Snoozing in the Rain (or out of it...)

Simon  (HM)

It may be almost summer, but here in BC we’ve had our share of wet days recently.  There are always the cats who like to be out and about, whatever the weather, and they vary from those who seem to shed the rain like ducks, to those who get soaked through.   But sensibly, most of the cats find somewhere cosy, and curl up, shutting out the weather.

With inspiration from Henrie Morgan, whose lovely photos from the New AIDS pen got me started, here are some of the not-so-soggy moggies!

Mozart likes to sprawl (AG)

Dahlia sleeps with one eye open  (HM)

Christina Aguilera face-plants to shut out the world   (AG)

The Kamloops colony prefers to sleep together  (BC)

Jerry, Magnus and Jim monopolize the Val Jones chair  (DW)

Ariel is a solo sleeper and prefers the shelf by the sink  (KN)

Jasper is not shy about his sleeping positions (KN)

Woodie is another upside-down boy   (KN)

Sharing breath   (KN)

Rocket prefers outside - but under cover   (HM)

Marble's favourite thing is sleeping - whatever the weather  (KC)

Blog (minimal) by Brigid Coult

Photos by Katy Cobb, Brigid Coult, Akira Graham,

Henrie Morgan, Karen Nicholson, Debbie Wolanski

McCormick

McCormick

It’s not an uncommon thing to see Sanctuary staff heading out the back gate in the early evening to set traps. Many dedicated cat rescuers learned their calling from the experience of having local strays come visiting, as if there was a “homeless cats welcome here” sign on their door and we’ve certainly had our share of cats decide that the Sanctuary was where they wanted to be. 

Long-haired black Steele (named for Remington Steele) took it to the extreme of burglarizing his way in. Other cats have been found in the parking-lot and allowed themselves to be gathered up. But usually our visitors are spotted on the trail cams and need to be bribed into a trap to achieve the real safety of the Sanctuary. It is possible that some are dumped by “owners” who don’t understand the dangers of the area – many of us who work an evening shift have heard the coyotes singing and worried about their potential victims.

Big cat in a small ball  (AG)

McCormick was trapped outside the Sanctuary walls last November, and brought to shelter. We’re pretty sure that he had been a stray. He’d known human attention and responded to us, once caged, but he was very dirty, was unneutered, and had a lot of parasites – both internal and external. He’d probably been living in the local fields for some time, and his load of worms came from a diet of rodents. The first action item with new cats is a vet-check – SNAP test for FIV/FeLV, deworming and flea control, and spay/neuter, and we needed to get McCormick healthy before he could interact with other cats.

Bird-watching with his buddy Caleb

It’s a tradition at the Sanctuary that the cats who find us are given TV detective names – we’ve rejoiced in the company of Magnum, Kojak, Cagney and Horatio, with Cassidy, Rico and Rollins the most recent arrivals. Our Med staff are fans of Law and Order: SVU, and most of our recent detective cats are named from that series.  Our McCormick was a little wary when first released into the front courtyard, but quickly discovered that nobody was out to hurt him, he could get along with most of the cats, and the humans offered attention and cuddles. He is very happy to take lap time attention – but watch when MedStaff Catherine crosses the courtyard: all his attention zeros in on her. McCormick loves us – but he adores Catherine!

Lap-time - good; wearing the cone - not so much...

The poor boy has had some cage time recently, along with the cone of shame – some mouth problems and a couple of lesions where he had scratched his own irritated skin. Having him on a hypo-allergenic diet helped, but without isolating him, it’s simply not practical at the sanctuary. What McCormick needs is his own home where he can’t eat stuff that triggers his food sensitivities. That’s not to say he couldn’t live with another cat – he loves the company of Truffle and Malibu who came to us about the same time as he did – but any cat he lived with would have to eat the same thing he does.  

Watched over by his good friend Truffle

For the time being, McCormick is living free with his front courtyard buddies – but the med-staff keep checking on him, and if his skin or his mouth shows irritation, he’ll be back in his cage for another round with the prescription diet – and he hates the cone that protects his ears from his own scratching!  He could probably go to the Adoption Centre – but the cages there are smaller, and he’d have fewer visitors; he’s better off with monitored freedom in the front courtyard, combined with love and cuddles from staff and volunteers until he can find a home of his own.

Lap-time is the best....

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult & Akira Graham

Cats Needing Comfort

Celine  (KN)

Any cat-lover will tell you that despite the popular image of cats as being aloof and independent, they also love, as we do, and grieve when they lose someone – cat or human – close to them. The Connor building has seen loss recently. I blogged about our beloved Hope, who was such a presence in that room, and then just last week we lost Hope’s little black friend Layla, who has been with us around eight years.  We are concerned about big torbie Celine, who was bonded with Hope, and the Kitty Comforters are now rallying around to comfort another little grieving cat. 

Spooky (BC)

We have so many black cats, and it’s easy to get them confused – especially in the Connor, where you can also encounter Nyla, Chicharron, Luka, Alvin, Bellatrix and many others.  Anne, who coordinates the Kitty Comforters, has asked us to look out particularly for Spooky (and for her lookalike, Emily).

Spooky with her buddy Layla, now gone  (BC)

Spooky came to us with Layla, so they have been companions for a long time. They were part of a group that came from a hoarding situation in the Kootenays which was more than the local rescue was able to manage. They were not in good condition – in fact, some of the larger group died – and the med staff had to get used to climbing up to the Connor cage-tops, where the three of them hid themselves, in order to medicate them.  Spooky is a special favourite of volunteer Laura, who says that she doesn’t put herself forward for attention unless chicken is on offer. She’s also one of our snuffly cats with permanent congestion, and has occasionally been caged for treatment.  Layla would make sure Spooky had company while caged, even trying to get into the cage with her when Laura was visiting.  

Spooky has beautiful eyes   (KN)

She may be shy, but once Spooky realises that you’re offering gentle petting, she drools with happiness. Now that the weather’s warmer, she can often be found on the porch of the Connor, and is less concerned about staying out of reach, though she’s an active climber on the ladder, the cat-tree, up the sides of the cages – she’s happier communicating with us at our head-height.  

Emily is reactive  (BC)

The other little black cat – who was less close to Layla I think – is Emily. She’s easily mistaken for Spooky until you pet once too often and then she swats; I don’t think it’s nastiness so much as getting easily overstimulated. The danger is that black cats like that may get avoided, and then they’re lonely. Emily likes attention, but you just have to read her body language very carefully, and leave her wanting more rather than saying “that’s too much!”  She used to have a stocky little body with a little round head on it – she’s lost some weight recently, and now looks more in proportion (and more like Spooky!).  Look at the eyes to differentiate them – Emily’s eyes are quite round, and yellow, they pop against her dark fur. Spooky’s eyes are gentler and an almost translucent green.

Sad Celine  (BC)

And sweet Celine – for so long a cage-top cat, holding aloof from us, until Hope offered her company and the two began to share the table-top bed.  Now she seems a bit lost – not close to any of the other cats. She sits on the cat-tree for a bit, and then wanders outside; she doesn’t interact with the other cats except for hissing when Cricket gets too bouncy.  She accepts gentle petting, but doesn’t lean into it.  Treats are ignored. When dinner is offered she has a few mouthfuls and then moves to the top of the cages.  Grieving takes whatever time it takes – all we can do is to keep an eye on how she’s doing, and let her know with touch that the humans around her are there for her. 

Ringo is learning to trust other cats again   (KN)

I am heartened by watching shy Ringo in the back pens; we lost his good buddy Zivko more than a year ago, and Ringo retreated to his hidey-place, unwilling to venture out without Zivko to be his protector. But time heals, and Ringo is starting to hang around with the current Boys’ Club – Thorn and Percival and Chaga are making him feel more confident, and he head-butts with Midnight, who is also shy.  Time – and having good friends around – it works for cats as it does for humans.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult & Karen Nicholson

Four Little Ferals

Bugle

The weather may affect the experience of our weekend visitors to the Sanctuary. On a rainy day like the past Sunday, only the most enthusiastic and social cats will come out, and the others go find a cosy corner and curl up! I find I need to remind people that we have way more cats than they may see, because the ferals are reluctant to appear when strangers are around. And part of my usual “spiel” is that we have a lot of ferals, and still more semi-ferals – and the latter are on a wide spectrum from “you can look at me but not touch” all the way to “pet me, pet me!”  It’s important to us that we are able to allow the ferals to BE feral, if that’s what they need. But it’s always exciting when we see movement on that spectrum, as has been the case recently with a group of cats who are living in the DoubleWide.

Ryan (or perhaps Ryanne?)

The four of them arrived together from Cats Cradle Rescue on Vancouver Island – too feral for the rescue to be able to foster them out. The two youngest are obviously siblings, about 18 months old, and almost identical in everything except colour. We were told they were male and female, but it turns out that grey Ryan should probably be Ryanne!

Velma

Because the quartet was familiar with each other, we caged them in pairs, and in adjacent cages, so that they knew where the others were. Grey Ryan and black Velma were in the first cage on the left; both are slim, sleek elegant cats, and were very keen to escape – so much so that their cage was kept to med staff access only for longer than usual. When Ryan finally moves into the back courtyard, we’re going to have a hard time distinguishing her from Wylee, who is also slim and sleek and grey. 

Velma & Veruca 

Velma was caged a little longer because of an eye infection; there are lots of black cats in the back courtyard area, but I don’t think we have anyone quite like her – she reminds me of a former inhabitant called Skouch – black and leggy. We’re told that she survived FIP as a kitten – often a fatal disease, so she’s obviously a fighter! She can quite often be found sharing her cage with the shyest of the four.

Veruca Salt

In the adjacent cage were two very different cats. Veruca Salt is a stocky little torbie, named for a character in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. I’m not sure it’s a good name for her; she is NOT like the greedy, demanding, spoiled brat in the story, but instead is a shy “don’t even look at me” girl, who prefers to hide behind a drape. Perhaps med-staff Louise was thinking of the rock band by the same name! 

Bugle

Her room-mate was Bugle, named by Molly for the newspaper in Spider-Man!  She’s about 3 years old, and has almost certainly produced her share of kittens in that time.  Initially we thought she would make an understudy for hissy Smithy in the back courtyard; the Kitty Comforters were encouraged to visit with these two before we had access to Ryan and Velma and were greeted with typical angry-feral hissing from Bugle.  However, it wasn’t long before we discovered that it was all a facade – and all we needed was a little chicken!

Bugle is living up to her name, and announcing her feelings to anyone who will listen. If chicken tidbits are on offer, she will sing the song of her people until someone pays attention to her – and her song is often a long drawn-out cry that leaves us in no doubt about what she wants.  Interestingly, she accepts the tidbits very gently – often, ferals will snatch food from the hand without much care for where the teeth land. She is still not keen on touch – she will allow it briefly, but her body language says clearly that she is not yet comfortable. She may well be one of the cats that needs a shave to get through the summer, because her fur has mats, but she really doesn’t care for being groomed.

Competition for space and chicken!
- Delilah and Gwen

Typically, feral cats in the DoubleWide make their way out onto the deck, and vanish into the crowd of ferals there. These four are breaking that stereotype – they’re still based in “their” open cages. Both Ryan and Velma have discovered the cage tops, and are happy to climb, but usually end up back in their home base. Veruca Salt is not a wanderer, and prefers her own shelf and her drape – with occasional excursions to Ryan and Velma’s cage (especially when someone like Delilah moves in on her turf).

Under the cat-tree - Bugle looking for opportunities

Bugle is a floor-level girl, and has taken to the bottom of the cat-tree in the middle of the room. There, she can keep an eye open for sassy Gwen, who is also on the lookout for chicken handouts, and is not happy with other cats in her space. Both little bundles of fur know who will offer treats, and avoid each other, while remaining within reach of tasty mouthfuls.  Finding the right bribery is so often the right way to a feral’s heart!

Open adjacent cages are still the favourite spot for
Bugle, Ryan and Veruca Salt

So all the staff and the Kitty Comforters will be working on this little quartet in the next while, hoping to habituate them to attention and gentle touch, and to teach them that they’ve landed in a place where they’re safe from the scary world of feral living outside the boundaries of the Sanctuary.

Blog and photos by Brigid Coult

Raisin

Raisin  (KN)

Pen 4 is the largest closed feral-cat area in the Sanctuary.  There are many ferals in the main courtyard who find their hiding places around the perimeter, behind draped shelves or buildings, but the Pen 4 ferals have their whole pen to themselves, with no other cats invading their territory, and few human visitors. There they have established their own colony, mutually tolerant if not affectionate.  Watching the College cats emerging around the back of Pen 2 in the evenings, weaving and bunting, it’s obvious that they love each other’s company – that sort of interdependence is less obvious in Pen 4 where the cats have come from different origins.  Now that all the Merritt cats have passed, Len and Lloyd are the most obviously bonded pair, and the others vary in who is interacting with whom at any given time.

So often hiding...   (BC)

Raisin came to us in the summer of 2022, trapped in a Vancouver parking lot as a single cat rather than part of a group, and she has maintained that sense of separateness in Pen 4. She bases herself in a tree at the edge of the pen where someone thoughtfully wedged a box to act as a shelter. She can sometimes be seen from the courtyard path, glaring down from her perch, and she retreats there whenever she feels uneasy.  Just beneath her favourite hiding place is one of the “igloo” kennels, and on sunny days she can be found on top of it, enjoying the warmth, but knowing that she has a quick retreat at hand if needed. 

Basking in the sun  (BC)

She will make her way across to the cabin for something to eat, but rarely opts for the company of other cats. As many of the others do, when a volunteer enters the pen to do some cleaning or offer food, she will disappear, but recently she has been remaining on her igloo seat and watching warily; if you approach and you’re not the right person, she will retreat.  Her “right person”, as with many of the Pen 4 cats, is Lisa Brill-Friesen; in addition to her staff work, Lisa is trapper, and foster-mom, and cat-whisperer for ferals. 

Venturing the front shelf for Lisa's tidbits   (LBF)

Fortunately, Raisin is treat-motivated, and Lisa has infinite patience.  From offering creamy Churu treats at the end of a long stick, to advancing to accept chicken tidbits from the hand, all the way to accepting firm petting, Raisin has made enormous progress.  She is still wary of everyone except Lisa, but she no longer scuttles into hiding when anyone appears.  She reluctantly accepted treats from me, but was quick to slash with a razor claw when she felt my hand was too close.  Like many of the long-haired ferals, she has some large mats that will probably mean she needs to be netted and at least partially shaved for her summer comfort – not a process she will enjoy, though it is a necessary one.

Her favourite perch - when feeling more secure  (KN)

All the signs say that she is feral – but the vets think she’s around 13-14 years old, and it’s unusual for a feral to live so long. A cat that is a stray rather than a feral may have a distant memory of human contact, and may re-socialize – but equally, may never overcome the fear that came with being lost. Most ferals live in colonies, but Raisin was alone;  who knows what her past holds?  All we can do is give her the care that ensures that her future holds security, food, and loving voices that encourage her to trust once again.

Blog by Brigid Coult

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