September Song

Tugboat (back) snuggling with Colin  (BC)

Many of us will know the phenomenon of a tune that gets stuck in the head – I call it “an earworm”. My earworm that keeps recurring is a Broadway song from about 90 years ago, by Kurt Weill. It’s about how when you’re young, you can let things go, or just wait, but as you grow older, you cling to the precious things.

SaraLee and CB Lincoln get cosy  (LBF)

And it’s stuck in my head right now, because it’s called “September Song” and reminds me of some of our Sanctuary seniors, and just how precious they are to us. When I first came to volunteer here, I wasn’t collecting photos in the way I do now, so I don’t have pictures of all the young versions of these loves, but you will see something of how they have changed with the years, and you can follow some of the back in the NekoBlog entries, using the Search box.

Sara Lee, younger and sleek

Our oldest girl is smoky Sara Lee.  Pictures of a much younger version of her can be found in Claire’s blog of more than ten years ago, and Sara Lee herself came to the Sanctuary as a very young feral mama twenty years ago. 

Sara Lee snoozing  (KN)

She was always anxious to “help” with quality control at feeding time;  now it’s just too hard to make the jump up to the table, and she prefers to spend her days nestled in blankets. But jumping is not an impossibility, when there’s someone she likes at coffee time; she will happily scramble up into a lap, and beg for attention and tidbits. A bit bandy-legged, with fur that no amount of (unwelcome) grooming will smooth out, she is nevertheless the diminutive queen of the back courtyard.

In his young days, Miller was something of a chonk   (MW)

Miller came to us as one of a trio – with his sisters Fiona and Schatze, now both gone.  Initially shy, Miller could often be found perched high up on a cupboard that required some athleticism to reach. These days it’s definitely too much for him, and the place has been ceded to Freya.   

Waiting for tidbits and attention  (KN)

Miller prefers something warmer and within reach – sometimes the papasan chair at the top of the steps, sometimes hidden in the gazebo.  But if he hears his name called, he will appear for treats and for a little snuggly “Miller time” with his special friends.

Sleek and lovely Hope  (MW)

Hope is another girl who’s been with us a long time. Her whole family arrived together: Mom Joanie, Dad Hudson, brothers Domino and GusGus, and our pretty grey girl Hope – all feral and wary, though they calmed down in time and became much loved members of the Sanctuary family.  Hope is the last of them left.  She bases in the Connor House corner of the front courtyard.

Thinner, but still enjoying life  (MW)

Hope is noted as having the softest, plushiest fur – she is a pleasure to have in a lap for petting. As she has aged, lap-sitting has become an increasing pleasure for her too – even when she has to compete with Cher and Roe for lap-space.

CB Lincoln in his healthier days   (MW)

Cinnamon Bun Lincoln – so named for his curly tail – has been with us since he arrived in our care in 2007 with a shattered pelvis, possibly a victim of a car.  15 years later, his appearance hasn't changed much, and he’s still hanging in; however, as we human oldies know, old injuries have a way of coming back at you with age, and he moves more slowly these days. 

Still with stretched-out legs to ease the joints  (BC)

He’s also one of those cats who has become a little senile with age – occasionally we will hear him wailing, and someone will go to reassure him that’s he’s OK and there are friends around.  He may be an old man, but Dusty still loves him and follows him around!

Onyx's eyes haven't changed!  (MW)

Onyx is one of the last of a group of cats who came to us from a hoarding situation. Deeply bonded with Topaz, the two of them claimed the water-heater room off the laundry as their turf. Having lost her sister  last year, Onyx continues to be mostly a loner.  She spends her summer days in the back of Pen 5 and as the weather gets cooler, she will probably return to the laundry-room shelves – she may be old, but she likes to climb.

The Old Lady  (KN)

She’s pretty deaf, and she’s not keen on being touched, but she ranks high with the chickaholics, and no matter where she is, she senses when treats are being handed out, and pushes to the front of the line to eat all she can; she’s a skinny girl, but she has a big appetite for chicken!

The dapper Mr Tugboat when he arrived  (ML)

Tugboat is probably not as old as Onyx, but like humans, some cats appear to age earlier, and some are still fit and healthy into old age. The sleek and handsome boy who came to us in 2010 is now a pretty ragged-looking 19-year-old guy with aching joints who needs medication to be comfortable.

...now, gone is the sleek grooming   (KN)

Like most old cats, he needs warmth, and he can usually be found snuggling on the doublewide couch with Plum or Colin, or right next to the heater in the tea-room – that is, if he isn’t getting his cuddles from one of the staff or volunteers. Tuggy is much loved.

snuggles with Debbie   (DW)

There are many other older cats that we are watching carefully as they age – their fragility tugs at the heart, and we want them to be as comfortable as possible in their autumn days.

Oh, the days dwindle down to a precious few -
September, November...
And these few precious days I'll spend with you,
These precious days I'll spend with you 

- Kurt Weill “September Song”

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Brigid Coult, Moira Langley,

 Karen Nicholson, Debbie Wolanski, Michele Wright, 

Feeeeet!

Freya's feet   (MW)

 If you are reading this blog, you are probably one of the many people who uses social media to indulge in your feline addiction.
We post pictures of our own cats, our friends’ cats, cat-memes, famous cats like Cole & Marmalade or Maru.  If we are lucky enough to be associated with a shelter or a cat sanctuary, our cell-phones are loaded with images. Kittens and seniors, feel-good stories and sad tales of abandonment, all touch our emotions. 
And one of the never-fail images is of FEET.

Bentley paw over nose  (KN)

Paws, to be exact.  Poofy paws, usually, with claws discreetly hidden.  Poofy on the top, and with a variety of patterned toe-beans below.

Claws are useful for Plum to grab a treat  (KN)

Human feet are definitely not so interesting. Nobody wants to look at pictures of cattle or horses’ feet – impressive though they may be. Dogs – well, perhaps some of them.  But cats’ feet almost always get an “Awww” response.

Jasper demonstrates the pile of paws pose  (KN)

Cats are DIGITIGRADE – meaning they walk on their toes. This is why it is so cruel to declaw a cat – you’re taking away the top joint of the toe, and everything is more uncomfortable without it.  Many declawed cats will end up in a shelter or a sanctuary because they hate to use a litter-box – it hurts their feet. And many will lose muscle tone because they don’t like to move around so much, and are unable to give their muscles a real workout without digging their claws into something.

Akiva has no claws - but he still needs to clean between his toes  (KN)

On a hot day, they can often be found with pads exposed – when you have a fur coat, paws may be the only place you can cool off by sweating.

Lindor cooling off, with all paws exposed  (MW)

Cats use their paws for much more than just walking. They climb (sometimes having to return backwards down a tree); they dig (with luck, mostly in the litter-box), they leave scent markings for other cats to decode, they fight other cats (especially Jasper and Gizmo), they swat unwary humans, they wash up with velvet paws, and then extend their toes so they can clean between them.

Mr Binx clean-up time  (KN)

Our Sanctuary cats give us a wonderful collection of feet to admire

Alexandria is one of our very active cats, and her flexible paws are often used for climbing.

Alexandria offers the Vulcan salute  (KN)

Jackie-O is also a climber, possibly made easier by an extra “thumb” on her front paws

Jackie O's paw  (KN)

Extra thumbs help to hang on   (MW)

We have several polydactyl cats at the Sanctuary. Raymond in Val Jones, Christina Aguilera in the Front Courtyard, and NikkiSixxToes in the Single-Wide all have more than their share of toes.

NikkiSixxToes could also be called Bigfoot   (KN)

A glass table-top in Pen 3 is an irresistible tool for getting feet pictures from another angle

The models on top  (LBF)

paws from below  (LBF)

This dark tortie girl was named for her blond toes!

Toes  (EW)

Sometimes we call them “murder mittens” – but often when you see them like this, the cat is usually asking for attention

Kiefer's velvet paws reaching through from the Single-Wide (KN)

Winston says "Reach out and touch me!" (KN)

And of course, there is nothing we like better than to have a purring pile of fur in the lap, and the sensation of being kneaded gently as the paws show how much we are loved!

Roe loves a lap!  (JS)

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill Friesen, Brigid Coult, 

Karen Nicholson, Justin Saint, Erica Warren, Michele Wright

Almost Ready to Go Home

"Dudes Chilling Park" - cat-style  (LBF)
Cornelius, Jenkins, Sherbet

This time last year, we brought in a good clowder of cats from Alberta – some of the rescued felines from a large hoarding situation. As usual, we took moms and kittens, who went first to fosterage and then to the Adoption Centre, and we also took “the teens” – the young cats past the easy socialization point. The latter moved into Pen 3, and were introduced in the blog over three installments. A year later, it’s interesting to see the progress that has been made!

Finneas - now adopted  (KN)

Tabby Finneas had a lot of handling in the process of some medical care, and became very happy to accept petting and attention. In the spring, he was adopted out with his “brother” Shimmer. This established a guideline that the staff have decided to follow – not to allow these cats to go singly, but only to a home where they can be with a cat they already know, or one that is of similar age and personality. This may be difficult to find in a single-cat home, so we are encouraging potential adopters to adopt as a pair.

Holly (KN)

Right now, the Adoption Centre is full of wonderful kittens (and a few adults – we were delighted to hear that Thomas, blogged last November, has gone to his own home). And we have been identifying some of the adoptable Sanctuary cats – we really hope that homes can be found for the FIV+ boys.

But a quick visit to the far end of the Sanctuary offers some potential treasures who could steal your heart if you’re prepared to take two of them.

Lucius  (BC)

Lucius has always been one of the most social of this group – both with the other cats and with humans. With other cats, his size sometimes means that he plays rough, but it’s never nasty, and his friends always come back for more. With humans, he loves attention – both gentle petting and belly-rubs; he will hang around until it’s clear you have to go, and then he follows, hoping you’ll change your mind. In spite of his size, he doesn’t seem to be food-motivated; he’s not one of the “gimme chicken” crowd.

Jenkins  (BC)

Lucius is often found hanging around with his buddy Jenkins. The smaller of the two short-haired tuxedos in the pen, Jenkins is a little shyer with people, but very cat-social. He’s one of the cats who could do with some grooming attention, as his fluffy grey undercoat occasionally bursts through. 

Holly begging a little lap-time  (BC)

Longer-haired tuxedo Holly really needs a home where she can get regular grooming. She is one of those cats with fine hair that mats if not cared for, and we have occasionally had to shave some hair mats out altogether. Holly is very sweet and affectionate when she trusts; she will allow herself to be picked up and cuddled, and she is happy to be a lap-cat.

Cornelius (KN)

Cornelius is known to everyone – I blogged him as “Everybody’s Friend” and he really is – for cats, at least. He’s more wary with humans; he will allow the odd stroke, but he’s not willing to approach unless food is offered. Normally we might say that he’s not ready for adoption, but he’s so cat-social that he might be fine if he were with a buddy and in a really cat-savvy home.

Jason & Cornelius  (BC)

His usual pal is Jason – named because he came to us on Friday the 13th! Jason is a bit easier with humans than Cornelius – painfully so, because he likes to put his paws up on a knee and flex his claws. It’s not meant nastily in any way – he just likes to use us as a scratching post! The two of them can often be found hanging around together.

Mewlius Caesar (KN)

There are several other cats in the pen that might be adoptable – solid tuxedo Baker is part of the crowd, playful Sherbert with his orange eyes, mustachioed Mewlius Caesar – but many of them are still wary, and having other social cats around is probably good for them. Some cats can live with us for years before deciding that yes, they can trust these humans who feed and clean and offer play and petting – and it’s a wonderful feeling when you’re finally trusted like that.

Blog by Brigid Coult

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

Floof on the Move

Mega-floof in Pen 6 (LBF)

In the early summer of 2021 we welcomed an influx of feral cats from Kamloops and it turned out that the majority of them were varying shades of orange, and many were long-haired.  They came to us as feral half-grown adolescents - living wild too long to be easily tamed.

Sharing a chair in pen 8  (BC)

After the mandatory cage-stays they were moved together into Pen 6. This enclosure has been the home for a variety of new groups of cats – a group from the Sunshine Coast in the summer of 2016 -  the ones we called The Candy Cats in the fall of 2017  -  the McLeod cats in the summer of 2019   – and now these Kamloops cats.  The last three groups have all been fearful ferals – only Skittles of the Candy Cats and Aphrodite of the McLeod cats broke out of feral behaviour to enjoy human attention.

Anxiously waiting for dinner  (LBF)

Pen 4 remains a closed pen for ferals, but we like to open up new colony pens as soon as we feel the cats are fairly settled.  Pen 6 has been open for some time, but the Kamloops cats initially remained very determined to stay inside its bounds or within easy reach. Sometimes in the evenings, waiting for dinner, they would move into the courtyard as a group, and then escort the volunteer bearing plates as food was delivered – it felt rather like wading through a shoal of orange fish!

Food is served!  (JS)

Two things have happened recently, and I suspect they’ve both affected the status quo. We’ve had a burst of hot days, and despite adding some shading to the area above the door, Pen 6, which is one of the smaller ones, has felt very hot. Hoses deliver misting around the perimeter, but when your fur is floofy, you don’t necessarily want to get it wet!  And another group of cats coming in – this time a colony from the Kootenays (details to come) – have necessitated turning the shy inhabitants of Pen 8 out. Most of them are fairly happy to relocate around the courtyard – they spend a lot of time there – but the three Candy Cats (Hershey, Butterscotch and Purdy) have relocated themselves back to their old turf in Pen 6, which is now starting to feel very crowded!

Claiming the bench in the garden  (LBF)

So the Kamloops cats have started to explore!  Persimmon has always been the bravest of them, and the most ready to accept human attention, but we’re finding the others in Pen 1 and Pen 5 as well, and recently a collection of them braved the Tea Room to find a cool corner on the stairs. 

Cheeto/Kelvin/Cheddar in the Tea Room (JN)

Black Chaga (black with a lot of rust colour in his fur) is also an adventurer and has been found in all sorts of corners.  Pretty grey Chamomile is now allowing herself to be groomed by Lisa, but others have needed more drastic shave jobs to cut out the mats that develop in floofy fur.

At night on the Pen 6 cat-tree (JS)

They have always enjoyed using the cat-tree at the Pen 6 door; frequently every level has mounds of orange fur taking up the space.  Now they’re expanding their territory to the group of cat-trees outside the tea-room, and there were eight orange cats and Chaga occupying the perches several days ago. Most recently, they’ve gone still higher, to establish themselves on the top of the adjacent food cupboard. 

Floofs on the roof - Cheeto, Cheddar, Persimmon
with grey Chamomile photo-bombing at the back  (JS)

 It’s very satisfying to see them feeling so much more comfortable in their wider surroundings, and more receptive to approaches from staff and volunteers, although they are still wary of contact with humans.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Brigid Coult, Joanne Nicholson, Justin Saint

Bandana Boys & Belles

One of the most frequent questions from weekend visitors is about the adoption of Sanctuary cats.

Little John is one of our biggest cats,
and affectionate when you read his signals correctly!

My usual response is that we have four sorts of cats - 
-  we have a lot of ferals who don’t want anything to do with people
-  we have a number of semi-ferals who came in as ferals, and who have tamed up quite considerably
-  we have owner-surrenders – usually “the poopers, the pee-ers and the biters” – cats with bad bathroom habits, or aggressions problems – or the older cats whose owners may have gone into care, or passed away
- we have the cats with health issues: feline leukemia, feline AIDS, plus all the standard cat-problems like kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, diabetes and other conditions – all of which require vet-care.

Cute Hunter has just come to us from the 
Adoption Centre  (KN)

So, the official line is that the Sanctuary is the home for non-adoptable cats – and if you want to adopt, you need to go to the Adoption Centre.

But it’s not as easy as that. 

Adopting a seemingly tame semi-feral cat may work well – or it may terrify the cat to be taken away from its home and known community. More than once we have had to go and rescue a cat who hides in an inaccessible corner.  That situation is eased when the cat in question first bonds with the adopting human – which is why some of our adoptions are to volunteers who have first got to know the cat in question. Sometimes it’s a visitor who comes every week, and it’s obvious to staff that the cat has come to trust the person.

Sweet Raymond is FIV+ (in the Val Jones pen)
and polydactyl - look at those toe-beans!  (BC)

Cats surrendered for bad bathroom habits sometimes show no sign of it at all with us, and we have to come to the conclusion that something in the original home was stressing them. Given a home without those stresses, it is possible the cat may adjust well.  The same is true for cats labelled as aggressive – a very calm cat-savvy adopter who doesn’t push the cat for handling or cuddling may end up being a place where that cat will cuddle very happily.  We also have a number of cat-aggressive cats who might do well as the only cat in someone’s home, where there is no feline competition.

Older cats often find it hard to find new homes – when younger cats are available for adoptions (and kittens are SO cute!) cats of 14-years plus are often passed over. Of course, end-of-life is closer – but older cats have so much love to give, and they more than deserve to be pampered and spoiled in their golden years!

Mango was initially aggressive with humans and cats,
but now he feels safe, he has become relaxed and affectionate  (KN)

Then, some cats do not do well in the Adoption Centre environment. Cages are smaller, and cage reactivity/aggression can be a real factor. We have several cats in the Sanctuary who have come to us from the Adoption Centre because we can give them some much-needed space either to use up their energy in exploring, running around, and sometimes making friends, or to hide away – it all depends on the cat and their personality.

Of course, nobody wants to take on a cat when you may end up paying vet-bills. Many of us, however, loving our own long-term cats, have learned to do things at home like giving fluids for kidney disease, or administering insulin to diabetics. And with the AIDS cats, they may carry the virus with only minimal effect on their bodies – even leukemia cats can live good and happy lives when their medical needs are understood. The big issue with both these viruses is not passing them to other cats, and that can mean, for instance, having a leukemia-cats-only household.

That’s where the bandanas come into play.  Visitors for this last month of the summer (September 25 is the last day we’re open to the public) are seeing a few of our cats wandering around wearing dashing bandanas. The bandanas are a signal that the cat in question is potentially adoptable. 

Gizmo is FIV+, but a friendly, affectionate boy (KN)

The yellow/orange patterned ones are for outgoing friendly cats that would likely do great in a home but may have some conditions to their adoption. For example, they may need to be adopted in a pair as they are bonded to another cat. Or maybe they have FIV (feline aids).

The red patterned bandanas are for the adoptable cats that have a spicy side where their cattitude likes to shine through in the form of teeth and claws. From time to time they get over stimulated or their boundaries are crossed and they scratch, bite or both to express their emotions. So potential adopters need to be understanding of this behaviour and be willing to respect the cat’s boundaries.

If there is interest, the Sanctuary Manager can be contacted for more information – shena@rapsbc.com

Blog by Brigid Coult, with thanks to Shena Novotny

Photos by Brigid Coult & Karen Nicholson