Front Courtyard Tabbies

Speckle   (MW)

Last November, I introduced shy lynx-point Chai on the blog, and mentioned that she came in to us with other cats from a local trapping operation. All of them went to the Adoption Centre, but were not ready for taming, and were transferred to us at the Sanctuary. Tabby & white Speckle is the most easily identified by her markings, but I’ve struggled to sort out the other two from all our other front-courtyard "plain" tabbies. Some of them have already had their blog moments in the sun; here they are again, with our newcomers.

Freya (BC) & Cricket (KN)

Freya and Cricket are well-known to us all – affectionate and confident girls. Freya, who was initially surrendered for aggression, is likely to be the greeter and leg-rubber at the gate (and occasionally a gate-buster); she likes to sleep on top of the 6’ broom closet.  Cricket endears herself by jumping up to meet the petting hand; we keep a careful eye on her because she occasionally shows a limp, though it never seems to last long. Floofy Autumn with her highlighted ruff usually hangs out on the top level of the climbing frame. Cookie Hill has mostly moved her location from the Hill House to the Yellow Shed, but is anxious for pets when someone comes to visit. In the Connor we have the more torby girls: Carly Simon, Celine Dion and Christina Aguilera and of course, pretty dilute Chirpy

Lorelei & Libby (BC)

Libby was introduced as part of a feral group that came to us from VOKRA. Her brother, grey Solar, has settled well, and particularly loves Carol Porteus, who comes to feed twice a week – he knows she’s always good for particularly tasty offerings. Libby, though, is not comfortable with humans and hovers between the feral Old Rabbit Area and the Hill House. The draw in the Hill House is tubby little torby Lorelei, who Libby loves, but even loving Lorelei is not enough to tempt Libby into human contact. She looks on disapprovingly as other cats accept attention.

Kahlua (LBF) when she first came to us

Libby has the same identifying chest dot as Kahlua, who arrived last April with Chai and Speckle – but Libby’s fur has more of the classic-tabby whorls, whereas Kahlua shows the tabby stripes. Kahlua began in the Old Rabbit Area with the ferals, but has graduated to the Hill House, where she knows she can flirt with visiting humans. 

Kahlua today (KN) - confident and happy

From her beginnings with us as a feral, she has gained immensely in confidence, both on the table or shelves, and at floor level – some cats are ready to be petted in one place but not the other; at waist-height they can be fussed, but on the floor they are daunted by our size unless we get down to their level.  Kahlua just enjoys the attention, wherever it happens. She and Libby look alike, but their behaviour is very different!

Goose (KN)

Another tabby who is easily confused with Kahlua is Goose. She came to us more than a year ago from a local rescue; I believe she was originally from Manitoba. At about 8-10 months old, she was in the teenager space where she was past her best-by date for taming. Cage time was longer than usual, because she was so timid; many hours of Kitty Comforter attention  were spent just sitting and talking with her to accustom her to our presence. And, typically, once released, she still believed we were big scary monsters, and avoided being noticed.  And because she’s a very ordinary little tabby in appearance, it was easy to miss her.

Goose (LBF) in her favourite place

She loves to play, even if she still isn't sure of humans. Laser pointer, ping-pong balls, feather toys.. you name it, she'll probably play with it – in fact, she’ll wake out of a deep sleep to come play. She also LOVES cardboard boxes. She can mostly be found in the Gazebo in the centre of the front courtyard, where she hangs out with the boys – Mozart, Benny, Caleb (she is particularly attached to Caleb!) and enjoys the comfort of the heat lamp.

Dominique (MW)

The last little tabby came to us a little later than her buddies Speckle, Chai and Kahlua, because it turned out that she was pregnant, and she went into fosterage to have her kittens. They tamed and were adopted, but she remained wary, and was brought to join the others. She had originally been named Domino, but since we’ve had two Dominos (one adopted) and currently have another Domino (male) in New Aids, she was renamed as Dominique.  Rather than joining the other ferals, she stayed near Chai in the Connor area, and can often be found near the gate.

Dominique (KN)

Though clearly tabby-marked, her fur is more agouti-patterned, with torbie hints of orange in it. Dominique is very food-motivated, and the offer of treats is a major incentive to hang around certain humans!

Most of us struggle to identify all our black cats correctly. The tabbies, too, tended to get lumped into “the tabbies” group – but there are enough differences in appearance that a little detective work has helped ID them, and allow their personalities to shine through!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Brigid Coult, Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright

Max the Fourth

Max (KN)

Over many years of Sanctuary life, we inevitably get some name duplications. For some years we had Max (I) in the Single-Wide – a grumpy boy who didn’t much like other cats, and destroyed his chances of fosterage by persecuting the resident felines. Max (II) was a shy blond FIV+ cat who lived in the New Aids area, and never had a blog to himself, though he appeared as a guest in a couple of other cats’ blogs. I have a memory of another leggy grey Max (III) with a whisky baritone voice, in the Val Jones area. Slightly out of the line of succession was Mad-Max, who by the time I knew him had mellowed out considerably from the wild kitten he was when he came in.

Max II (MD) - MadMax (KN)

Our fifth Max (but fourth in line) came to RAPS as a stray some years ago, and was adopted out.  Sadly, his owner subsequently had to go into care, and Max was returned to us.  This time, adopting him out was not so easy – poor Max has various physical problems including arthritis, osteoporosis and kidney difficulties that require careful oversight and medication when needed.  Max seems to be a grumpy old man, but in fact he’s only about nine years old, and I’m sure it’s his pain that makes him come over that way. 

Max - (KN)

Most of the grumpiness is actually with other cats. In the normal way, Max keeps himself to himself,  finding a comfy bed for himself either in the Laundry Room or the Tea Room. There are plenty of places where he can access a space without having to jump; ramps and steps are available in various areas so that less mobile cats like Max and Tugboat can get themselves to a favoured corner.  

stairs help to access his chair - (KN)

Neither cat is capable of jumping on a lap, but both have real talent in asking to be lifted so they can have a snuggle. If he’s not in much pain, Max likes certain people a lot; this evening he followed me all over the back pens as I did the evening scooping, and asked for petting before leaving each hut. Sadly for him, he wasn’t the only one following me around, and did a fair bit of swatting other cats that were getting a little too close to his don’t-touch-me zone.

Enjoying the sunshine - (KN)

When the weather is fine, Max can be found outside soaking in the sunshine;  he will bask in the warmth, which probably feels very good to his aching bones, and wait until the humans have a break and he can find a lap to enjoy a bit of fussing. Like the rest of us, Max has had enough of winter, and can’t wait for days in the sun. 

Blog by Brigid Coult 

Photos by Melanie Draper (Max II) & Karen Nicholson (the rest!)

Much Love for the Cats

Ginger & Chamomile

February blogging often offers a struggle between featuring either our Cat-Lovers for Valentine’s Day or our furry Cat-Families. This year not only are the two days well separated (especially when allowing for an early Valentine’s blog), but there are SO many Valentine's pictures to share with you all!

Cadbury

For the last month, Lisa Brill-Friesen has been bringing photo-props in with her to help stage a heart-felt tribute to her beloved Sanctuary kitties.  

Chamomile & Ginger

Lisa and Ken discovered RAPS in early 2019, and visited us regularly. If something can be made, fixed or constructed, Ken will do it; an early gift from the two of them was refurbishing up the back cabins with mended roofs and fresh paint. 

Newly painted pen 2 - (M.Wright)

Now they’re both on staff.  Lisa loves to garden, and has done much for the back courtyard.  But her particular love is working with the shyest cats, and she will spend hours willing them into accepting petting and tidbits.

SO much love for Holland...

Like other staff and volunteers she has dealt with the joy of bonding with a new furry friend, and the heartbreak of losing them – shy Napoleon, from the Merritt cats; well-named Princess Diva; sweet HIV cat Holland – all were particularly dear to her. But they remain heart-cats, and somehow her heart finds space to love another one – or two, or more...

Billy

She has made a particular project of the cats from Kamloops who have been our Pen 6 furries. All that orange fluff makes them look the same to many of us, but she knows their names and personalities, and though they remain resolutely untamed, the way they are accepting of the presence of humans owes much to her work.

"I will never let go, Jack!"

Thankfully, they’re not ALL orange and floofy – there are at least a few of them that are easier to tell apart! And though they may not cooperate in the intended poses, she is quick to grab the opportunity when they want to re-enact the scene from "Titanic"

Billy & Chamomile

Lisa’s love for shabby-chic decor is another passion, and she refurbishes and stages her “finds” with great enthusiasm.  Her own two cats are among her best “meowdels”, but there is no lack of feline talent to take the stage at the Sanctuary.

Baby

Cassidy

It’s easy to see which ones are the cats who are reacting with treats in mind, and which are the ones that just love being centre-stage!

Cornelius is a consummate ham!

Nor did she confine her photographic efforts to the back courtyard cats – she visited around in both Single- and Double-Wide to catch the romantic view of some of our friends there.

Bossanova

Oscar

Hearts and flowers from the cats to all of you that love them. And hearts and flowers to Lisa for all the love she shares around the Sanctuary.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen

Finneas

Finneas  (BC)

There are so many great personalities among the cats who came to us from Alberta and started in Pen 3.  Originally, they were penned while we assessed if these were to be potential adoptables and would need work from the Kitty Comforters.  It rapidly became obvious that these guys, for the most part, were not lacking in confidence, and repeated jail-breaks led to the permanent opening of Pen 3.

Early days in Pen 3   (KN)

Finneas began with this colony, but while they were still closed down, he managed to injure his foot, which abscessed, and necessitated bringing him in for treatment.  The poor boy was not a happy camper – not so much about the injury, but he hated being caged, and cried all the time. This in turn meant that both staff and volunteers spent more time sitting with him, and he became more and more comfortable with human contact.  Now he divides his time between visiting in the DoubleWide and being out in the back gardens with his buddies.

In the courtyard, initially staying at a distance   (KN)

In the DoubleWide, he takes over an empty cage or a cat-tree, catches someone’s attention and flirts like crazy – purring, rubbing, rolling over – giving all the signs of a cat who really needs human contact.  Out in the garden he is warier – hovering at arm’s length, doing the just-out-of-reach thing that cats are so good at. He will sniff at fingers, but takes a while to decide if he will allow any touch at all.  Half an hour later you’ll see him back in the building, and it’s all “Pet me! Touch me!”  Every time I see him he is more confident about contact, and I'm sure that indoor behaviour will soon influence the outdoor interactions. 

Finneas with his pal Sherbet   (KN)

He still visits with his Pen 3 buddies, but he’s no longer a permanent part of the clowder. Many of them tend to operate together – where you see Cornelius, you will also see Jason and Shimmer and Lucius.  Some of them, like Scarlett, prefer to remain mostly in Pen 3, on safe territory; others, like Reinhardt, are solo wanderers. Finneas interacts with the others, but then returns to the DoubleWide, which seems to have become his own safe place.  Because the group came in together, we're not sure who's related to who, but I suspect that he's a brother of tubby Lucius; there's something about the matching tabby faces, and they both have quite thick tails.

Come pet me NOW!   (BC)

When the Adoption Centre has found homes for all of the many kittens it has been housing, it will likely be some of these Pen 3 cats that will be transferred for potential adoption.  Finneas would probably not have been on the original list, but he’s definitely a candidate now – as long as you find him in the right situation, he’s ready for any amount of love and attention.  Someone is going to be lucky to have a new companion!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult & Karen Nicholson