Happy November, community cat champs.

I hope this pensive part of the year finds you warm and blessed. I’ve always found November to put me in a strange betwixt-and-between kind of place, dangling between seasons and emotions as sweet summer slowly yields to the cozy charms of winter.

One of our first-ever TNR alumna has also found herself betwixt and between this month. You may remember the great Maebelle, the lavishly long-haired mama cat who helped to launch Tabby’s Place’s TNR work way back in 2012.

Maebelle was a magnificent mama, trapped at an abandoned property where neighbors threatened to “take care of” the cat “problem” in nefarious ways. We couldn’t look away, so we scooped up Maebelle and her brood. The kittens grew up strong, healthy and adored, and were all adopted. But despite our gentlest efforts, Maebelle would have none of this indoor-life, human-love stuff.

And so, we found a phenomenal barn home for Maebelle. Safe, gorgeous, and ensconced in the love of a compassionate couple, the barn setting was everything Mae dreamed of. She would live the life she craved, with the safety (and steady stream of food) she needed, all under the umbrella of Tabby’s Place’s continued concern.

That concern would soon be called upon.

After a couple of years, Mae’s adopters decided to move part-time to Georgia. Outdoor cats do not travel well, so what to do with Mae when her snowbird family fled south for winter? Enter Tabby’s Place. I can never fully express all my gratitude to the small army of volunteers who trekked out to Mae’s barn each day to feed her (with her adopters’ blessing, of course), all winter long. During one historic 29″ snowstorm, Mae’s feeding crew was trapped in a snow bank for hours.

No matter. Once a Tabby’s Place cat, always a Tabby’s Place cat…and we were on Mae’s side for the long haul. It was a happy, if unconventional, partnership between adopters, volunteers, staff, one phenomenal feline…and you, the generous friends who helped to make it all possible. And here I must pause to bubble over with gratitude to you, for both your generosity and your generosity of spirit in seeing the value of a single cat’s life. Mae owes more than words can say to you!

But, her story doesn’t end there. Eventually, Georgia called Maebelle’s adopters full-time, and they had to sell their New Jersey home, barn and all. The new owners were not willing to let Mae stay. And so, we once again scooped up our glamorous girl, whisking her back to Tabby’s Place five years after she first arrived.

I confess, some part of all of us hoped that Mae had softened to human love — and maybe, just maybe, human love indoors — in all this time. After all, she’d rubbed the legs of her feeding friends with gusto and glee, even letting them scratch her furry head. Perhaps she’d be willing to settle into life inside this time?

Perhaps not.

As of this writing, Mae is grouchily tolerating her temporary return visit to Tabby’s Place. Unlike Outdoor Maebelle, Indoor Maebelle wants nothing to do with human touch of any kind. This is classic feral-cat behavior, and we know that Mae will be happiest, and thrive best, in a new outdoor home.

And so we seek that home, knowing it will arrive when the time is right. In the meantime, we’re here for Maebelle…which is only possible because you’re here for Maebelle.

As you enjoy your Thanksgiving meal this year, know that you’ve made so many meals, and so much mirth, possible for so many cats. Each one is as precious and irreplaceable as Maebelle…and each one is blessed to have you in her life. Thank you so much!