Jerry - update

The front courtyard has been dominated for several years by this tabby-and-white bundle of fluff.

Ruler of all he surveys

Jerry is one of those cats that is pointed out to visitors not just for his beauty (and he is very beautiful) but because you really need to know where Jerry is at all times.

Jerry - with a little photo-bombing by Dino

Mostly he’s happy simply to lounge around and be admired – but when Jerry’s on the prowl, you have to be super-aware.  He will suddenly decide that another cat has invaded his personal space, and attack – and woe betide the human that gets in his way (the cats can usually look after themselves).

I may look like I'm sleeping, but I'm watching you...

Jerry has had a lifetime history of allergic reactions (when we got him, we had to treat the skin on his tail and hind end, and he had many subsequent flea allergies). Because his immune system is compromised by leukemia, he recently had a hypersensitivity to a parasite treatment applied to the back of his neck. Veterinarians call it "necro-ulcerative dermatitis," and it was confirmed by a skin biopsy. Jerry suffered major fur loss and developed hot, itchy skin and ulcerated sores that wouldn't heal because of his scratching. For some time he looked miserable – as if he were becoming a Sphynx cat. In deference to his feelings we won’t post a picture of him at his worst, but it was looking something like this:

The condition was eventually healed with steroids and antibiotics, plus little vests that were sewn by our wonderful volunteer, Cheryl, which protected Jerry's skin from his scratching. For some time he had to wear both the vest and a soft collar, to protect him from himself.

How long do I have to wear this thing?

Thankfully, Jerry is recovering well. He's out and about, indulging in his favourite pastime of drinking water raccoon-style - he stirs it up with his paws and then licks it off.

 

His fur is growing back – not yet as luxuriant as it once was, but it’s looking promising – and he’s feeling well enough to be back to protecting his personal space once more.

Admire me - but don't touch...

Blogger: Brigid Coult (with input from Leslie Landa)
Photos: Michele Wright & Debbie Wolanski

Paws to Admire

Have you ever noticed how really exquisite cats’ feet are?  I’ll come clean:  I have a huge foot fetish – or maybe it’s more accurate to call it a paw fetish.  But I’m mesmerized by the beauty of the feline foot.  As I write this, I’m trying to put my finger on exactly why.
Mostly, I think, I’m in love with the shape – often there’s such an elegant length of graceful leg, ending in a lovely big blob of furry roundness – the leg like a dancer’s, the paw like a powder puff.

Jingles just “happened” to have her foot out as I went by – probably knows about my paw fetish and is taunting me

Dancer’s legs.  Note – two background cats trying to get their paws in the picture

Sometimes just the powder puff itself is enthralling. 

Check out Gina’s feet, maybe the poofiest EVER.  Could she possibly have blow-dried them??

 Perhaps Gina has been inspiring the other cats, as someone else is clearly trying to compete with her for the poofiest feet.

Sometimes what I love is the angle of their paws, the way their hind feet jut out from those lovely round haunches at a cheeky side-ways angle.  Did you ever see such exquisitely poofy caramel perfection??

One of the cats in Old Aids – maybe Chip?

Sometimes a cat’s paws stick out enticingly from under a furry flap of tummy, like those of an Emperor penguin protecting its egg.  I also love the way the paws are so often white on an otherwise non-white cat, as if nature had taken a moment to highlight this exquisite detail.

Ben aka McGyver, new guy in the Moore Trailer.  “Love me, love my feet.”

It’s clear (at least to me) that the cats know how beautiful their feet are, and often display themselves to advantage.

Mr. Pink’s Toes

Unknown cat’s bottom I mean foot

And last but not least, there is sweet sweet Cookie, who knows that paws can be useful too.  When I’m sitting on the stairs giving out treats, he’ll sit behind me and use his paw to tap me on the shoulder every time he wants another one.  I don’t have a picture of his feet, but here he is learning to take selfies.  Clever boy, that Cookie.

 

Blogger: Moira Langley

Photos: Moira Langley and Michele Wright

The Volunteer/Cat Relationship: Julian and Dell



When I take visitors round on a Sunday, I always stop at the back feral pen and introduce them to Dell. He’s been featured here a few times, but he’s worth re-introducing as one of our greatest successes. Briefly, he came in as a fierce attack cat, and eventually ended up doing a 180-degree turn to become a lap-cat.

A large part of that turn-around has come from Dell’s chance to reconcile all his bad experiences in a safe place – he now knows his space, he has his cat-buddies like Gregory.  But a greater part has come from the patience of some of our volunteers – both the regular cleaners and feeders, and the Kitty-Comforters, who make a point of spending time with seemingly timid or isolated cats. And we all have our favourites – many of us take time with a special cat each week; not a cat we could ever take home, but one that needs us nevertheless.

Julian is one of those volunteers. He’s regularly at the Sanctuary to feed and scoop in the single-wide, but he always finds time to head to the back pens and spend some special time with Dell. It’s thanks to Julian, and other volunteers like him, that Dell has become a lap-cat, loving attention.
Julian first came to visit at the Sanctuary almost six years ago. Brought by a friend, he knew from that first day that he was in a very special place, and that he would have some kind of future there. A dedicated cat-guy, he and his wife Michele (who takes so many of our wonderful photos) already have three cats of their own: a nine-year-old tortoiseshell named Misty and two almost six year old tabbies called Sadie and Max (who are brother and sister). 
But having cats at home doesn’t stop Julian and Michele from giving regular devoted time to the Cat Sanctuary. Every week they turn up to do the Friday evening feeds for the cats of the Single-Wide - as Julian says, Michele puts it in one end (feeds) and Julian takes it from the other end (scoops).

Another of Julian’s favourites is in the single-wide – a little grey girl called Simone, who loves to be carried around against a shoulder like a baby. Simone is actually a semi-feral, but in the security of an area she knows well, she loves to cuddle.

And no visit is complete without a stop in the front courtyard to have a little time with Julian’s buddy Bobby. Many cats will roll over and expose their stomachs – and then when you touch, they grab!  Bobby is known to his fans as ‘Belly-Rub Bobby” because he loves to have his stomach rubbed – and he can always count on Julian to deliver the best belly-rubs!

Blogger: Brigid Coult

Photos: Michele Wright

Jamaica

Largely thanks to the work of RAPS, Richmond has less of a feral cat problem than many other municipalities across the country. For years we have been doing a TNR (Trap Neuter Release) program, ensuring that cat colonies do not grow. Sometimes cats cannot be released again because of development in their territory, but there are still many “wild” areas where cats can be found.

feeding site - photo, Kevin Wolanski

Several RAPS volunteers  look after cat feeding sites in such areas,  putting out fresh food and water for the cats living there.   They keep a close watch on these feral and stray cats, noting if any of them require any special care or if a newcomer has arrived in their midst.  

photo, Michele Wright

Imagine their surprise when, on one of these regular visits to a feeding site, they saw a beautiful  Siamese cat resting nearby in her cat bed!   Who knows what brought her owners to the decision to dump her there but her guardian angel must have been watching over her that day!  Fortunately, the volunteer who looks after the feeding site found her before a dog, a raccoon or someone who doesn’t like cats did -  the little waif  turned out to be 17 years old and quite deaf!  She wouldn’t have been able to hear danger approaching and might have met a horrible end.  Instead, she was scooped up by the horrified volunteer, checked out and brought to the safety of the Moore trailer at RAPS’ cat sanctuary, where she now rejoices in the name of “Jamaica”.

photo, Michele Wright

Apart from being elderly, deaf and a just a bit frail, she’s a healthy little thing and is ever so friendly. Like most Siamese cats, she can be pretty chatty but so far her only complaint is when her tail is touched – she doesn’t seem to like that very much.   She’s still very wary of the other cats so is being introduced to a few of them gradually. 

photo, Marianne Moore

She’s sure to have some interesting encounters with some of the other “divas” in the Moore trailer but she’ll have a cage to herself as long as it takes for her to accept her new surroundings and roommates. 

Guest blogger: Marianne Moore

More on Precious...

Since arriving at the Sanctuary in the beginning of July last year, Precious has charmed her way into the hearts of many volunteers and staff members.  Surprisingly, considering in appearance she is a nondescript black cat, she is easily identified by her outgoing and playful personality.  Her sweetness and adorably crossed eyes have made her something of a celebrity.  It’s a regular occurrence to see Precious take off from the far end of the double wide, charge out through the laundry room door and down to the back porch in the courtyard at top speed. 

Along with being a sprint champion, Precious has claimed one of the red stick toys as her own.  When she hears the rustle of the feathers and tinsel on the top she’ll come out from wherever she might be sleeping to play.  Once she has won the toy out of your hands she will carry it triumphantly, either out to the back courtyard where you can’t take it back, or into the double wide where she will proceed to stuff it behind a scratching post.

Today, while trying to get pictures of her for the blog post, I ran into the same problems getting her photographer as Claire had in previous entries.  She wouldn’t let me stop petting her to take the pictures!  At one point she climbed to the top of the scratching post in the double wide so she could put her paws on my chest and kiss my face!

Precious also loves coffee time with the volunteers and can usually be found sitting with somebody lapping up attention or casually strolling around the table getting to know everybody who’s come to visit with her.

photo by Michele Wright

Guest blogger: Julia Ferguson
Photos: Julia Ferguson & Michele Wright

The Garbo Cats (“I Vant to Be Alone”) – front courtyard

Many people come to visit the Sanctuary with a certain amount of hesitation; they have visions of cats in cages and of feeling that they won’t be able to leave without “rescuing” one or more cats. They are usually blown away by the peace of the place, by the beauty of the surroundings (Club Med for Cats, one visitor called it) and by how well all the cats co-exist.
For the most part, the latter is true – cats have the reputation of being loners, and not pack animals like dogs. But that’s mainly a function of their hunting habits; you aren’t going to catch a mouse if you take a bunch of friends with you. Once the mouse is caught (and eaten) cats are quite happy to go back and lounge with their buddies.
At the Sanctuary, mouse-catching is (mostly) not an issue. Cats are all spayed and neutered, so have no battles to fight over mates; there is a constant buffet of crunchies, and canned food offered in the evening, and though territorial issues may come in, there are so many cat smells that most cats just give in and let be.

The Welcoming Committee - MW

But just like humans, there are introverts and extroverts in the cat world. Any Sunday visitor knows that there will be a welcoming committee at the gate, and a press of cat bodies saying “Stroke me! Feed me!” But look around the front courtyard and you will see a few cats who choose to keep themselves to themselves.

Tigger - MW

Tigger is often found by himself in a quiet corner, though he will sometimes come out and make himself more visible. He’s a beautiful big orange and white boy, who loves human attention just as long as other cats don’t get too close. Sadly, when that happens, the human is as likely to be a victim as the other cat. He loves to climb on a shoulder and nuzzle into the hair of his human carrier.

Timmy - MW

Timmy came to us when his family took in an elderly relative who was allergic to cats. Timmy resented losing his freedom, and hasn’t settled very well – he often hangs out at the top of the stairs. Quite frequently on a Sunday, Timmy will pick one visitor and demand attention; that visitor is then expected to sit and cuddle for at least half an hour!

Leland - MW

Leland is still having a very tough time at the Sanctuary. This handsome grey boy does NOT like feline company, and lets us know it with a constant output of growls and muttering. He even needed to be medicated a bit at the beginning to ease his anxiety. But we don’t want to leave him on medication, and Leland just has to deal with other cats. He has his human favourites, though, and there are many of the staff and volunteers who will make time for him – in the right mood and with the right person, he snuggles like a baby!

Treacle - CF

If you hear a spat going on around the Hill House, it’s probably caused by one of the smaller cats. Treacle is a feisty little older girl with plenty of “tortie-tude”. A regular supervisor of quality control at mealtimes, she’s one of the few cats that likes to be picked up and cuddled, but other cats get within paws-reach at their own peril.

Treacle - DW

When we have a truly adoptable cat, we try to make sure it has its chance at the No 5 Road Shelter – the public face of our organization, and the place where all the adoptions occur. For these four, and for cats like them, the No 5 Rd Shelter can’t be an option – there’s nowhere for them to get away from other cats and they would be acutely unhappy. So they stay with us at the Sanctuary, where they can usually find their own sanctuary somewhere. Unfortunately, tension makes them develop some bad habits about where they poop and pee, which means that they’re often not a good adoption risk.  We love them anyway – and cleaning up after cats is just one of the joys of volunteering here!

Guest blogger: Brigid Coult

Photos: Michele Wright, Claire Fossey, Debbie Wolanski

Mad Max

Due to his large size, beautiful green eyes and grey colouring Mad Max is a cat whose reputation is constantly preceding him.  Even though he is semi-feral he can be persuaded to tolerate some pets and human love when his friend Jett is around to make sure the humans won’t hiss or swat at him (the wheels of affection can also be greased with a discreet chicken bribery). 

 

Max lives on top of the cages in the Double Wide, but during these hot summer days, you will most likely find him outside, on a mission to see his friends in the Cement Cat pen (I’m convince he has a girlfriend in there) or looking for a nice, quiet spot to sleep in the sunshine.

 

 I first became friends with Max when I started working in the Double Wide on a regular basis.  While still too shy around me to supervise my cleaning closely, he would always watch me from a distance while I worked and would tilt his head and listen to me while I chatted with him.  When I asked Leslie and the other ladies about Max, I was told stories about a wild and rambunctious kitten who surprisingly grew and grew until he was at least double the size of his litter mates.  While still large in comparison to other cats, I find today’s Mad Max to be a quiet, mellow, gentle giant, who is shy of humans.

After hearing these stories, I decided that Mad Max would benefit from having another human friend and set to work.  It took a few weeks of persuading, but eventually, I noticed Max watching me while I cleaned in Waldies Hut in the back pens on Tuesdays. Then he began to lead me to a comfortable spot outside where I can pet him.  I was overjoyed a few weeks ago when during one of our petting sessions he began to purr very softly.

Although, gaining his trust took some time and patience, Max’s friendship, now that I’ve earned it, is so rewarding and a testament to the benefits of making friends with a semi-feral.

Guest blogger: Julia Ferguson

Photos: Julia Ferguson & Debbie Wolinski