The Front Courtyard Texans

 

Wilbur, Alyssa, Bingo - in their shared cage

Last week’s blog introduced the two Syds, Sunshine, Sophie and Oreo who arrived from a Texas cat-lover who bequeathed them to RAPS care when she passed away. The other five Texas cats were brought into the Hill House off the Front Courtyard, and housed in two adjacent cages.

Milo - very wary

The prospect of keeping cats in cages is not a welcome one – either for us, or the cats in question. No cat likes to be confined, but in the Adoption Centre, there is no alternative; newcomers have to be caged for the health of the kittens whose immune systems are not fully developed. The cages are standard vet-care ones – easy to keep clean, with room for movement – but it must be like living in a tiny studio apartment.  When the cats are transferred to the sanctuary, most of them find themselves in cages that are more than twice that size, and we have several that are larger than that.

formerly Texas Cricket - now Weevil, hiding in her bed

The Hill House, which I blogged about this time last fall, was refurbished in 2012 with funds from the family of cat-lover Stanley Hill – and many of the cats mentioned in that blog still make it their base.  The south wall is divided into three pens – a large cage in the centre that is frequently a temporary home to groups of cats arriving together; and two smaller ones on either side.  The large central cage was allocated to Alyssa, Wilbur and Bingo; the smaller one on the right to Texas Cricket and Milo. As we always do, furniture in the cages was well-draped to offer hiding places to fearful residents.

Wilbur

The three in the middle were initially cautious, but not fearful;  all three had quickly been identified in the Adoption Centre as cats that would probably adapt quickly.  There was a large drape at the entrance to dissuade passing cats from pee-ing into the cage, but on any visit to them, once past that drape the three would emerge and be social.

Alyssa - queen of all she surveys

Alyssa is the most vocal of the three. Slim and elegant, with a white locket, and a little white belly-fur, she was also the first of the three to emerge, make contact, and then claim the top of the cat-tree in a position of clear superiority.  Now that the cage is open, she is also the most adventurous, exploring freely, and making sure she’s noticed. It’s easy to confuse her with shy Pemberly, but Alyssa’s much more extroverted, and lacks the white inner-ear fur that characterizes her look-alike

Bingo

Light tabby Wilbur and long-haired darker tabby Bingo are also ranging beyond the Hill House door, but prefer to stay inside – partly familiarity, but also, I suspect, because the Hill House is cozy and warm. The centre cage has now been closed off for the use of newcomers, and the smaller one, with an open door, has become ground zero for the Texas cats. When there is human company, both Wilbur and Bingo are glad to accept attention; treats are always good, but best of all is petting and laptime, for Bingo in particular, He will settle down happily for as much time as you have to spare, eyes blinking happily, big paws opening and closing as he makes air biscuits. Wilbur seems to prefer his snuggles to be next to you; he enjoys a lap, but Bingo is pretty pushy about getting the lap first.

Alyssa & Weevil - now out and about...

Inside the cage, despite the fact that the door was wide open, Texas Cricket prefered to have solo snuggles in her own bed. This pretty tabby and white girl is now known as Weevil, since we already have a Cricket in the Front Courtyard, and one that has no boundaries for exploration – she is quite likely to saunter into the Hill House at any time. Weevil was prepared to accept a treat, and a little touching from me, but was not exactly enthusiastic about the latter; she sat and watched Wilbur and Bingo interacting with me outside the cage.  A couple of days later she was emerging with more confidence...

Milo in the heated basket

The last of the Texas cats was initially nowhere to be found. Milo is a shorthaired grey boy who has – happily for him, less so for us – discovered that one of the benefits of living in the Hill House is an easy window exit to the adjacent Old Rabbit Area, where many of the ferals hang out. Milo approves of this option, and has reverted from his original willingness to be petted to taking on the semi-feral skittishness of his new roomies, Having accepted treats and petting in a confined space, he is now looking horrified at the prospect of physical contact, and not even treats would tempt him,  However, he hovered in true semi-feral style of “you may look at me, but not touch me”, so I was at least able to get some photos.

The family stays together

We hope that volunteers working in that area will make a point of introducing themselves to the newcomers – and especially, of encouraging Weevil and Milo to learn that this may be a scary new place, but that our new immigrants have found a safe Sanctuary with us.

Blog & photos by Brigid Coult