Martin

I came across Martin on a number of occasions after I started volunteering at the sanctuary, snoozing on a comfortable shelf by one of the windows in the double wide. I first really took notice of him and got a sense of the sweet old guy's personality one day when I came across him gently grooming Princess, who couldn't have been happier.

Martin treating Princess to a deluxe wash

Martin (& Princess, rear)

Here's Martin's story, from Leslie (originally published in The Love Blog, July 2009):

"Martin was found stray in Richmond and taken to the shelter we operate for the City of Richmond. Because he was an older cat with some health problems, our other shelter wasn't able to find a home for him. We are so fortunate to have our sanctuary available as a permanent home for cats like Martin who are difficult to adopt."

 Update November 6, 2010: Sad to report that this sweet old guy has now left us.

Tugboat

Tugboat is one of our most recent arrivals, but even after little more than a week he has made himself a favorite of staff and volunteers alike.

I first heard about him only a day or two after he came to the sanctuary from Ann, who knows how much I like to hear about any new cats that I should be sure to make a point of meeting. She described him as "awesome" and "a doll."
I couldn't have said it better myself.

Tugboat was surrendered due to "inappropriate urinating." It must have been a tough decision for his people to give him up, as Debbie tells me they hope to visit him at the sanctuary and, if I remember correctly, would even like to sponsor him to assist RAPS in his care.

He's in a cage for the moment, as the presence of all the other cats is stressing him out (pretty normal for newcomers). But I expect he'll be out and about before too too long. In the meantime, he's already won himself a solid fan base more than willing to give him the tummy rubs he enjoys so much.

Chloe

 The sign on the door of the cage where Chloe was living when I first met her had a strange combination of information:

1. she is a semi-feral
2. she had been adopted out from RAPS as an 8-week old kitten

This didn't quite compute for me. Not tame but lived in a home all this time? It turned out that when her adoptive family found her uncomfortable with the idea of being handled, they didn't push her and just let her be. And so she never did learn to be comfortable with people touching her.

Leslie expresses regret that the people never thought to ask RAPS staff for help or advice on socializing Chloe. RAPS may have been able to suggest a few techniques that would help them win her trust. Now 7, Chloe is back with RAPS. She was surrendered in the end, not to due her people problem, but to severe allergies.

For a long time, her cage was one to enter with caution. Too fast a movement or too close a placement of water or food dish could lead to a serious swat.

By early February, the cage door was open and Chloe was free to come out... when she was ready. It took a little while (a premature visit by friendly ambassador Squirrel was quickly rebuffed), but she did venture forth in time.

Chloe and Squirrel

Now she's doing very well, out and about and letting us approach a little closer all the time. Last week she even accepted a little food I placed in front of her, a little wide-eyed perhaps, but no fleeing and no swatting.

Nelly

Nelly is one of our ferals.

She can generally be found up on top of the cages. Not only does she feel safe up there, as many ferals do, but she seems to actively enjoy the entertainment value of watching our comings and goings.

As she stares at you with curiosity in her big round eyes, it's hard to resist trying to engage with Nelly, perhaps reaching out slowly in hopes of touching even finger tip to nose. But no luck for me so far. She never hisses or swats at me as some of the less tame cats are inclined to do, just scurries away out of reach.

Someone who has apparently had much better luck with Nelly is Mario. Perhaps he can work the same relaxed cat love magic he's used to tame other ferals in the past.

Bree

Not long ago, a reader asked if I would do a story about Bree, a beautiful 10 month old girl who was one of the "urban barn" cats rescued by RAPS last summer.
(Check out this article in The Vancouver Sun for the full farm cat story)

Known to sanctuary staff and volunteers for a sweet, cuddly and upbeat personality, Bree became known to a wider circle of RAPS friends and helpers when chronic congestion turned into something serious enough that she could neither eat nor breathe properly. Thanks to the efforts of many, RAPS was able to raise enough money to pay for a rhinoscopy and the removal of a non-cancerous growth at the back of her mouth.
(Read more in the February 2010 issue of The RAPSity News)

I was hoping to do a cheerful follow-up to Marianne's newsletter article, talking about how little Bree is continuing to thrive, "eating and breathing like a healthy kitten should."

Unfortunately, when I arrived at the sanctuary this evening, I was greeted by a sign on which was written a plea to help Bree a second time. Although the procedure to remove her nasal polyp was a success, it has now grown back. Unable to eat at all on her own and only able to breathe with difficulty, Bree needs another, more invasive surgery to get rid of the growth once and for all.

This will cost up to $2,500.

To save Bree, RAPS needs to call out to our friends and helpers once more.
If you are able to be a friend to Bree and help, please go to  http://www.rapsociety.com/support.htm  where you'll find information on how to donate online, by mail or in person.

Updated April 2, 2010:

Bree had a few surgeries this past week, scaring us for a bit for a little while there, but as of today she's back at the sanctuary and, Debbie reports, is both eating well and grooming herself. What a trooper!

photo provided by Debbie

photo provided by Debbie

Treacle

Treacle arrived at the sanctuary at the beginning of March, left by the driveway in a carrier with a note saying something about pooping outside the litterbox that had been going on for a long time and for no reason the vet could identify. The writer of the note hadn't wanted to euthanize her, so they left her there assuming one of our staff would find her and take her in. Luckily, they did.

When she arrived, Treacle was very upset. The sign on her cage advised people to move slowly and quietly around her. Leaving her home must have been a most unwelcome shock, particularly since she seems to be one of those cats who hates other cats. And her cage was right next to Rita, one of our most famous cat-haters. I hear Rita managed to pull aside the blanket keeping them from each other's view and they proceeded to try to get one another through the partition. Now Treacle's cage is fully obscured from prying cat eyes and she's a lot more relaxed.

However she might feel about fellow felines, Treacle loves people and, despite having never met me before, was delighted by my visit. She rubbed her head against everything in reach, had me watch her eat for a bit, then capsized for a good, happy wriggle. She's a beautiful girl who will soon win herself more than a few admirers among the sanctuary staff and volunteers.

Buddy (with guest appearance by Amy & Kringle)

Buddy was surrendered to RAPS in November of 2009. The sign on the cage he was in while acclimatizing to the sanctuary described him as "VERY SWEET!" but also noted the reason for his surrender: it seems the boy was a pee-er.

Buddy has adjusted nicely to life at the sanctuary. These days, one of his favorite spots is on the ledge in front of the cage where our two non-feline residents, rabbits Amy and Kringle, live. Not sure if Buddy's figured out that this spot puts him at a perfect height for receiving cuddles from any humans in the vicinity, or if he just likes hangin' with the bunnies. Given his obvious pleasure whenever a volunteer or visitor stops to say hello, I'm suspecting it's the former.

Then again, those bunnies are just so darned cute that some cats will take advantage of an open door at feeding time to try and climb right in their cage with them... just to hang out.