Hello dear sponsors,

It’s here now, the sweetest season. And, with spring’s warmth is sure to come the annual tsunami of tinies, that onslaught of adorable…those cascades of kittens. Feral mama cats will be birthing their babies soon, and when they do, we’ll be here for them.

In the meantime, there’s never a dull moment in the world of community cats. For a lovely calico named Valentina, a bit more “dullness” would have been appreciated.

Enjoying life in a well-managed cat colony, Valentina was a happy girl. But sometime in early 2018, something went terribly wrong. The colony caretaker saw what appeared to be a mass of tissue hanging from Val’s hind end. We trapped the terrified cat right away…and not a moment too soon.

Valentina had suffered a prolapsed rectum, a painful situation in which her rectal and anal tissue, including the rectal lining, protrude through the anal opening. We’re not sure what caused this in Valentina’s case, but chronic constipation is a likely culprit.

Val was in real trouble. In addition to causing unimaginable pain, a rectal prolapse can quickly become life-threatening due to infection.

When she came to Tabby’s Place, all little Val knew was that she was hurting and terrified. As a true feral cat, she wanted little to do with people in the first place. Scared and suffering, she was even less in the mood for our affections, and she fought us bravely. She would not surrender her courage, no matter what.

And, thanks to you, we would not give up on Valentina. We sent her to a specialist, who surgically put Val’s colon, rectum and anus back in place. We were relieved that our feisty calico had been freed from immediate danger. Still, we held our collective breath. This procedure is sometimes insufficient, and the prolapse…well, relapses. If this should happen, we’d need to plan on more advanced surgery.

Alas, our courageous girl prolapsed again. This broke our hearts on several levels. It’s agony to see a cat in pain, but Val’s ache was all the keener for being doused with fear. Dear sponsors, it’s an understatement when I tell you that Valentina did not want to be handled. She did everything in her power to let us know this, but we’d do everything in ours to heal her.

And so, it was back to the surgeon for a second procedure. This time, all the king’s horses and all the king’s men were able to put Valentina together again. The surgery “stuck,” and Val was on the road to full recovery, return to the great outdoors, and a long, healthy, human-free life.

Well…you know and I know that Val’s life would never be human-free. There would be compassionate caretakers behind the scenes, keeping an eye on this gorgeous girl and making sure she’d always have the food, water, shelter and medical care she’d need to thrive. But, Val doesn’t need to know about the faces behind her feedings. All that’s on her mind now is feeling good and living life to the full.

Dear sponsors, thank you for being among the invisible heroes in Val’s victorious life. Thanks to you, one sassy little calico has overcome the worst, and her best days are yet ahead. Thank you for your mighty love!