Happy heart of summer, dear sponsors.

It’s been a wild, wonderful one here at Camp Tabby’s Place. Camp what? Well, with all these baby kittens afoot, all we’re missing is an arts and crafts barn. Happily, our loads of littles are getting adopted almost as quickly as they’re tumbling towards us.

That happy news includes the full bushel of “apple kittens” we met in May. Cameo, Gala, Braeburn and Baldwin (pictured at right) have all, unshockingly, been adopted into adoring homes. Fabulous feral mama Apple, meanwhile, has it made in the (literal) shade at a beautiful barn home. Although she doesn’t love being touched, her caretakers love her exactly as she is, and she’ll have all the nurture, num-nums — and medical care — she needs to thrive, for all of her days. Thank you for making this possible!

But not all is bucolic in this cat-catching business. The power of your generosity was especially — you might say painfully — clear just this week, when we met a semi-feral kitten named Pierce.

That’s not exactly right. Pierce didn’t have a name, at least not one known to mere human beings, until we met him. He was just a happy-go-lucky, free-roaming three-month-old kitten, enjoying his own adventures at a farm.

That’s when he met the business end of some barbed wire. YEEEOWWCH!

Providentially, a huge-hearted man just happened to be working for that farm that day. He noticed the struggling kitten, strapped on his thickest gloves, and went to work gently freeing the little guy from his big boo-boo. In the end, the farm worker had to cut the barbed wire, bringing Pierce (get the name now?) to Tabby’s Place with the nasty material still embedded in his paw.

As you can see, Pierce was petrified on arrival — with multiple good reasons, of course. Our vet team sedated him and freed him of the wire, treating his wounds and providing fluid support and pain medication. As I type this update, Pierce is resting comfortably, and we’re confident he’ll enjoy a full, gleeful recovery.

We’re less certain that Pierce will enjoy our affections. Although he’s less terrified than in his initial moments at Tabby’s Place, he’s still a bit squeamish of our species. (In the words of Junior Veterinary Technician Jess, “He didn’t really appreciate my attempts to hug him.”) At three months of age, Pierce is a few notches past the age of easy socialization. But we’re committed to our courageous little guy, and at Tabby’s Place, he’ll have all the time and tenderness he needs to know how good love can feel.

Dear sponsors, that kind of devotion is only possible because of people like you. Thank you for loving the Pierces and Apples of the world so generously, being there for them in all their agonies and adventures. It’s a great delight to serve the cats with you!