RAPS is short for Regional Animal Protection Society, a registered charity and operator of a sanctuary which houses and cares for nearly 500 homeless or abandoned cats in Richmond, BC, Canada. The Neko Files is a celebration of the sanctuary and all those who live and work there.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Aurora

In my last post, I wrote about a few reasons why RAPS staff may find it best to keep certain cats in cages for a time. On rare occasions, though, there is no reason that a cage dwelling cat should be there... no reason, that is, except out of respect for the wishes of the cat.


Leslie sent me this story about a pretty former feral named Aurora:

"Did you know that we have a cat who has remained in her cage in the Connor House for several years?  Believe it or not, Aurora will not come out into the big, bad world outside of her little home.  She came to us feral, and now is tame but shy. I used to lift her out occasionally and set her on the floor, but she'd immediately return to the safety of her cage. She doesn't seem to mind when other cats join her in there, but Aurora has made up her mind.  She's not coming out, no way, no how."


The Connor House is the name of one of the buildings housing cats at the sanctuary. The front door is open to give cats access to the large open area of the front yard in the warmer seasons and there are cat doors to allow movement between indoors and outdoors during the cooler months.

Aurora's cage door is wide open; she can climb down any time she feels like it. She does not feel like it. Despite being friendly and calm when I visited her for a soft and a few photos, she clearly hadn't the slightest intention of venturing forth.

photo provided by RAPS

According to Leslie, "Aurora is actually the 2nd cat at the sanctuary who didn't want to leave her cage.  Many years ago, we had a cat with leukemia who didn't leave her cage for almost 5 years."


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  1. LeslieMay 8, 2010 at 3:50 PM

    April 2010 - There has been an astonishing development in the situation with Aurora. One night, after refusing to leave her cage for several years, Aurora moved to the cage next door that had just been vacated. I think she was compelled to move because of an intimidating little black cat named Meeka. Meeka likes to smack other cats and had taken a liking to Aurora's open cage. So, Aurora decided to get the heck out of there. Over the next several days, Aurora relocated a number of times--to the top of a nearby shelving unit and then back to her original cage. One of our visitors became concerned when he discovered her missing from her cage, and sent me an email. I was able to reassure him that she hadn't gone far.

    Maybe a little pressure from a feisty little cat is a good thing.

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