The Princess

(KN)

We have Royalty in our midst – you may admire, but should not touch!

(KN)

When RAPS first came into being, it was in the form of Richmond Homeless Cats, and in that format and subsequently as Richmond Animal Protection Society, our focus was all on the animals of our own municipality. A name-change to become the Regional Animal Protection Society signalled an awareness that we could be reaching much further afield, and links were made with individuals and organizations across the province. Cats came to our care from Vancouver Island, from Revelstoke, from Haida Gwaii, from the Kootenays. And from further afield – Pops and Sparrow from California, many cats from Alberta rescues, Jasmine and Picasso from Manitoba.  

Some have come because of links with a rescue; others because a single person rescued them but couldn’t give the cat the home that it needed. Some readers may remember Terry and Tinker, both disabled and largely incontinent. Tinker actually came from China, and has his happy-ever-after in the home and under the loving care of former manager Lisa.

(BC)

Princess’s rescuer was among our summer visitors, and was immediately enthralled by the Sanctuary. Though Canadian, he had family in Iran, among whom was an elderly relative who cared for some of the many feral cats in her neighbourhood. He was concerned for her health, and for what would happen to her favourites – especially one particular cat – when she was no longer able to tend them. There were extensive discussions with the staff, and he took the responsibility for trapping the cat and bringing it all the way from Iran to our care, where he sponsors her through our program.

It takes another tortie...  Lunette (L) in a rare sharing of space with Princess (R)
(KN)

Princess is the perfect name for her. She is a tortie full of tortitude, and she takes no sass from any other cat. Nor does she take it from humans – not that we would dare!  She’s a touch-me-not girl, ready to slap if she feels you’re in her bubble. But unlike a lot of ferals, who spend most of their time avoiding us, Princess hovers about two meters away – she’s interested in us, but she doesn’t actually want attention.  

(KN)

She lives in the south wing of the back courtyard, in the beds that back onto the Single-Wide, and in the building we call Waldi’s Hut. When I’m cleaning on a Friday morning, she will often follow me from one pen to another, not looking for interaction, but curious about what I’m doing. She will listen when I talk, but not approach; when she settles somewhere the other cats hang out, they know to give her a wide berth. 

(LBF)

Like many of the back courtyard cats, she knows I carry a bribery bag of chicken tidbits, and she quite likes the idea of chicken, but doesn’t appreciate all the chickaholics who crave it as well. She has only taken food from my hand when it was flat and still for at least five minutes, without anyone else horning on the goodies; any hint of movement on my part, and I get a good smack! The usual scroungers – Midnight, Sylar and Pumpkin – usually get in the way of handouts, and will also get smacked if they get too close.

(KN)

I’m told, though, that when her sponsor comes to visit, and talks to her in Farsi, she turns into a flirt with him – not a lap-cat yet, but demonstrating pretty clearly that he is her person, and we’re just not good enough!  Ah, well – we’ve lots of patience for a character like Princess!

Blog by Brigid Coult

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

 

Thorne & Daffodil

 

Thorne  (LBF)

We are sanctuary for so many cats who have no other options. But getting them into our care is often the work of other devoted rescuers.

Daffodil  (BC)

Thanks to our Assistant Manager, Valerie, we have close ties with a rescue in Kamloops called Sammy’s Forgotten Felines, who refused to accept that a large colony of cats should just be euthanized, and managed to trap, neuter and find places for all of them. For some of the cats, that was made possible by fostering, taming and then adopting them out; we accepted groups of the more feral cats and allowed them to proceed at their own pace.

Persimmon (JS) & Chamomile (LBF)

The cats in Pen 6 are all from Sammy’s; of them all, only Persimmon and Chamomile are really handleable, and the others accept us as providers of food, and the occasional touch, and otherwise regard most of us with some suspicion.

A dense coat like Thorne's can get very soggy -
but he loves to be out   (LBF)

The big trapping operation that formalised Sammy’s Forgotten Felines is over, but there continue to be feral cats in the Kamloops area who are brought in and cared for, and some of the originals have resisted taming. Two of the most recent that have come to us are Thorne and Daffodil – both from the original colony.  Daffodil is yet another of the orange fuzzies – small with lots of fluff; Thorn is a long-haired light tabby with a dense, darker outer coat.

Daffodil ready to escape upwards  (LBF)

In their initial cage-time with us, the Kitty Comforters and the cat-whisperers spent time with both of them, but it became obvious that this was going to need lots of patience.  Both can be touched, but don’t yet accept it with any real enthusiasm; Daffodil in particular tends to stay in her bed and will eventually allow petting, but every time, you have to begin the process over again. She is happiest when the petting comes from cat-whisperer Lisa, who she trusts.

Daffodil sharing ground-floor duplex with Winston (LBF)

Their cage time was in the Newcomers area, across the courtyard from Pen 6, where the other SFF cats hang out. Once released from cages, the two cats had very different reactions. Daffodil went upward to “safety”; she can usually be found on the cage top, or, preferably, tucked away behind a drape in her bed. In the latter situation, she can be accessed via a set of steps.  She has not yet left the safety of Newcomers, though increasingly she is coming down to lower levels, and when the weather allows leaving the doors open, we hope she will explore across the courtyard and re-encounter her family.

Pen 6 Ginger with Thorne (LBF)

Thorne found his way out of Newcomers, though he still returns to visit, and to enjoy the warmth; however, he also explores extensively, and likes to visit in Pen 6, where he obviously recognises his “family”.  He is harder to access because he moves around so freely, however, his curiosity about us is a real factor to give hope. He hovers when people are around; he can often be spotted under the courtyard table, and is ready to accept the odd handout – though cats like Pumpkin will frequently beat him to the target! He doesn’t yet have the confidence to push himself forward and snag a tidbit until he’s sure nobody else wants it. 

Visiting at Pen 6 cabin  (LBF)

But he seems to like the sound of a voice, and being talked to – and sometimes talks back – even though he backs away from actual contact, or allows it only when he feels he has no choice.  Having watched a recent breakthrough with Midnight, I am hoping that keeping company with the other backyard boys – Sylar, Quinn & Midnight – will help convince him that he doesn’t need to be so fearful with us. As Midnight does with me, Thorne will actually accept a treat and the odd caress from Lisa’s hand.

Thorne accepting treats  (LBF)

It’s OK by us if Sanctuary cats prefer to remain ferals – but it is SO satisfying when they push past those fears and into relationship with us!

Blog by Brigid Coult

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

Franny

See how cute I am....   (LBF)

 Our Franny is a local girl, trapped near Blundell Road last summer.  She spent a little while in foster care with her kittens, but she was definitely a feral and not a stray, and she had no interest in being socialized.  Once her “F” litter were brought to the Adoption Centre (they all have homes now!) she came to the Sanctuary.

Not too close, please...  (BC)

During her cage time with us, it was clear that she didn’t want human attention; volunteers who were cleaning or feeding were greeted with aggressive hissing, or with silent sulking from behind a drape.  When released, Franny had no hesitation in escaping from the DoubleWide – she didn’t even want to stay on the deck with the other tuxedos.  She wanted outta there! and her life back to her own control.

The rear view says it all  (KN)

For a while we weren’t certain where she’d vanished to;  there are a number of smaller cats who hang around at the back gate of the Sanctuary or behind Waldi’s Hut. But gradually it became evident that Franny was A Cat Who Walks By Herself – she had relocated to Pen 5, and to one of the dog-houses there, and she didn’t want company, thank you very much!

My home - keep off!  (LBF)

Not feline company, at least – for a feral, she began to show a lot of curiosity about the humans around. She didn’t want to be touched, initially, but she liked to be talked to, and she would follow me from one pen to another on my Friday shifts. If there weren’t too many people around, she would come closer to the Tea-Room area and flirt – the typical just-out-of-reach cat thing that they all do, rolling and showing off.  And we all know the excitement when a feral finally decides to allow touch!

In the last little while Franny has made it quite clear that she has favourite people, and that they get the full-out flirt. She particularly loves Lisa, and ankle-weaves with great enthusiasm, begging to be petted.

A confident and happy cat  (LBF)

She’s still a little wary when there are other people around, and she doesn’t seem to be the greatest fan of other cats, but the hissy, antisocial girl who came in last summer has turned a significant corner and found her home at the Sanctuary.

Blog by Brigid Coult

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

Video clip: Lisa Brill-Friesen

Favourites

 

Everyone loves Cornelius (LBF)

Most of our volunteers fall into one of two categories. The first one loves the cats, and comes faithfully to scoop or clean or feed; the second not only loves the cats but bonds closely with individuals, looks for extra cuddle time, worries when “their” cat is under the weather, and frequently does extra shifts to have more cat-time. Some of these volunteers end up turning into staff members – others are just long-term Sanctuary devotees.

Holly  (KN)

Ann works various shifts, adjusting to her own schedule – she knows and loves many cats in many areas, but she will always make a point of visiting in the SingleWide in order to spend time with Jimmy. Jimmy came to us some years ago, and was living in the Moore House until it closed down;  he is still very wary around most people, but he knows when Ann arrives that she is his safe person. Rather than hiding in his usual way, he emerges to dance on the shelf, looking for her attention; he has recently started to add little vocalizations in his excitement.

Jimmy adoring attention  (MD)

Barbara and Waldi are among the most long-term volunteers. They have recently ceased the cold, wet, Saturday night feed in the back courtyard, though Barb will continue a daytime shift;  they always look for chunky grey Rookie in Newcomers. They actually brought him in to the Sanctuary, as a feral that had moved into their care-zone, and he settled well – initially in pen 5, though now he prefers the warmth of Newcomers. He always comes running when Waldi chirps to him.

Rookie   (KN)

Justin has many favourites, especially adoring the orange cats in Pen 6; Justin sings to Bentley (and to other cats as well) but can usually be found visiting with Roe. Roe particularly loves Justin, and will lie on her back having belly rubs as long as time allows. She is jealous of the fact that other cats, especially Cher, want Justin's attention too, leading her to sulk if someone else steals her Justin-time.

Roe  (JS)

Carol is another who has volunteered for at least ten years; she always arrives laden down with bags containing tasty cat-food other than the standard cans we offer them. She knows who loves chicken and who prefers the fish; she generally spends a good bit of time in with the Leukemia cats, who can sometimes be overlooked. She particularly loves front-courtyard Solar, who is the only one of a quartet of ferals who came to us from VOKRA to have warmed to human attention (though I’m working on his brother!). And she always looks for Autumn, who is the mother of her own Ben, who came to us as a little kitten called Treat – it’s because of him that she is still one of our most devoted volunteers.

Autumn  (KN)

Debbie started as a volunteer, served on staff, and now that she’s retired, is back to volunteering. She has a very close relationship with old Tugboat; she was there when he was brought in, she remains in touch with his family, and regardless of where she is working in the Sanctuary, she will always go and find him for some cuddle time.  He seems to know when she’s around and his demand to be picked up can be heard around the back courtyard. He divides his time between the TeaRoom where he’s often found in the bed close by the heater, and the DoubleWide, where he shares cuddles with Colin and Plum.

Tugboat with girlfriend Plum  (KN)

Karen came in as a student volunteer and is now on staff; she works all the areas, knows all the cats, and has an uncanny gift for seeing the personality of the animal through her camera lens. She’s the creator of many of the blog photos, and half of those in this year’s calendar. She’s a cat-whisperer with a gift for approaching the most scared of cats; like many of us, she knows what it is to have her heart broken by the loss of a favourite. She’s particularly attached to our “bad boy” Jasper, channeling his intelligence into learning tricks and keeping that brain busy!

Jasper in action  (KN)

Lisa also came in as a volunteer and fell in love with the place – she is part-time staff, fosters kittens, and waits patiently as a trapper to bring in strays and ferals. Some of her work was featured last February in the blog. She spends endless volunteer time socializing ferals – Sierra, Lloyd and Len in pen 4 have progressed under her care. Cornelius loves everybody but adores her, and she sponsors little tri-pawd Marmalade in the front courtyard.

Marmalade   (LBF)

I have so many favourites, it’s hard to limit the list!  I’m having a love-affair with Elvis, who gives the best snuggles.  I always make time with pretty Holly in pen 3, who really needs a home and a person to love and groom her. Bossanova knows my voice and is always ready to come for attention (and for treats). I’m known as the chicken lady – a bag of chicken tidbits is the best tool for making friends with ferals – and not-so-ferals as well. The DoubleWide deck cats hover hopefully – Bodhi, Hamlet and Luke are as keen for cuddles as they are for food. I’ve a longstanding lure out with the feral boys in the back courtyard – Sylar, Quinn and Midnight – and am excited that Midnight is finally taking food from my hand. 

Midnight waiting anxiously for treats  (BC)

So many personalities, so much love – and so many lives that would not have been possible without the no-kill principles of RAPS, promising hope for our furry friends.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Brigid Coult, Melanie Draper, Karen Nicholson, Justin Saint