1100 US Highway 202 • Ringoes, NJ 08551 • (908) 237-5300 • www.TabbysPlace.org newsletter no. 7.4 | Fourth Quarter 2009 “Large and in charge” fittingly describes sweet Sylvester . When his own- ers surrendered him, this gentle-as-a-dove diabetic found refuge with a car- ing veterinarian. When circumstances changed at the veterinarian’s office, Sylvester once again found himself in need of a safe haven. We are thrilled to have “Sly” at Tabby’s Place, as the only thing bigger than his body is his loving heart. Equally fond of catnip , human affection and fellow felines, Sylvester is a love, and never throws his weight around. Prior to moving into a “private suite” with best buds Pirate and Midnight , Sylvester was quite anxious about hyperkinetic Hootz …despite the fact that she is one third his size. We know our gentle giant would be the colossal king of the right fam- ily’s hearts. In the meantime, we love every minute of having him with us. New Beginnings: Sylvester by angela townsend, Development Director S ylv e s te r We thought it would be interesting to look at something light- hearted this issue: the breakdown of the coat patterns of the cats we have had at Tabby’s Place. [1] You can see the results in the chart below. I find it interesting to note that, befitting our name, perhaps, the tabby patterns are in the lead with 30% of cats sporting this outfit. This is not surprising, since the tabby pattern is believed to be ancestor of all cat patterns. What’s inside? Cats of Many Colors ....... 2 Letters of the Quarter ...... 2 Chronic Kidney Disease.. 3 Vox Optio Veterinarius .... 3 The Dessert Kids ............ 4 Encore Kitties .................. 4 Big Hearted Business ..... 5 Forever Loved ................. 5 Where Are They Now? .... 6 Happy Endings................ 6 [1] This study covers only the 344 of our cats for which we have complete records on coat pattern. [2] Exotics include purebreds (e.g., Siamese, Birman) as well as exotic mixes (e.g., Siamese-tabby). ® Pep per tortie Max brown tabby C o ry tuxedo An gel i n a silver tabby Pea ch y exotic (Flame-point siamese) 21% solid (70 cats) 20% spotted (68 cats) 9% tuxedo (31 cats) 9% tortie (30 cats) 6% Calico (21 cats) 3% exotic [2] (10 cats) 31% tabby (103 cats) 4% torbie (4 cats) 10% silver tabby (10 cats) 54% brown tabby (56 cats) 32% orange tabby (33 cats) Cats & Coats: A Retrospective by Jonathan rosenberg, Founder & executive Director Celebrating our 6th anniversary!
“Large and in charge” fittingly describes sweet Sylvester. When his own-ers surrendered him, this gentle-as-a-dove diabetic found refuge with a car-ing veterinarian. When circumstances changed at the veterinarian’s office,Sylvester once again found himself in need of a safe haven. We are thrilledto have “Sly” at Tabby’s Place, as the only thing bigger than his body is hisloving heart. Equally fond of catnip, human affection and fellow felines,Sylvester is a love, and never throws his weight around. Prior to moving intoa “private suite” with best buds Pirate and Midnight, Sylvester was quiteanxious about hyperkinetic Hootz…despite the fact that she is one third hissize. We know our gentle giant would be the colossal king of the right fam-ily’s hearts. In the meantime, we love every minute of having him with us.
New Beginnings: Sylvesterby angela townsend, Development Director
Sylvester
We thought it would be interesting to look at something light-hearted this issue: the breakdown of the coat patterns of the catswe have had at Tabby’s Place.[1] You can see the results in thechart below.
I find it interesting to note that, befitting our name, perhaps,the tabby patterns are in the lead with 30% of cats sporting thisoutfit. This is not surprising, since the tabby pattern isbelieved to be ancestor of all cat patterns.
What’s inside?Cats of Many Colors ....... 2
Letters of the Quarter...... 2
Chronic Kidney Disease.. 3
Vox Optio Veterinarius .... 3
The Dessert Kids ............ 4
Encore Kitties.................. 4
Big Hearted Business ..... 5
Forever Loved................. 5
Where Are They Now?.... 6
Happy Endings................ 6[1] This study covers only the 344 of our cats for which we have complete records on coat pattern.[2] Exotics include purebreds (e.g., Siamese, Birman) as well as exotic mixes (e.g., Siamese-tabby).
®
Peppertortie
Maxbrown tabby
Corytuxedo
Angel inasilver tabby
Peachyexotic (Flame-point siamese)
21% solid(70 cats)
20% spotted(68 cats)
9% tuxedo(31 cats)
9% tortie(30 cats)
6% Calico(21 cats)
3% exotic[2]
(10 cats)
31% tabby(103 cats)
4% torbie(4 cats)
10%silver tabby
(10 cats)
54%brown tabby
(56 cats)
32%orangetabby(33 cats)
Cats & Coats: A Retrospectiveby Jonathan rosenberg, Founder & executive Director
From silky-sable Queen to blazing-red Thomas, brown tabby Mittens to col-orpoint Molly, Tabby’s Place cats come injust about every hue. Here are some statson the many colors of cats:
• Colors (tabby, tuxedo, etc.) are descrip-tions, not breeds. So, for instance, Coryand Spike are tuxedo (color) domesticshorthair (breed) cats.
• There are five main categories of catcolors:
○ Tabbies, with striped, swirled or spot-ted coats, are the most common in thewild, and believed to be the markings onthe earliest cats.
○ Solid-colored cats are usually the re-sult of a recessive gene suppressing thetabby pattern. Sometimes this patternisn’t completely suppressed, and youcan see “shadow” tabby markings in,say, a solid black cat. White is the onlycolor that’s always solid with no under-lying tabby. Interestingly, the tabby-sup-pressing gene is not effective in redcats, so marmalade kitties are alwaystabbies.
○ Tricolors flaunt black, white and or-ange as calicos, tortoiseshells (whomay have very, very little white) or tor-
Cats of Many Colorsby angela townsend
I can't tell you how sorry I was to read of Grady's passing this morning. I justhappened to see it on Facebook. I do read your blog just about every day aswell. Losing one of our furry friends is always hard. That is the hardest part ofhaving pets - they don't live as long as we do, so we must spend part of ourlives without their special love. I am always in awe of what … the staff at Tabby's
Place (does). I know that Grady was (as all ofthe other kitties [are]) well cared for and loved.No animal could have asked for more in theirjourney thru their earthly stay. Grady is welland whole again and someday you will seehim again, I still have tears in my eyes fromreading your blog. I remember when Corey… passed on to the Bridge. He was also avery special kitty and the first one we spon-sored at Tabby's. I still cry when Ilook at his pictures. Hugs to … thestaff who (cares) so much for allyour furry friends at Tabby's.
irene, Dover, nJ
Grady, forever cherished and
missed by all who knew him,
whether in person or through
the Tabby's Place blog.
Tabby’s Place Newsletter No. 7.4 Fourth Quarter 2009 Page 2
Dear Tashi,We were so happy to meet you a fewweeks ago. You (are) truly a very specialboy, just the sweetest, most personableand inspiring little guy. We should all havesuch an unlimited ability to deal with life’ssetbacks so fearlessly as you … You arehere for a reason. We read on the websiteit was your birthday, so enjoy your specialday. We will come to visit again soon.
your new friends,eileen & tim, annandale, nJ
bies (with tortoiseshell-over-tabby markings).Over 99.99% of thesebeauties are female.
○ Bicolors display whiteplus another color, andinclude “tuxedos”, “vans” (with color only on thehead and tail) and “harlequins” (mostly white catswith just a few patches of color).
○ Colorpoint or pointed cats have darker coloringon the face, paws and tail. These points come ina range of hues, from pale red (flame) to darkbrown (seal). These are always exotics (or ex-otic/domestic mixes).
• The spread of cats’ color varieties is linked tohuman movement. It’s believed that colorpoint catsand grey cats first arose in Asia, and then spreadinto Russia. Red cats are also believed to havearisen in Asia, then spread east with the Vikings.
• Among feral cats, black-and-white felines aremore common in urban areas, and tabbies morecommon in rural locales.
• It’s unclear whether cats’ colors are related totheir personalities, but a reasonable explanationfor common typecasting (i.e. torties with “catti-tude”) is that we get what we assume; by treatinga cat according to our stereotypes, we encouragejust the sort of behavior we expect from her.
Whatever they’re “wearing,” we’re of the defi-nite opinion that cats of every color deserve ourlove, admiration, and ample oohs and aahs.
Ben is a nine year old orange tabby who came to usa year ago, with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Whilewe’re not sure what causes CKD, as cats age most willdevelop some degree of this disease.
We cannot detect CKD until 2/3 of the kidneys’ func-tions are gone, at which point the kidneys lose someability to retain water. To compensate for this, the catwill drink more and urinate more, but will still feel well. If
kidney disease is detectedat this “early” stage, we cando some things to slow itsprogress. Feeding the cat alow-sodium, low-proteinprescription diet and offer-ing easy access to watercan be beneficial. Monitor-ing the urine is also impor-tant, since the cat is moreprone to urinary tract infec-tions.
Chronic Kidney Diseaseby Dr. laura Collins, veterinarian
Although it takes patience, an indoor-outdoor cat canusually be turned into a content indoor-only pet. The keyis to make the conversion gradually and provide lots ofattention and stimulation. If you and your indoor-outdoorcat are moving to an area that is not appropriate for out-door time, or if you’re adopting a previously indoor-out-door cat, I recommend these steps to ease the transitionto indoor-only life:
1. Confine the cat to one room (with a window) for theinitial introduction. This prevents him from becoming
overwhelmed. The time forconfinement varies fromcat to cat as some will ad-just quicker than others.
2. Provide multiple sur-faces to scratch, andpraise your cat for usingthem.
3. Provide 1-2 litterboxes. If your cat is in-consistent with using thelitter box, add a product
Vox Optio VeterinariusMaking the change to an indoor life
by Denise Jeffries, senior veterinary technician
like Cat Attract to the litter,or try potting soil andmaybe a leaf or two on thetop layer for scent.
4. Provide plenty of inter-active and independenttoys. This helps with exer-cise and stimulation.
5. Keep the window open(with a secure screen inplace) and provide a win-dow seat so your cat cansee and smell the outdoors.
6. Provide cat grass or catnip plants.
7. Outdoor enclosures allow indoor cats to enjoy the out-doors without most of the associated dangers.
8. If your cat is very nervous, try a Feliway plug-in dif-fuser in the room.
9. Have plenty of food and water available, and showeryour cat daily with love and affection.
10. Don’t be alarmed if, six months into the tran-sition, your cat isn’t 100% comfortable with in-door living. As long as you see progress,however small, continue with the pro-gram.
Mittens had a difficult life outdoors before coming toTabby's Place, where he is nowa very content indoor cat.
Tabby’s Place Newsletter No. 7.4 Fourth Quarter 2009 Page 3
When ¾ of the kidneys are destroyed, they lose theability to filter waste products. As toxins build up in theblood stream, the cat begins to lose his appetite, mayvomit, and have diarrhea, weight loss or (rarely)seizures.
Ben’s kidney disease has not yet progressed so faras to make him feel sick. When it does reach this stage,we will help Ben to feel better via fluid therapy, the main-stay of treatment for CKD. Administering fluids will re-verse dehydration and help Ben’s kidneys to filter toxins.In addition, other medications can help treat complica-tions of kidney disease.
Although CKD can be fatal, sometimes it progressesso slowly that it never affects the cat’s quality of life.Some cats with CKD live for years before their blood val-ues begin to be elevated. Ben is lucky: after a year atTabby’s Place, no significant changes have occurred inhis disease. He still eats and drinks well, and has agood quality of life without medical intervention.
Although there is no cure, there are many treatmentsto enable cats with kidney disease to live longer, health-ier lives. Your veterinarian will help you to decide thebest course of treatment for your cat.
Today, Twinkie, Tri-fle, Strudel and Cupcakeare safe, well-fed, healthyand clean. But a few shortmonths ago, the “DessertKids” were among the250,000 annual victims ofa secret, underreporteddisease: animal hoarding.
Cats are the mostcommon victims of
hoarding and are, therefore,most likely to experience the deprivation, fear, hunger,illness and psychological pain of this disease. TheDessert Kids arrived at Tabby’s Place bearing the marksof this suffering, as they were among the most fearful,anxious cats we’d ever met. Their circumstances weretypical of hoarding:
• Their owners possessed too many cats (93, in this case).
• The owners were not cognizant of their inability to pro-vide even a minimal standard of care. Rescue workershad to wear HAZMAT suits to retrieve the animals, dueto the 4 foot level of waste. Poor Strudel bore the evi-dence of this: his beautiful white paws were horriblysoiled.
Although only 1500 cases are reported annually inthe United States, it’s estimated that a vast number ofhoarding cases exist under the radar, and the percent-age of hoarding cases grew by 150% between 2003 and2004. If you think a family member or friend may sufferfrom animal hoarding, The Hoarding of Animals Re-search Consortium offers helpful advice on sensitivelygetting help for the person and animals.
Fortunately, we can teach feline survivors of hoard-ing that humans can be worthy of their trust. Very slowly,led by brave Twinkie andher best friend Trifle, theDessert Kids are overcom-ing their horrifying past.We know that there is along road still ahead inthese sweethearts’ jour-neys of feeling truly se-cure. At Tabby’s Place,they’ll have all the timeand tenderness theyneed.
The Dessert KidsHoarding Survivors
by angela townsend
When one of oursweethearts is adopted,we always hope it’s a for-ever home. However, wemake a promise to eachof our kitties: “once aTabby’s Place cat, al-ways a Tabby’s Placecat.” If an adoptive familyever chooses to give uptheir Tabby’s Place alumfor any reason, the kittycan (and must) come back to the sanctuary. Fortu-nately, only about 10% of our adopted kitties are re-turned, and the majority of these go on to find trueforever homes.
Bellis, the sweet-spirited, eyeless creamsicle kittywho stole your hearts a few newsletters ago, is our lat-est “encore cat.” Adopted in spring 2008, Bellis cameback to Tabby’s Place in August 2009 when her familyreported that she hadn’t been using her litter box. For-tunately, snuggly Bellis has no qualms about her sec-ond round of Lobby life, and has already bonded withTashi. Although Bellis is as happy as the day is long atTabby’s Place, we know her deepest joy will comewhen her forever family finds her. If you think that maybe you, apply to adopt Bellis today.
Encore KittiesThe Belle of the Lobby is Back
by angela townsend
Twinkie, Cupcake and Trifle
huddled together under a
couch in their early, terrif ied
days at Tabby's Place.Sweet Bellis, back at Tabby'sPlace and looking for her
forever home.
Did you know that you cancarry Tashi, Julius or Lillian in yourwallet – and donate to help ourcats with every gallon of gas, veg-gie burger or CD you purchase?With the Tabby’s Place CapitalOne Visa card, you earn $25 forTabby’s Place after your first pur-chase, and 1% of every purchaseyou make is donated to the cats.Plus, your personalized kitty cardincreases awareness of Tabby’sPlace with every swipe. This willbe the one credit card that makesyou smile every time youuse it. Click here or call908-237-5300 ext. 235for more information.
Tabby’s Place Newsletter No. 7.4 Fourth Quarter 2009 Page 4
Charge For Cats
Enchanting Twinkie now loves toplay and accept treats fromhuman friends.
Sinbad was the perfect officemate: quiet, neat,unassuming and friendly. I made him my officematebecause he was so timid and non-confrontational thathe wouldn’t eat when placed in a suite with other cats.He was very happy in my office … even after Peppermoved in (during their firstmeeting, Sinbad walkedup to her and Peppergave him four quick leftjabs to the face).
Sinbad was in kidneyfailure and had heart dis-ease, but both conditionsseemed to be well con-trolled, so I looked for-ward to enjoying hiscompany for a long time.
In mid-June of thisyear, Sinbad had his biannual cardiac ultrasound.Much to our shock, the ultrasound showed that he hadfluid in his chest. We were amazed that we hadn’t no-ticed any change in him, since the fluid was a sign ofheart failure. We removed the fluid to make him morecomfortable and started him on a diuretic. Sinbad wasscheduled for another x-ray on June 18 to see how wellthe medication was working.
Sadly, when I came in the next morning, I found himlying peacefully in my office: he had died during thenight. He will be cremated along with his favorite blan-ket and some cat treats, which he loved dearly.
I will miss his tender ways and sweet chirrups.
Forever Loved: Sinbadby Jonathan rosenberg
This summer, two
kind groups of corporate
employees brought their
big hearts and carloads of
cat accoutrements to Rin-
goes for 100 lucky cats.
First, the Amper CARES
team at Amper, Politziner
& Mattia, LLP, repre-
sented by Eileen and
longtime Tashi sponsor
Lora, sent our cats
everything from Cosmic Catnip to dish soap to every
feline cuisine imaginable. Following Amper CARES’
generous crew, Ilene and Jen of Johnson & Johnson
came bearing a feast for the eyes (and kitty tummies).
The cat food! The kitty litter! The scratching posts! It
was altogether wonder-
ful, and we’re simply
dazzled. Big thanks to
both Amper CARES and
J&J.
If your company
would like to deliver love
to our felines, please con-
tact Angela by e-mail or at
908-237-5300 ext. 235, or
check out our wish list.
Big (Hearted) Businessby angela townsend
China loves it when generous
businesses donate catnip to her
personal stash.
Larry loves all the toys donated
by his friends at J&J andAmper CARES.
Sinbad in his usual greetingpose at Jonathan's door, undoubtedly hoping for treats.
What would your dear onerather find in his holiday stock-ing this year: another pair ofsocks, or the smiling face of acat he’s helping? Please bringlove and smiles to your lovedones and needy cats alike bygiving the Gift of Sponsorshipthis season. When you give agift sponsorship, your friendor relative receives monthlyupdates and photos of herspecial kitty, and you havethe joy of helping to care fora cat in need of a little extra TLC. The only tricky part is choos-ing which Special Needs cat your loved one gets to cherish!Meet Tony, Franny, Yasmine and all of their friends here.
The Gift of Sponsorship
Tony would love to be yourdear one's favorite holiday gift.
The Tabby’s Placecats are ready to kick off2010 in style with theirvery own calendar. Cel-ebrate a year of cute-ness with Max, Tashi,Cali and the whole crewby ordering the 2010Tabby’s Place calendar.The calendar is $20.00plus shipping. To orderyours, contact Angela [email protected] or908-237-5300 ext 235.
Tabby’s Place Newsletter No. 7.4 Fourth Quarter 2009 Page 5
