I hope you’re cozier than a kitten in a muff this month.
They’re not literally nestled in muffs, but four little kittens are enjoying cuddly Christmases and huggy Chanukahs thanks to you. I know you won’t be surprised to hear it, but last month’s featured littles — Tribble, Data, Worf and Beverly — have all found adorers of their own. The first three “Star Trek babies” have been adopted, and little Beverly, although still awaiting her forever home, is ensconced in affection here at Tabby’s Place.
They aren’t, however, the only kittens you’ve cherished back to health and happiness this year. Remember little Alyssa, part of our TNR project at the local women’s prison? She’s a proper teenager now, delighting her smitten family with her antics.
Then there’s your buddy Dwayne, our FIV+, funny-faced sweetheart. Despite his half-dozen diseases and other oddities, he was adopted quickly, and he continues to flourish casa forever.
The same is true for super-seniors Cashmere and Sunshine, about to start their eighteenth and nineteenth years on earth, respectively. Thanks to you, those happy golden years will happen in a loving home, not shivering on the burned-out remains of their former abode.
Every day is Christmas-joyful for our “Mother’s Day Miracle” family, too. Gretchen has left behind the life of litter after litter, and now lives in a safe haven with a family who adores her. Each of her kittens — those scrawny smidgens who barely survived Mother’s Day! — has grown into a healthy, happy, sturdy teenage cat.
I could go on, amazing friends. Thanks to you, Eponine, Socks, and Mr. Grey Fluffy Pants are spending this sparkling season with their forever families, while Amos, Wesley, Chachi and Riley thrive in the continued care of Tabby’s Place.
But this year in review wouldn’t be complete without one last story of your life-saving sweetness.
Several months ago, our TNR-related work introduced Tabby’s Place to a terrified, terribly injured black-and-white cat named Trey. In some appalling incident we can’t imagine, Trey had gotten his right front leg badly skinned (“degloved”, to use the hideously technical term). We initially feared he might have to lose that leg…but we’re not given to giving up at Tabby’s Place, so we committed to try everything else first.
“Everything else” ultimately included several nail-biting months of bandage changes, all done on a feral, fractious cat who had never had a single reason to trust our species. Still, Trey’s leg wasn’t healing properly. When we tried to let it “breathe” without the bandage, it only got worse.
But finally, around Thanksgiving, Trey began healing in earnest. As his body recovered, so did his courage…and his willingness to take a chance on characters like you and me. Hisses turned to blinks turned to purrs, which then turned to assertive demands for petting and kisses.
Trey will spend this holiday season lapping up all the love we have to give in the Tabby’s Place lobby. As you can see, he’s still healing — but he’s also not letting his little cast hold him back at all. (He leaped up onto the couch all by himself.) I’d venture that, long before Christmas 2017, Trey will have made his way to a forever home of his own.
All of this is only possible because of you, dear sponsors. Your faithful generosity, month in and month out, enables us to give our all for cats who would otherwise go unseen and unloved.
Happy, blessed, and blissfully beautiful holidays to you. Know that I thank God for you. Looking forward to meeting and loving the cats we’ll save together in 2017!