Happy summer, Team Tux!

Angela here, Tabby’s Place’s Development Director. I’m honored to be pinch-hitting for your faithful correspondent Lisa this month.

It’s an open secret that I’m hopelessly smitten with Tux. But then, I’m in lovely company with you and the Community Room cats.

In his venerable old age, Tux enjoys a certain stardom here at Tabby’s Place. Tender souls like Shelley gravitate towards our elder statescat, and the summer sun is only a secondary draw to the window perch.

The reasons are as radiant as they are numberless. Tux is the high school senior who tells all the freshmen their sneakers are rad. Tux is the nougat-hearted nurturer who wants old friends and new arrivals to taste life’s sweetness. Tux is a pillow for the weary and a hype man for the bashful.

Tux is the truest kind of friend.

But it’s not just cats who shine in Tux’s light. I can’t tell you how often I witness a new volunteer, visitor, or even a construction worker (of whom we have hosted many throughout the building of Quinn’s Corner), who lands in Tux’s loving laser beam. Our boy has radar for the lost and lonely, and he uses his full Tuxtacular powers to gently say, “Welcome to Tabby’s Place! Love reigns. You belong. Care to share Second Breakfast? If you stick around long enough, we’ll get Preview Lunch. I like you. I like you a lot.”

Tux has been an earnest icon of empathy here for seven years now. That’s right: the boy you love burst onto the scene in 2016. Just think how much the world has changed in those seven short years!

But thanks to you, Tux remains unruffled by change. As far as he’s concerned, he’s the well-dressed moon who pulls the tides of love at Tabby’s Place. Day by day, he’s snuggled by the smitten. Week by week, his life is lush.

Without exception, every staff member and volunteer has a hopeless crush. It’s just the power of Tux.

I’m grateful to share that Tux remains in powerful good health for his age, defying the years and frolicking at the speed of life. Our vet team monitors him closely, conducting regular echocardiograms to ensure we’re doing everything appropriate for Tux’s heart disease. Last month’s ECG revealed what’s known as an occasional supraventricular premature beat. This irregular pattern has not recurred, and Tux’s blood pressure is normal, so there’s nothing to do about it at this point, but we will keep a close eye on our boy.

Meantime, Tux keeps a close eye on his beloved Ginny, graciously sharing his best friend with Cleopatra, Gulliver, and the whole crew. (Cats are subject to smittenness, too, and there seems to be a collective case of Ginnymania among the Community Room crew!) And just when we think he’s settling into the rocking chair for good, he goes full goofball and unleashes the kitten comedy, as you can see here.

Dear sponsors, most super-senior cats can hardly dream of such sweetness. But because of your tireless generosity, Tux’s life is a golden song. No wonder his heart is a sanctuary for all he meets.

Thank you for loving Tux so generously. It’s my deep delight to serve him with you!

Love, your guest correspondent,
Angela