Dear Friends of Tux,

In this season of Thanksgiving, I would like to begin by expressing my thanks for your steadfast kindness to Tux. I am grateful everyday for the privilege of serving the cats with you. It is a never ending adventure that brings great joy to so many.

This last month has been a challenge for our dear Tux, as he has been separated from the people and places he loves most of all. Let me explain…

For the first time in fourteen years, Tabby’s Place is weathering a ringworm outbreak. Ringworm is a fungal infection (not a worm at all) similar to athlete’s foot. It is a zoonotic disease, which means that it can spread between animals and humans. While a ringworm infection is not life-threatening, it is highly contagious and very annoying. Those felines (or humans) with skin conditions or suppressed immune systems are particularly vulnerable.

While human infections can be treated with oral and topical medications, topical medications cannot be used on a cat that bathes itself. Therefore, treating a feline ringworm infection involves isolation of the cat, careful handling, an oral medication, and regular baths in a non-toxic but foul-smelling dip of lime sulfur.

Since Tux has been on a low dose of steroids for many years, his immune system is compromised. Unfortunately, right around the time you received your last update on Tux, our staff discovered a small area of skin irritation (a lesion) on Tux’s ear and he was moved into our Ringworm Quarantine room.

While Tux has been cooperative for his twice-a-week “baths,” he has been most unhappy about being stuck in a cage away from the humans and fluffy beds that he loves. If you or anyone you know had to “quarantine” during the COVID-19 pandemic, then you might have a feeling for what Tux is experiencing. He only gets to visit with the humans that are assigned to clean and medicate the ringworm room and all handling is done with humans wearing full protective gear.

I no longer do regular cleaning shifts in these areas, so my visits with Tux have been greatly reduced. When I have been able to visit (at the end of my workday during evening rounds), I have tried to give him as many reassuring pets and snuggles that I could while gowned and gloved as if about to perform surgery. All the staff that works in the holding areas have continued to give him love and several report that he has decided that Goldfish crackers make a tasty snack.

By the time you are reading this, Tux will be a few days away from rejoining his friends in the Community Room. I can’t wait to snuggle up in his warmth and wallow in his loud purr. I miss Tux and I know he misses all of his human champions.

So this Thanksgiving season, I hope you are able to safely gather with friends and family once again, just like Tux. Tux is so thankful for you and the support you provide that keeps him healthy and safe even when that necessary support isn’t altogether fun.

Your Correspondent,
Lisa