It’s my deep delight to start this update with the news that little Mimi (pictured below) is thriving. Although we were ultimately unable to get a conclusive diagnosis for her respiratory distress, specialists have concluded that it must have been little more than a raging infection. While this likely would have spelled the end for Mimi if she’d remained outdoors, it was no match for the antibiotics and hugs she’s enjoyed at Tabby’s Place.
Indeed, it seems like just instants ago that our tiny girl was skinny and struggling to breathe, but today Mimi is the belle of the Tabby’s Place lobby. With a newly-plump belly and a bottomless appetite for playtime, she is almost kittenlike in her glee. For us humans, it’s a joy beyond words to see this little angel enjoying her “rebirth” as a happy, healthy, much-loved girl. Although her cerebellar hypoplasia makes her a Special Needs cat, we suspect that Mimi will find a forever home swiftly for her sweet, decidedly un-feral ways.
On the other end of the feral spectrum, however, is…well, let’s call him Little Daddy. It’s not unusual to hear a kitten-spawning tomcat referred to as a “Big Daddy,” but our most recent poppa was decidedly petite. Perhaps his compact size is what helped Little Daddy to elude us as long as he did.
Our TNR team at Tabby’s Place had been tracking Little Daddy for quite some time, to no avail. As part of an especially street-smart colony, Little Daddy had no intention of letting us end his days of fathering kittens.
And speaking of those kittens, we already had two of them.
If there was any doubt that handsome Guillermo and Conrad were Little Daddy’s dudes, it evaporated when we finally captured that feisty father. Just like his sons, Little Daddy sported a mostly-white coat, with distinctive splotches of brown tabby. The family resemblance was extraordinary.
But as handsome as his kids are, we didn’t want Little Daddy to spawn any more homeless litters. After finally trapping and neutering this very feral father, we released Little Daddy at a safe outdoor colony, where he’ll now enjoy vigilant monitoring from humans who love him — on his own terms, of course.
As for his two sons, Little Daddy raised (OK, spawned) them right. Guillermo, the gregarious guy with the space shuttle-shaped nose, was adopted in a flash with little Miso. Pensive Conrad (pictured above), however, takes a bit more after dad. Although he turns into a tumble of purrs once you scoop him into your arms, this petite teenager acts terrified any time a human approaches. We’ve learned we have to force our affections on Conrad — and that, once we do, he’s a bundle of bliss. As of this writing, Conrad is still waiting for his just-patient-enough person, but I’m confident he or she will arrive soon. Like Little Daddy, Conrad can’t dodge love forever.
Dear sponsors, thank you for being such faithfully loving friends to our TNR kitties. By sponsoring our feral sweeties, you are the vanguard of something very new and very right here at Tabby’s Place.
As such, I’ll let you in on a little secret we’re going to be announcing later this week: for Tabby’s Place’s 10th anniversary, we are officially expanding our mission to feral kitties. All the feral kitties. (Well, all the feral kitties in our five surrounding townships, to start.) This will be a major labor of love, but you’ve been in from the start. Watch your email in the next couple of days for more details.
Meantime, know that you are the pioneers of love for the feral cats who need us. Thank you for being your amazing selves!