Muffin

Muffin (BC)

Muffin arrived with us through the Adoption Centre – she had been surrendered for aggression, and a short stay was enough to show that the description was warranted! The Adoption Centre, nice though it is, was not her preferred home.

Muffin caged  (LBF)

She was caged in the DoubleWide for her settling-down period, with a big notice to volunteers on her door, warning us of her explosive temperament. Screaming, slashing and being generally unpleasant were all in her behaviour vocabulary, and at least one volunteer came away with lacerations.  But many of us spent time in her cage, just talking to her, not attempting physical contact at all, but letting her hear gentle voices, and within weeks she was soliciting attention and touch – though we were always careful to leave her wanting more.

Muffin enjoying the great outdoors   (KN)

When her cage was opened, it became obvious that part of her tension was the presence of other cats. Often caged cats remain in their cages with open doors, by their own choice, but an open door meant that all the confident cats came visiting, and that was not an experience she approved of. A lot of bad language was exchanged with Eli, Jasper and Bentley, and Muffin decided she needed to be OUT.  

Gardens for Muffin  (LBF)

She can now be seen regularly around the back pens. She’s not found a particular hidey-hole, but nests up wherever she can avoid other cats.  Most frequently, I find her in Pen 3 – there’s a lot of feline company there, but they’re very easy-going and don’t bug her.  When it’s warm, she can be found sunning herself on the roof of the litter-station, and glaring at anyone who encroaches on her space. The cat who produces the most hissing is usually Princess, who doesn’t much like other cats, either, but likes to feel she can go anywhere.  She and Muffin share a mutual antipathy.

Resting in her favourite spot  (DW)

As far as humans go, Muffin’s mood swings like a pendulum. There are certain people that she will follow from pen to pen, watching curiously, not approaching too closely, but definitely interested.  In the right space, she will advance and accept a little petting – occasionally a little lap-time, though one needs to be careful not to over-stimulate her.  She’s well in advance of the other grumpy girls there – neither Princess nor Darla wants to be touched at all.  And when she’s had an encounter with a cat she doesn’t like, she doesn’t like anyone at that point, and all you can do is to leave her to cool off.

Watching for intruders   (BC)

She’s quite young – just two and a half years old – and we hear that for the first two years of her life, she was very loving, until something switched in her brain, producing this snarky persona. The fact that she has calmed down so much in the last few months is very hopeful; we'd like to think that giving her quiet surroundings and allowing her to pace herself will give her space to become more approachable once again. 

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill Friesen, Brigid Coult, Karen Nicholson

Fargo & Della

Fargo  (KN)

Cats who come into the DoubleWide are generally released there after their cage-stay is over. Some of the more feral ones are quick to make a getaway into the back pens, but there are always some who get as far as the back deck and think “this isn’t too bad!”  The back deck is full of good hiding-places. In the area overlooking the Tea-Room there’s a big comfy mattress for those who like to snuggle, and when the temperature drops, the heat lamp will go on and offer a magnetic attraction. In the rest of the room, there are draped shelves and stuffed armchairs that can be slept on or under; for the cats who want to be out of reach, there are always the runways up close to the ceiling. And there’s a cat-door in the corner for those who like the outside option.

Fargo & Della  (BC)

In the spring of 2021 we took in a group of cats who had come from a rescue in Salmon Arm. Many communities in our province are doing good work, trying to control a feral cat problem. Some of them work with fosters to tame scared kittens; some have barn-cat programs; some simply TNR (trap-neuter-release) and maintain the feral colonies. Sometimes none of those options will work, or an existing colony is under threat from urban development and an already stretched-to-the-bone rescue will turn to us for help, knowing that we can allow ferals to be ferals, and we won’t euthanize them if they can’t be tamed.

Della (BC)

Having been TNR’d and released to colonies in 2019, this group of scared, hissing cats was gathered up, arrived with us, had their cage-stay, and were released. The little black ones vanished into the back courtyard; Arwen, Keno and Orson can be found hiding around the back of Waldi’s Hut on the south side, or in the shrubbery at the east end. They are very wary of humans, and being little black cats, manage to stay mainly out of sight.  Two of the clowder, however, decided that the DoubleWide Deck offered better things. They discovered the cat door, but they also discovered more comfort, warmth and food indoors, and their outside visits rarely last long.

Fargo  (BC)

Fargo is the more courageous of the two – minimally... The DW cage in which they spent time remained open to them, and occasionally one would see a grey streak darting from it to the deck or back.  Gradually he became brave enough to stop and look, and as long as you stood still and didn’t make any moves, just talked quietly, he was ready to make visual contact.  

Fargo (BC)

He joined the group that gathers around when chicken tidbits are offered, and is ready to advance and ask for more, though not yet comfortable with coming too close. In the warmest weather, he joined the other deck cats in finding somewhere outside to relax where it was cooler.

Della on guard  (BC)

Della is much more wary. She stands out among the other little tabbies in the area because of her dark colouring – a contrast to the lighter shades of Ursula and Dior. She is not a chicken addict like Fargo, but is comfortable enough with him to share a plate at dinner time, even with a scary human watching. When I went to visit with them earlier this week, I climbed up to sit on the edge of the platform and was immediately surrounded by the bolder cats – Denzel and Hamlet, Bodhi and Luke – all wanting attention and food. Fargo couldn’t decide whether to join the crowd or to jump down to floor level, and finally made the leap, joining the equally chicken-addicted Sooke. 

Della  (BC)

Della held her ground and refused to get drawn into competition, but watched, letting me know that I should keep my distance for now.  The med staff tell me that she was used to being fed by humans as a colony cat, but has not so far allowed touch.

Dinner-time!  (BC)

The change in their behaviour in the last six months or so is notable. They are around cats who are not afraid of us, and they’re picking up the hints. They’re not ready for physical contact yet, but it will probably come – and with the winter months ahead, they will probably be joining the other former ferals in accepting our presence more calmly.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult & Karen Nicholson

Garrus

Garrus  (KN)

Garrus came to us earlier this summer as a stray, to be homed at the Sanctuary. Initially he was pretty well-behaved, and we moved him to the Adoption Centre, hoping to find him a home. However, once he had fully decompressed and settled down there, his true colours came out, and we discovered that  the Sanctuary was the right place for him after all. 

Garrus (LBF)

We don’t know if he’d been turned out by his original owners for peeing, or if he was an indoor-outdoor cat who took his outside habits indoors – but it was very apparent that he was not happy about being caged, because though he (mostly) used his litterbox, he also got himself a reputation for unprovoked attacks on staff and volunteers.  This is not uncommon – cage aggression is an issue that the Adoption Centre often sees, and cats who show it can be very grateful they are at RAPS. Other shelters cannot always afford the time or space to deal with an aggressive animal, and adopters are wary when they hear that a cat may be reactive. 

Garrus being wary  (BC)

Thankfully, no-kill is at the heart of RAPS philosophy, and stressed cats who show aggression are able to be transferred to the Sanctuary. With us, they will sometimes remain reactive and bite-y, and they will sometimes calm down and become friendly and approachable.  Transfers in the last year include cats like Peaches and Sam, who have spent their summer wearing collars as a warning to visitors that they are better not touched, and who have learned that they don’t need to be constantly on their guard. Collars have been removed now that visiting hours have ended, and both cats are more relaxed.

Peaches & Sam (KN)

Garrus spent his first couple of weeks with us in the Tea-Room cage, and earned his warning-collar; he’s a handsome boy and it’s tempting to offer caresses, but approaches were not appreciated.  When he was released, he moved into the back pens, and can usually be found in the back area of Pen 5, where he encounters fewer cats and fewer humans.  He doesn’t exhibit feral behaviour, but he doesn’t appreciate much attention, and though he will occasionally do a little finger-sniffing and allow neck- and ear-rubs, his patience is limited, and he signals the end of a session with a smart swat.

Not too close, please!  (KN)

Sadly, he’s also something of a loner, and doesn’t appreciate the close presence of other cats; he’s not actively aggressive with them (as Gizmo is), but his body language is pretty clear when he tells them to leave him alone.

Garrus - playful (LBF)

But it's still early days – he’s only been with us a few months, and perhaps as the days grow colder he will learn that warmth and company in the cabins is not altogether a bad thing.  Take your time, Garrus – even though you don’t much love anyone yet, you’ll find that there’s a lot of love to be found at the Sanctuary!

Blog by Brigid Coult

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

Visiting the Dilutes

LittleCat & Menjosie   (BC)

A recent shift in the Single-Wide offered the opportunity to spend time with a couple of cats who are fairly new to us.  Little Cat and Menjosie are a bonded pair who came in to us as a result of allergies and dog-stresses at home. Menjosie is a chonky little torby with beautiful green eyes; she is outgoing and happy to interact with visitors. She is deeply attached to her companion, Little Cat, who is a calico.  Little Cat is still wary until she trusts you, when she can be very chatty!

LittleCat   (BC)

The rules around tortoiseshells (torties) and calicos ensure that they are practically always female – the genetics binding colour and gender are very strong. Rarely, you will find a male, and they are usually infertile. A similar genetic linking was thought to tie orange cats (almost always orange tabbies) to gender; it used to be thought that something like 90% of them are male, but the proportion is probably less extreme, and we certainly have our share of orange girls at the Sanctuary. Torties and calicos are basically the same colour combination – but in torties, the primary fur colour is black, and in calicos it’s white.

Menjosie  (BC)

Our SingleWide torties (except Blaze) and calicos all have dilute colouring. Dilute is a gene that affects the cat’s hair by causing the pigmentation to be patchy, giving the illusion of a lighter coat colour. Black colouring becomes grey, red colouring becomes anything from peach to cream. Little Cat is a calico with plenty of white fur, but her coloured fur is a lovely grey/peach mixture. Even torby Menjosie has some of the dilute colouring, and you can see that her fur beyond the tips is mostly pale.

Flash  (KN)

The two of them are in one of the SingleWide cages, with the door wide open. Cats tend to be territorial, and one of the problems of caging is that they end up claiming the space – so it’s frustrating for them when they have to be turned out in order to accommodate another cat needing the cage. So far Menjosie and Little Cat have remained home-bodies – they don’t want to explore further.  But they are getting visitors.

Noelle  (KN)

Noelle and Marie are former occupants of the same cage, and now the door is open, they are wanting to be in “their” space again. There are no territorial battles, but there are frequent visits. They are another bonded pair – mother and daughter, in this case. They too came to us after stresses at home caused inappropriate use (or lack) of the litter-box, and they’re still stressed enough that it’s still a problem, which probably means they’ll not get adopted out.  

Marie  (LBF)

The two of them were evicted from the cage about a year ago, and have moved to several other areas, but they now seem to have settled at ground level either in Pandora’s cage (Pandora is an extremely grumpy senior girl who prefers the shelf or the cat-tree.) or in a two-tier sleeping cave in Menjosie and Little Cat’s cage.

Noelle & Marie  (BC)

They too are dilutes – Noelle is calico, with clear white base-fur; Marie is dilute tortie, with minimal white and a strong suggestion of the split-face pattern common in torties, though given her colouring, it’s not as clear as it appears in Blaze, for instance. Both are shy, but willing to be coaxed for petting and attention.

Flash - (KN)

Of course, after visiting with this quartet, I also needed to climb a ladder, and visit with Flash, who prefers to live quietly on the cage-top.  This sweet girl came to us with old injuries from a dog, and she rarely ventures down to floor level, but feels that she has everything she needs on the top floor. She has her favourite humans who know where she hangs out, and she enjoys a little loving. These gentle girls are all lacking in “tortietude” (perhaps the dilute gene affects that too!), and appreciate a visitor who will interact with them at their own pace. 

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Karen Nicholson