July

Among all the confirmed cuddlers to be found among the tame cats at the sanctuary, there is the odd one that proves determined to be a bit of a challenge to deal with. Like Jerry and Baby, July has an interesting enough personality to have won herself a spot in the “Dr. Jeckyll and Mr (or Ms) Hyde Cats at the RAPS Cat Sanctuary” feature in the RAPS blog.

"July is definitely a cat with a split personality. She was surrendered to RAPS after she bit her owner’s grandchild. Perhaps the tot provoked the attack, but it was the last straw for July’s owner. July likes to sit on laps and pretend to be friendly, but after just a few pats, she begins to hiss and swat. She wears a collar so that visitors can recognize her and give her a wide berth. Volunteers who allow July on their laps know to watch for the twitching tail that signals that she’s had enough attention for now."

photo provided by RAPS

July is one of a few cats at the sanctuary sporting collars, our code for "Beware of Cat." It's not a scientific system by any means (we tried one on Jingles when she was still being particularly swatty, but she objected and took it off, while Baby insisted on a no-collar clause in his contract due to past collar trauma) but it does help to remind people, particularly visitors, that not all the tame cats will welcome affection all of the time.

Perhaps some cats just aren't suitable for beginners. When I lived with my parents, we had a Jeckyll & Hyde cat named Archie who'd suddenly switch from purring and enjoying lap time and softing to scratching and biting when he'd had enough - not bothering with so much as a tail twitch to give the humans a hint.

Compared to that, July may be on the moody side, but at least she'll tell you when she feels a mood coming on.

Updated March 7, 2012: July's health began to fail over the past couple of months. Staff did what they could to help her and keep her comfortable, and she even seemed to rally with some of her former feistiness a couple of times there, but we finally lost her this past weekend. Good-bye to a little girl with a big personality.