I hope this update finds you feeling warm and well-loved. That’s the sensation you’ve given several very fortunate felines this month.
Your whiskered beneficiaries span the gamut in terms of age. At the upper extreme is a dear old girl by the name of Penny. No sooner had we trapped this weary old soul, than we realized she’d come to us just in time. At just four pounds, Penny was little more than a skeleton. Terribly matted, with paper-thin skin, Penny was in desperate need of tenderness. There was no way to know her exact age, but our vet half-jokingly remarked that Penny was “at least one hundred.” This was a cat who had braved many hard years, and now it was time to come in from the cold for good.
We treated timid Penny’s most urgent medical issues, making her comfortable and filling her belly with good food. We would have gladly kept Penny at Tabby’s Place and cherished her for the rest of her life — but an even better outcome awaited. One of the kindhearted people who had been feeding Penny offered to take her in.
And so it was that the weary old wanderer found comfort, tasty chow, and a bottomless well of love at the end of her days. Just a few weeks after settling into her home, Penny peacefully passed away. Although we’d scarcely known her, we wept for our brave old girl, equal parts sorry for her passing and grateful for the way she ended her life in love.
You made that possible for her, and I can’t thank you enough.
Life has a way of bursting through our tears, though, and life goes on in the TNR world of Tabby’s Place. Right around the time of Penny’s passing, we were called on to take in an orphan kitten. Tiny, poofy black Tribble was three weeks old…and all alone. With no mother or siblings in sight, Tribble’s days — if not hours — were numbered. Happily, though, the little waif found his way to Tabby’s Place through a Good Samaritan.
But Tribble’s tale wasn’t quite so tidy. Just this past weekend, a Good Samaritan in the same neighborhood found three six-week-old kittens. It didn’t take long to determine that they are almost definitely Tribble’s siblings: same block; same age; same poofy hair and pudgy-fat-perfect faces. Feast your eyes on tiny Data and Worf!
All four wee ones are doing wonderfully well…and there’s good news for their parents, too. The kittens’ rescuers have joined forces and compared notes, and it turns out one of them has been feeding two adult cats: a male and a female. We are fairly confident we’ve found Tribble and company’s Mom and Dad…and we’re about to trap, spay/neuter and treat them for whatever may ail them. Team Tribble will be the last litter this couple creates.
Dear Team TNR, thank you for being on the side of Tribble, and Penny, and every cat we save together. Most of all, thank you for being on the side of mercy and compassion. It is an honor to nurture the young and old with you.