Loved and Lost in 2025

(March) Sweet leggy Akiva had been declawed before he came to us;
he was always wary around other cats (KN)

The between-gates entry to the back pens of the Cat Sanctuary is also a storage area – cleaning supplies, transfer cages and carriers, the sign-in book, the board showing volunteer vacancies and temporary assignments – and a RAPS calendar. The latter is not there so much to keep track of dates as to keep an open record of cats who have passed, and you will often see an incoming volunteer checking to see that all is well in the area in which they are working. Kitty Comforter coordinator Anne Marchetti emails the KCs to let them know when we have a loss, and includes a little tribute and a photo that helps us to mourn privately – thank you, Anne! It’s hard to do a shift, and realise that you’ve not seen a specific cat – only to check the calendar or with one of the med staff, to find that cat has passed.

(March) Cole came to us with aggression issues, but quickly 
discovered that laundry-room life offered lots of good attention, 
first tastes of food, and warm towels for sleeping on.  (TV)

Some months we go long periods with no losses – and then we may have a dozen cats pass in a few weeks. This year we got through to May with 2-3 each month – and then we lost 25 in the next three months – especially hard on the med-staff, for whom compassion fatigue has to be an issue. Sometimes we know it’s coming – the cat has been on medication and under a watchful eye; sometimes it comes out of the blue – perhaps a cancer that the cat has been hiding, or a sudden stroke. This year I am all too aware that practically all the cats I encountered when I came to the Sanctuary in 2010 have gone – I think all that are left are May and Walker in Pen 5, and sweet Orlean in the DW.

(May) Named for his beautiful golden eyes, Pumpkin 
was very much the social leader of the Boys Club  (MW)

55 cats have passed in 2025; some that visitors may never have encountered because of where they lived; others who were beloved favourites, sought out for special lap-time or petting. I wrote about our Sweet Gericatrics in April, all of whom have now passed - and I memorialized some the July passings in a later blog called July Rainbows.  

Here are a few of the others.

(June) Beloved by all, Willow was known as Spider-Cat
in her early days. After a bout with vestibular disease and a cage-stay,
she became very friendly with humans.  We lost her sister Amelia in March (BC)

(June) Sylar was my sponsor cat, and my challenge; 
 when caged, he would  reluctantly enjoy petting;
 out in the back courtyard he was usually very shy  (BC)

(June) Handsome Adam was a core member of the Pen 5 crowd,
and is greatly missed by his sister May (MW)

(Sept)  From arriving as a plain tuxedo, pretty Holly's colouring looked like she'd
had an expensive balayage treatment. She loved lap time with visitors (MW)

(Oct) Bricklyn was a fearful feral through much of her life with us, but this
sweet old lady  experienced feline dementia in her last year, and forgot to be
so scared. She made many human friends and loved petting and treats  (KN)

(Oct) Rookie was a former feral boy brought to us by volunteers
Barb and Waldi, more than ten years ago; he loved their visits  (KN)

(Oct) Hannah (also known as Hannah-Banana) was the small queen of the
back courtyard, and, for the last year, the oldest cat in the Sanctuary.
Hannah enjoyed Sanctuary life; she just didn't care much for other cats! (MW)

(Dec) Dazzle was another girl who held to her wary-feral status for years;
she would come and leg-rub, or accept arms-length petting - and then
she suddenly made breakthrough and adored lap-time with Justin  (JS)

(Dec) Cricket was always known as one of the kittens, though she'd been with us
more than 10 years. She came to us as a feral and resisted taming, but she became
one of the best greeters, standing on her back legs to get petting  (KN)

ALSO: Jan: Mojo, Venus / Feb: Tang  / Mar: Amelia, Kip  / Apr: Skye, Lil / May: Taylor, SweetPea / June: Charlotte, Kirby, Flash, Marble / July: Jerry, Neko, Denzel, Autumn, Juliette, Chumley,  Lloyd,  Paula, Kimpton, Higgins, Nova, Fletcher / August: Mystery, Licorice, Peaches, Luna, Sierra, Crinkle  / Sept:  Kilkenny, Buddy / Oct: Della, Salem, Tux, Ringo, Neptune, Dave / Nov: Laszlo / Dec: Billy, Karisa, Skittles, Runti

We have many sweet memories of furry friends whose lives would probably have been shorter and harder without the Cat Sanctuary. We grieve losing them - and are grateful that we can continue to offer shelter to others who come to us in need, and who find a place of safety, care and love with us.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Karen Nicholson,
Justin Saint, Tanisha Vincent, Michele Wright