Dear Sponsors of Tux,

Summer is blazing by, but Tux continues to take it all in stride, at his own chill pace. I rather wish more of us could embrace Tux’s perspective on life–no hurry, no worry. Nothing a little nap can’t fix.

Tux is a master at finding nap spots. He is most often curled up on a window perch, but he also likes to rest on desk chairs or in Nina’s playpen. It seems that the playpen is a particularly cozy place to nap, and had become a favorite with several of the black and white kitties in the Community Room. Since some of these visitors were leaving a bit of a mess behind, we began zipping it up during the day. All that is about to change since Nina will soon be going to her forever home and the playpen will be no more.

Desk chairs do not disappear, and neither will Tux when he finds a perfect place to nap. Today Ginny’s desk chair is the place to be. Ginny has come and gone, going about her day, but Tux has remained fixed to the spot. Scoots snuggled up on Ginny’s lap while Tux rested behind Ginny. Tux could have cared less, but Scoots pitched a fit when she realized that she was sharing the attention! Tux has no need to worry about such silly things.

Tux has continued to enjoy good health this month. He had his bi-annual cardiac ultrasound which showed no changes or progression to his heart disease. In fact, things looked so good that he won’t have to have his next one for another 9 months from now. That is good news! His blood pressure has remained stable, and he has had no lasting troubles in the litter box department.

Tux has made several Aged to Purrfection visits this month and continues to delight residents with his chill demeanor. Aside from these outings and Nina’s arrival, life in the Community Room has been uneventful except for a few days mid-month. July has been particularly hot and humid in Ringoes this year and AC is essential. When the air conditioning stopped working in the Lobby and Community Room for two days, we had to keep our beloved residents from overheating. Doors were propped open, baby gates were installed, and fans were secured. All this was designed to circulate cool air from other parts of the building. Through all this, Tux didn’t twitch a whisker! From his perspective, this was a welcome treat because he remained uncrated for two nights while Peep was confined to his overnight crate. What had Peep done to deserve such a fate? Well, she tried to “jump the gate” and move into the Lobby–not once, not twice, but three times! The best way to keep everyone cool was to open things up and crate Peep. What fun for Tux!

Why you may ask, is Tux crated overnight in a cage-free sanctuary? Well, that is for health reasons. Since Tux is prone to constipation and has a narrowed pelvic canal, he eats a special prescription diet each night. This is not an exclusive diet, so he can snack on regular kibble each day. His high fiber overnight diet helps to keep things moving smoothly through his system, without a move to Suite A where this same diet is fed exclusively to all the cats. Overnight crating also allows the staff to monitor his output in case adjustments to his diet or medications are required. Tux and all of his Community cat pals love having his crate positioned under the bird watching window!

Your Correspondent,
Lisa