Over the Bridge in 2023

Pandora - December - LBF

Pandora came to us in bad shape, but she had
nearly two years of greatly improved health with us before her aging body had had enough.

The Sanctuary is a place where we celebrate life – specifically, the lives of many cats who, in other circumstances, would have been euthanized for being unadoptable.  Many ferals have come through our hands, and though some have eventually accepted human attention, others have remained feral for much of their lives. Adopters shy away from taking cats with FIV or FeLV, diabetes or kidney disease – and we rejoice that we have been able to give them shelter and treatment. We have partnered with rescues in other places, and taken groups of cats that a smaller organization may not be able to house.

Dango - June - KN

Dango came to us from Alberta in 2019, and joined the New Aids pen; earlier this year he was relocated to the Val Jones pen so that his renal diet could be closely monitored.

But because many of our cats are with us through much of their lives, we are, time and time again, with them for their deaths. Sometimes they are unexpected, as in cancer, or FIP.  Sometimes we watch the gradual aging of a beloved friend, and know that their time is come. Many cats hide their ill-health, and occasionally we will find them already passed; most of them are taken by a staff-member to the hospital, where they will pass gently, held by loving hands.

Kiwi - December - MW

Kiwi came from the same shelter as Dango;

we lost her to FIP, which is a random mutation of an otherwise standard feline coronavirus.

The turn of the year is a time when we look back over the past twelve months, and remember more than fifty of the furry friends who have “crossed the Rainbow Bridge”. So once again, this is less a blog, and more a photo-essay that may bring smiles and tears and memories and love of some very special cats. We can't feature them all, but here are a dozen of those who have gone ahead of us.

Tugboat - February - MW

Much beloved by all, Tugboat became very frail in his last year,
and was cuddled and comforted by humans and cats alike.

Sprint - December & Shaggy - July;  LBF

Little Sprint was a junkyard cat, very shy, and with health problems; 
Shaggy was one of the last of the “oldies” from the former Moore House.

Sara Lee - March - KN

Sara Lee had lived here for most of her 21-odd years.
Easily identified by her bi-coloured eyes and her smoke coat, she was a fixture at the coffee table, where she toured from one lap to another.

CB Lincoln - February - MW

Cinnamon Bun Lincoln was named for his curled tail,
and known for his tendency to pee on anything/anyone he wanted to claim.

Little Orange - October - KN

One-eyed Little Orange was loved by volunteers and visitors alike,
and is greatly missed by his friend Allison who visited him every week.
He’s reunited with his girlfriend, shy Merilee.

Stella - February - MW

Stella was a regal presence in the Tea-Room and the breezeway; 
she liked to sit high up and reach down a paw to those seeking her attention.

Bossanova - August - KN

Bossanova evolved from a shy boy hiding high on a shelf
to a cat who would hover hopefully, looking for treats and attention.

Jazz - September - KN

Jazz was the doorkeeper for the Single-Wide.

Originally collared as a signal that she was a reactive cat,

she came to enjoy the attention she got, and demanded that everyone stop on the way in to pet her.

Pancake - March - KN

Pancake was the son of Autumn, in the front Courtyard;
he proved too shy to be adopted, and returned to us to make his life
with his cat friends in the DoubleWide.

Tara - October - KN

Tara remained a scared feral most of her life with us,
only allowing contact in the last months when she was confused and forgetting that she was scared.

Hamlet - August - KN

Hamlet came to us as a feral, but soon developed a presence
 as a benevolent Godfather on the DW deck.

Rainbow over the Sanctuary - BC

Blog by Brigid Coult

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

Pen 7 shy ones

Clementine  (KN)

For as long as I’ve volunteered at the Sanctuary, Pen 7 has been the home for a bunch of very shy cats, known as the Barn Cats.  Initially they were a colony who had been doing pest control at a farm south of Steveston Highway; like a lot of colonies without supervision, their numbers got out of control and Richmond Homeless Cats (as RAPS was at that time) stepped in. Not only were there too many of them, but there was also inbreeding going on, and it was time to end the cycle.  In the end, there were about a dozen of them brought to the Sanctuary in 2008, and Pen 7 became a closed one.

Barncats enjoying treats

They were definitely a feral bunch, but because their pen was so much smaller than the other feral pens, they had to get used to humans popping in and out on them. Most of them never really tamed up, though a few of them became friendly with select visitors. The genetic quirks caused by inbreeding produced a number of curly tails, and, more seriously, some vision problems, so the med staff kept a careful eye on them. 

Rodan loved and was loved...  (KN)

I realised recently that they’d never been blogged either by Claire, who set up the Neko Blog, or by me; for most of us, I think they were just an anonymous collection of little cats who didn’t want much in the way of attention. There were exceptions; I don’t think there was anyone who didn’t love one-eyed Rodan, whose cage-stays had acclimated him to human contact.

Clementine   (MW)

Most of them have passed now – the only “originals” left are Jethro and Clementine. Orange Jethro is still very shy, and he has vision problems. He’s ready to emerge when food is on offer, but not to be touched. Clementine can often be found at the gate when treats are being handed out in the courtyard; she allows touch, but doesn’t really enjoy it.  She is very vocal about not being left out when it comes to food, but when the gate is opened, she doesn’t venture past the threshold. “Escape” is not an issue with the Pen 7 cats; they have their safe territory and don’t want to move beyond it.  

Jethro & SweetTart  (LBF)

These two were joined by SweetTart, one of the Candy Cats who was originally in Pen 6, but showed a fascination with the neighbouring barn cats and was glad to move in with them. On the other side, Pen 8 had also had a largely feral component, and when we opened it to the courtyard, and brought the Kootenay cats into pen 8, we also moved Hailey in with the barn cats. Hailey and her family had come from a colony Carol Reichert trapped at a cement plant;  Hailey’s best buddy Johnny had passed not long before, and Hailey was glad to be back in a restricted area.  Neither Hailey nor SweetTart are as keen on chicken tidbits as Clementine is, but they frequently hang around when goodies are on offer.

Hailey is still very cautious   (KN)

The other current residents of Pen 7 belong to the don’t-see-me variety of ferals. Anya and Buttons keep themselves in the warmth and comfort of the cabin, and don’t venture out at all. In the summer, Anya lived under the drapes covering a cat-tree on the porch, and she wouldn’t even come down to use the litter box at the bottom – the cat-tree finally had to be thrown out because it was impossible to clean it properly. Now she’s safely in the dark of the cabin, she’s using the litterbox there, which is much more pleasant for all concerned! Anya and Buttons get checked each day by the med staff; mostly we don’t disturb them in their preferred hiding places, and all their movement is under cover of the dark.

Anya is not keen on human company  (KN)

As with Pen 4, weekend visitors have no access to these cats – though some of the KittyComforters visit them regularly, just sitting quietly with them, and reminding them that they’re safe here, and humans really aren’t as scary as they think.

Blog by Brigid Coult

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

The Pirate is a Pussy-Cat

Gordo (AM)

The SingleWide has been feeling quite empty in the last while – we lost all the “Egg-farm cats”; we’re missing Shaggy and Jimmy and Bossanova and so many others...  So it was good to welcome several newcomers in the summer months. I had mentioned McGregor in last week’s blog, but sadly, we unexpectedly lost him this week. 

Gordo  (BC)

The other newcomer in the SingleWide is a chonky boy called Gordo who came to us from Kamloops. He’s not been at his most beautiful with us; he had some medical problems when he arrived that resulted in surgery – there may have been some trauma causing them. His right eye showed entropion, with the eyelid turning inwards so that the eyelashes rubbed painfully against the eyeball. That’s a relatively straightforward surgery (though fiddly); what was not so straightforward was a complex TECA (total ear canal ablation) surgery on the same side. It was a lot for him to deal with, and he battled through it with the courage of his namesake, Gord Downie.

Big boy.... (JN)

Gordo now looks a bit like a pirate, with a crumpled haematoma ear and shaved on one side of his head. Because of his black colouring, he appears one-eyed, though he has in fact kept the sight in his right eye, He’s had a hard time being confined to a cage and coping with a cone of shame, and with limited visitors; now he’s out of prison and making himself at home. He reminds me of junkyard cat Bill in New Aids – but an entirely amiable version of Bill, who is not always friendly with other cats. 

Sitting in "pet me!" pose  (AG)

Gordo looks as if he’s had a rough life, but it’s not been a long one - he’s actually only about two years old.  Initially he presented himself as a serious cat, and was probably dealing with some physical discomfort, but it has become obvious that he loves attention from people. Through all of his cage time we tried to keep up with visits, and now that he’s no longer handicapped by the cone, and free of confinement, he’s ready to explore and to interact as much as the other SingleWide cats allow. He has appropriated Blaze’s favourite shelf for his exclusive use, and she’s been persuaded to relocate.

Come play with me!  (AG)

He loves to play - he will roll around and grab with his big mittens. In the cage he would happily come up for some lap time; now that he’s out and about, there’s a bit more competition for a lap, and he backs away from confrontation with Whiskers, who has appointed himself Top Cat. Gordo is a sweetheart; there's no nastiness at all about him, and though he's not a beautiful cat, he's very endearing, and it would be wonderful to find him a home where he can be loved.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Akira Graham, Anne Marchetti, Joanne Nicholson

Deelia

Part of the work of the Kitty Comforters is to spend time with the caged cats – new, or medicated, or post-surgery.  But another important part of our work is to identify the feral cats who may be hesitating about whether they can trust us or not. Some have very good reasons to he untrusting.

Shy Deelia - BC

Deelia came to us earlier this year with a group from Kamloops, sent by Sammy’s Forgotten Felines. Sammy’s works particularly with colonies of feral cats who may be in some danger – whether from natural causes or human ones. The group that arrived consisted of two young mothers and a group of kittens; the folks at Sammy’s thought it was likely that the younger mom was the daughter of the older one. 

Getting closer...  (BC)

However, there was more to the transfer than simply getting kittens to safety. The Kamloops rescue was concerned about the senior mom’s condition, and X-rays confirmed that someone had been using cats for target practice, and Deelia had pellets in her body. Once she was in our care, the RAPS Animal Hospital took her in for removal of the pellets; we don’t know how long it had been since she’d been shot, and we hope that there are no long-term concerns over lead poisoning.  The kittens – as most kittens are! - were very cute, and quickly adopted, as was the younger mom, Lydia.  Not surprisingly, Deelia was not so trusting and therefore came to the Sanctuary, where she could take her time in deciding her comfort level around humans.

Watching at a careful distance  (KN)

She has largely made her home on the south side of the front courtyard; she can sometimes be found in the Old Rabbit Area, and sometimes under the bed-box pile. Her sweet face carries a worried expression, and she’s not at all sure that she likes proximity with humans.  But sitting quietly in the closed ORA, she will often poke her head out to see if there are treats on offer, and once again, bribery becomes a useful socialization tool. 

A little face-off with Solar over a tidbit  (BC)

In the dimmer light of the ORA, she’s easily confused with grey Solar at first sight, but is smaller and rounder in face. Solar is not afraid to approach us for handouts, but Deelia hovers at a distance initially and it takes quiet and patience to tempt her closer. When she emerges into the daylight it can be seen that she is actually not grey, but a very dilute tortie – the black colouring is all grey and the orange is a lovely peachy colour – and she lacks some of the underlying tabby markings of her grey “brother”.  Like shy Bricklyn, she is very fond of chicken-bits, and is beginning to hold her own with the other pushy cats. She’s not quite ready for petting yet, but an outstretched hand gets a paw-tap with no aggressiveness, and she is happy to sit and share slow blinks. 

Deelia's markings show through  (BC)

We’ve got all the patience in the world for you, Deelia – and we hope you can learn that some humans can be trusted.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult & Karen Nicholson

Gwen, and Sibs

Gwen (KN)

Gwen, Bagheera, Anya – three little ferals who’ve gone in very different directions...   They came in together from  Broken Promises rescue on Vancouver Island, well past the early socializing stage and very reluctant to have anything to do with us. All three were long-haired, two of them were black, and one a tortie. 

Anya (KN)

Anya is the typical feral – a hissy-spitty, “stay away from me” cat. The med staff decided to place her in Pen 7, the farm-cat pen, since she needed some eye care, and there are a couple of other cats also there for the same reason. Another reason to keep her out in the pens is that she has a Manx tail (or lack thereof) and often disdains the use of a litter box. Her first hideout was in a draped cat tree, and we ended up having to throw it out because as Anya’s toilet, it became something of a biohazard. By penning her, we can keep a more careful eye on her, and watch for problems, like the UTI difficulties some tailless cats suffer from. She doesn’t like humans, and only tolerates short visits from the med staff, who check on her daily.

Bagheera  (BC)

With Bagheera, it looked as if we were going to be faced with another feral cat, but it turned out that the health issues which she had to battle, actually did her a favour, since they confined her to a cage for longer than normal. And cage time means contact with Kitty Comforters, and for Bagheera, THE Kitty Comforter was Mel. Every visit Mel made, she spent time with Bagheera, who grew increasingly confident around her new human friend. Mel and her husband Scott moved to Alberta in the summer, and have taken Bagheera with them, as well as Scooter, who was shy until the Mel-and-Scott magic hit her. We love it when the shy cats blossom with love from their adopters.

Gwen (BC)

The third cat was tortie Gwen. Tortoiseshells tend either to be very sweet – cats like Blaze and Chelsea – or full of tortietude. And a feral tortie of the latter variety... oh, my! On release from her cage, Gwen relocated to the DoubleWide Deck and proceeded to establish herself as a bossyboots.  

Hiding up high  (BC)

Initially she hid out on the upper shelves, finding corners where she could hide, but it wasn’t long before she discovered that all the really interesting stuff (i.e. food) happened at ground level, and she began to make her presence felt.

 

Dinner-time floof on show  (BC)

Gwen is not a friendly cat with the other felines on the deck. She is tentatively interested in humans, especially when they carry treats, and she has learned that when she takes food nicely, more may be forthcoming. With food distraction, she can be petted gently, but she sees it only as a means to the next treat. 

Jasper & Gwen - standoff for the chicken tidbit...

She keeps a wary eye open for any cat who may encroach on her tidbits, and she is not slow to smack a cat like Jasper when she feels he’s too close to the next mouthful. When she is aware of competition in the vicinity, she grumbles as she eats: “Nom nom nom... I am enjoying this and you can’t have it!”

There may be bars - but inside is warmer!  (KN)

She has explored outside, but Gwen’s territory has mostly extended from the Deck into the DoubleWide, and she is often found hovering if there are promising smells in the med-cage, or in the pockets of one of the Kitty Comforters. Bribery is a very good way to convince a cat that it may well be worth giving up feral status for the good life at the Sanctuary!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult & Karen Nicholson

Our Sweet Diabetics

Careen (MW)

November is Diabetes Awareness Month – but not everyone may be aware that cats, too, can suffer from diabetes.

Nikki and his Shadow  (KN)

There are two types of diabetes in cats. In Type I there is a decrease in insulin production, and therefore blood glucose concentrations are high. In Type II diabetes, glucose levels are high because cells in the body do not respond appropriately to insulin. In both types, the body cannot access the sugars needed, even though there is plenty of sugar in the blood, because insulin can’t transport the sugar from the bloodstream into the cells that need it.  Type II is the more common variety, and though it cannot be cured, it can be controlled with injections of insulin, and in some cases, with dietary management. 

Mojo is one of our larger cats  (BC)

Currently we have five cats with diabetes at the Sanctuary: Luke and Careen in the DoubleWide, and Nikki, Blaze and Meepos in the SingleWide. Two other cats are watched: big Mojo lives in the offices, where we can control his diet; his diabetes is currently in remission, and as long as we don’t let him overeat, we can probably keep it that way.  And newcomer McGregor (in next week's blog) came into our care with possible diabetes, but also seems to have it in remission – we watch him carefully for signs of recurrence. In his case, elevated blood sugars may have been a sign of stress.

Nikki holding court - look at those big
polydactyl feet!   (KN)

Nikki Sixx-Toes was diagnosed diabetic when he came into our care. He was a semiferal cat, wary about being handled, and the pen where he was living did not allow the med-staff to treat him without additional stress to his system. Reluctantly, we brought him inside and caged him – and unlike most feral cats, he grew to love it, and the attention it brought him. He got lots of fussing in his enclosure near the staff office, and received visitors with regal enjoyment.  Four years later, his throne has moved to be the papasan chair on the deck, where he is attended and guarded by his girlfriend Shadow.

Shy Meepos (KN)

Also on the deck, but usually hidden away, is fellow-diabetic Meepos, whose condition is of more recent diagnosis. Meepos has been with us for more than eleven years; he was trapped as a feral on Mitchell Island in the company of his buddy Bossanova, and the two of them were initially pretty shy, and took great comfort in each other. Meepos was initially the friendlier of the two, but never became as sociable as Bossanova – he will emerge and accept gentle attention if it’s quiet, but he prefers to stay out of the way. His is late-onset diabetes – most of his time with us, he’s been fine, but he’s not an active boy, and between his inaction and aging, his system quit processing blood-sugars properly.

Blaze (MW)

Sweet Blaze is the sister of fellow-tortie Toes, who lives in the front courtyard. The two were separated when Blaze developed skin problems and was brought inside where she could be treated more easily. She can usually be found on the shelves backing on to the big cage, and loves to have attention so long as she can remain in her own space. Like the other diabetics, she’s something of a chonk – it’s hard to balance the need to give them extra food at the same time as they get their insulin injection, with not overfeeding them. Their extra is mostly protein, with a few treats, but with so many cats around, there’s no way of stopping them eating more of the crunchies that are out for the cats who prefer to graze. With food and insulin every 12 hours, they have no reason to be hungry, though, or to raid the crunchie-bowl.

Luke (BC)

In the DoubleWide, Luke is the younger of the two diabetics. He is part of the Tuxedo Club that hangs out on the deck, and he has also suffered from dental problems, which have necessitated occasional caging while he heals. He’s an active and social cat, both with humans and with other cats, and just loves attention – which makes it much easier to give him his doses.  The other diabetic in the building is Careen. Careen was an outside cat for some time, and shared cuddle space with sweet Willow in Pen 5. When we recently noticed her changed habits in terms of eating and peeing, she was brought in for testing, and remained caged for a bit longer. As an outdoor cat, there was some discussion about her release – she’s friendly and handleable, but trying to find a grey cat on a dark night to give her insulin could well be a problem. However, Careen decided that having been moved into the DoubleWide, she might as well stay in warmth and comfort. She can usually be found peering down from the cage-tops, and her one bad habit is that when it’s meds time, she moves herself to the most inaccessible spot, and takes some coaxing to come and enjoy her special plate of goodies (and the minimal needle prick that goes with it).

Careen on the DW cagetops (BC)

Diabetes in a cat is a long way from being a death sentence, and doesn’t need a vet to do the injections; the insulin needle is very fine, and the dose is very small – the only disadvantage is that the cat-parent needs to schedule their activities in order that the dose is regular. And getting special plates of food – they must feel as if they are being treated as the royalty they consider themselves to be.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright

Tails from the Front Courtyard

Happy tails (TS)

The volunteer or visitor who enters with special treats in hand is welcomed by a crowd of eager cats, many of them with tails in the air – one sign of a happy cat.  But five of our front courtyard cats have to find another way to demonstrate their happiness – you see, they’re a little short in the tail department!

Carly (KN)

One of them has already been introduced – her name is Carly Simon, and she came to us as one of a bunch of farm cats. She’s among sweet Hope’s closest friends, and right now she is caged and recovering from a case of vestibular disease that has left her feeling wobbly and nauseous.  She’s making steady progress, but it may be awhile before we’re ready to let her jump and climb.

Carly's tail  (BC)

Carly looks as if her tail was broken and reset at an angle. It’s a little stumpy tail that goes in two directions, and though we wondered at first if it was an injury, when she first came to us, this little pregnant mama produced a litter of kittens, some of whom also showed the same tail mutation.

Bowie  (BC)

Jett  (KN)

The other “stumpies” in the front courtyard are Bowie and Jett. Bowie and his “rocker” buddies came in to us from  Kamloops back in 2021, and they don’t live up to their “out there” human models – they’re all very shy, and are of the dawn-and-dusk variety of cats. Bowie is a floofy black boy, with a floofy stump of a tail; Jett is shorthaired, with a short tail  They can often be found around the YellowDoor area, hiding behind the flower beds – any hint of moving in their direction, and they scuttle to find somewhere to hide.

Cheech (BC)

The other two are “rumpies” rather than “stumpies” – not true-breed Manx (who tend to be very chonky and rump-heavy) but just cats with an accidental no-tail mutation.  Chicharron (known as Cheech) is one of those “who IS that black cat?” boys, who becomes instantly identifiable when he turns his back. He has chubby cheeks, and a little splash of white on his bib. He is one of a group of cats that trappers Lisa and Ken brought in from a nearby industrial complex. We think he’s less than two years old.

Rolling over for petting  (BC)

Cheech is quite mobile, and visits all over the front courtyard.  I’ve mostly found him in the porch of the Connor, though I’m told he likes to be on the cage-tops. He’s quite shy on first acquaintance, but the more he’s petted, the wigglier and more relaxed he gets. His name (Chicharron is a Mexican-style dish of crispy pork rinds) belies his gentle nature. I think Lisa was into food names; we also have Tamale, and there’s a whole group of Thanksgiving cats to be introduced later: Cornbread, Tater, Creampuff, Truffle and others...

Hiding on her shelf in the early days with us  (BC)

The last of the group is a very distinctive dark young calico who came in as Butterflower, and had her name changed to Butterfinger. We were concerned at first that we had another Manx Syndrome cat here, because initially she didn’t use her litter box regularly, and soiled her bedding. But as she became more used to us, that eased off, and we think it was mainly a stress thing. Her name change linked with her habit of upsetting her litter-box and handing the volunteers a regular mess to clear up!

Off to hunt the flies  (BC)

Butterfinger was one of those cats who at first refused to come forward, and huddled fearfully on the shelf of her cage out of reach.  However, like Eddie, the release from the cage changed her attitude, and when approached with gentleness, she is happy to accept caresses. She is happier still to play; she is a dedicated fly-chaser when she has the opportunity, and a good feather toy has her leaping and stalking in company with the other three calicos. She’s a social girl, and seems to enjoy the company of other cats.

"Will you play with me?"  (BC)

At the Sanctuary, it’s not necessary to have a tail in order to live the good life!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Karen Nicholson, Tim Stocker