Dear Constant Reader,
You almost didn’t get a tip today. Early this morning, my neighbors found one of the feral cats we feed. We don’t know how he died; I just hope it was quick. I had only ever seen him on our backyard camera, eating at our shelter, and only late at night. He was black with scars and matted fur. We called him Scruffy. He had clearly had a hard life. Because he was only around erratically, it was hard to plan to trap him so he could either get TNRed or adopted. I wasn’t as attached to him as to Tux or Tom or Lord Julius*, since unlike them, he didn’t hang out in our yard and let us get to know him. But the loss still hurts. I wish we could have done more for him.
Your tip is:
Get to know your neighbors.
Community is important. It’s good to have someone nearby that you can turn to. Maybe you need someone to water your plants, and they need someone to hold onto a delivery until they get home. Maybe you all organize a block party. And maybe you care about stray cats and cry together. It’s better not to be alone.
*Julius, now known as Tim, decided he wanted to be an indoor cat and lives in splendor with two other rescue cats in a highrise in downtown Boston with his very patient humans. He sends us occasional video updates.
Oh, The Glamourous Life! 
😢