Every great quest has its setbacks, and for the 1,000 Cat Mission, that setback arrived in the late spring of 2023. But don’t worry, the summer brought us a very exciting milestone, some beautiful historic scenery, and a whole new generation of fluff!
May 2023: The Great Feline Drought
We have to talk about May. For the very first time since this mission began, a whole month went by with a grand total of… zero cats.
Not a single pet. Not a stray tabby on the street, no friendly neighborhood lurkers, nothing. It was a dark, cat-less time. It served as a stark reminder that this mission requires vigilance, and you can’t just expect the cats to come to you!
June 2023: Bouncing Back at Iford Manor
Thankfully, June broke the curse. A visit to the beautiful Iford Manor Estate brought more than just gorgeous gardens and architecture – it brought two wonderful estate kitties! I was so excited to meet them I forgot to take any photos. Meeting cats who get to patrol a historic manor definitely felt like a very classy way to get the numbers moving again. There was also a sign by the private residence that wanred people there were kittens, but unfortunately I didn’t manage to see any.
July 2023: The Next Generation and A Milestone!
July was a fantastic month because it brought a major development to the cat family tree. Remember Pandy, one of Sparkle’s original kittens from back in September? Well, Pandy had kittens of her own! Getting to meet and pet two of Pandy’s kittens was a heartwarming highlight of the summer.
On top of the grand-kittens, I also got to visit my brother-in-law and his wife, who have several cats, and officially add two of their cats to the tracker. That brought July’s total to 4 cats.
The Tally So Far:
- Previous Total: 46
- May 2023: 0 cats (we don’t talk about May)
- June 2023: 2 cats
- July 2023: 4 cats
- New Total: 52 / 1,000
We did it! We officially crossed the 50-cat milestone! With a solid 5.2% of the mission completed, the momentum is building….