meanwhile, the kittens happily polished off every plate of food and treats, quick learners in the languages of love and chicken. Soon, they were joined by older “toddlers” Sandia and Romeo, and the loneliest little lady of all, three-month-old Fresa. Where were her siblings? Where was her mama?

At times like these, we become the answer ourselves.

And you, dear sponsors, are the snuggly siblings and doting parents keeping these little ones warm. What could have been a tragic fall will be the best season of their lives … one that will last their whole lives long.

But, much as we wish every cat could have a sweet start, it is never too late to be loved exactly the way you are.

Dusty lived many autumns under the open sky, enjoying his life in a well-loved colony. But life outdoors can turn a kitten into an old man before his time. The gentle stray endured many accidents and incidents. By the time a hero with a golden heart trapped him, Dusty had acquired years of injuries, likely from severe cat fights and run-ins with cars.

Though he was surely in excruciating pain, our stoic grey “grandpa” made no protest as our staff tended to his wounds. Trusting and kind, he bowed his head as they worked as tenderly as possible. There was a hush in the room as the vet team realized the extent of Dusty’s injuries.

Flooded with heartbreak and love, everyone erupted in promises: you will not be alone and afraid anymore. You will not have to bear your pain in silence. You will heal. You will be happy again. Welcome to your happy retirement. You’ve done your time outside. We love you. We love you. Oh, how we love you!

Oh, what a difference October makes when love is larger than the harvest moon.

Dear sponsors, may you know that you outshine the stars as far as we are concerned. Month after month, you are mercy’s bright face upon the old and young, the hissy and the huggable. Thank you for your steadfast generosity to the cats who need you most.

It is truly the honor of my life to serve them with you.

Have a glorious October, and please enjoy your favorite treat for the cats and me. (I’d recommend Twizzlers. Dusty suggests squeeze-salmon. Either way, treat yourself!)

Love, your correspondent,
Angela