Tubbitha

Tubbitha  (KN)

Late in 2023 we became Sanctuary for a group of cats who were already an established colony at the College of the Rockies in Cranbrook. Their back story can be found in the blog in which I introduced them, but they have settled in and made themselves at home in their own feral way. They have very little liking for humans, but like the mostly-orange Kamloops cats, they remain a self-defined group within the Back Courtyard cats, moving around like a shoal of fish.  For the most part, they hang out in Pen 3; the Calgary cats have the cabin, and the College cats use the kennels and small structures nearby. They enjoy the sunshine from the pen boundaries and from rooftops. For the most part, they prefer to have little contact with us, but they will often be out and about in the early evening, and a few of them, like Lil’ Bit, will allow minimal touch.

Tubbitha with Twiglet, hiding in their
early cage days with us   (BC)

Most of them are long-haired and distinctly end-of-winter shaggy; grooming is out of the question, and when the mats are too bad the med-staff use a bit of gabapentin and the clippers. There are a few-short-haired cats among them – Bernadette, Purrl and Tubbitha.  The latter came to us as Tabitha, but her name evolved as her size increased.

The other College Cats happily sunning themselves
at the back of Pen 3  (BC)

Tubbitha stands out because she has exiled herself from the rest of the group. When they first came to us, they had their initial cage-stay time in the DoubleWide, and when the doors were open, most of them moved out to the Deck, before relocating in the spring to the back of the pens. Tubbitha preferred to stay in her cage; she was quite happy to share it with one or another (non-Cranbrook) cat, but she liked her comfort and resisted the temptation to move. Kin sometimes occupied one shelf where he was easily accessed by the med staff;  occasionally one of the four orange cats (probably Valencia) would share space.

You may NOT touch me!  (KN)

Tubbitha also resisted approaches by humans, but she was not so scared that she felt the need to be out of reach – she just hissed and smacked. She didn’t quite get DoorDash food service, but she never had far to go to find a warm supper – I guess you could call it a hot-and-a-cot.

Tubbitha and Guthrie  (BC)

At the end of last summer, the DoubleWide was emptied – first, of all cats, and then of all cages – and serious renovations began. The old cages were still needed, and they were moved – two to the Newcomers deck, one to the TeaRoom, and four to the DW deck. All the displaced cats had to find new homes, and the previously quiet deck got very crowded. Four cage-tops gave us more space for ferals who feel happier up high, and the deck cat-door began to get a whole lot more use.

The deck buddies, enjoying some fresh air 
Luke, Hickory, Iris, Tubbitha, Mitzi, Guthrie (BC)

Tubbitha was one of the cat-door users. She’s not the most enthusiastic climber, because of her size, and when indoors, is generally in one of the draped shelves near the exit. But for the most part, her preference is to be outside, on the small porch outside the cat-door. She will occasionally use the cat-tree there, but her favourite thing is to take the base of the tree and make herself comfortable. She tolerates the company of Mitzi, Guthrie, Hickory, Luke and the others, and continues to prefer hissing at any human who attempts to make contact with her.

Hickory (on L) with Tubbitha  (BC)

I don’t think she’s made any effort to reunite with the rest of her family; by her standards, they’re sleeping rough, after all – Tubbitha would rather stay in the hotel.  She does occasionally venture down the pathway, but not far; we’re more likely to find her investigating possible cage vacancies in the DW (not likely to happen!) or contemplating life at the top of the steps to the TeaRoom. She prefers the family of choice to the one of genetics.  But with the return of the sunshine, there is a lot more feline movement from one area to another, so we’ll keep an eye open to see if she prefers to remain in (comfortable) exile.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult & Karen Nicholson