Black Cat Trio

Orson  (KN)

In the fall of 2022 I was spending quite a lot of time on the DoubleWide deck with the semi-ferals, and I got to know Fargo and Della – though our acquaintance never progressed past the wary acceptance of treats. I learned that they had come to us from Salmon Arm in 2021, and that they’d been part of a larger clowder, transferred to us through Sammy’s Forgotten Felines in Kamloops. The other three cats that came with them had two handicaps – they were black cats, and they based themselves in the back courtyard behind Waldie’s Hut – an area that is almost impossible to monitor, because there are so many hiding places.

Arwen (KN)

More recently, in the course of Kitty Comforting shifts, I encountered Arwen – a small shy black cat who was caged for dental care and an upper respiratory infection. Arwen is very wary, but the KCs know all about dealing with wary cats – lots of patience required, and the knowledge that when the cat finally emerges from treatment, it may want to forget all about the humans who reached out to it.  

Arwen  (KN)

Arwen spent some time in the Newcomers area – which meant, for her, an upper-level cage. For the agile and bendy among the KCs, this is not a problem – they simply fold themselves up and climb into the cage with her. For those of us who are less agile, it means a lot of arms-length reaching – not comfortable for cat or human.  Arwen has now been moved to the DoubleWide, which means she has a large cage in which there is a chair!  There, we can sit and make contact with her just by voice, or by touch. The touch is not initially welcomed, but a back-scratcher or a brush makes a good start, and Arwen appreciates a bit of back-end petting – her bum comes up happily as long as she can’t see your hand at first. Arwen’s still wearing a cone as her mouth heals from dental surgery, so we’ve got another week or so at least, to coax her into accepting that humans mean her nothing but good.

Orson  (KN)

Having got to know Arwen, I decided I needed to make the acquaintance of the rest of her clowder.  Black cats, of course, are often very hard to identify, and I rely heavily on Karen’s knowledge to get to know where some of them may be situated, and how to distinguish them.  Big Orson was surprisingly easy to find. I had initially met him sitting next to Waldie’s hut and been struck by his similarity to my beloved Midnight, who we lost earlier this summer. Orson is a big boy, though less chonky than Midnight, and he has similar white whiskers – plus one white eyebrow whisker. 

Orson, relaxed in the sunshine  (BC)

He is not ready yet to make any approaches, and is not notably food-motivated, so closer friendship may be a long process. He and his family have been with us for three years now, so he’s probably around 9 years old. Karen tells me that when he was first released, we couldn't find him and we had to set up trail cameras inside the BCY to check on him because we didn't know where he was hiding or when he emerged to eat and socialize. Nowadays he's much braver than he used to be and is prepared to sit quietly while I talk to him, though he does not want to be touched.

Orson  (KN)

He’s probably around 16lbs in weight; all the others from his colony are tiny, so we don't know where he got it from!  

Keno-in-a-box - note the ear-tip identifier!  (BC)

His most common companion is Keno, probably the shyest of the group. She lurks in Orson’s shadow, and can sometimes be found tucked in an adjacent bed.  The giveaway identifier is a light-coloured tip to the right ear – otherwise Keno joins the ranks of “black cat 42B”

Keno  (KN)

Of the whole clowder, Orson likes to be around pen 8 & Waldie’s Hut, Keno likes Waldie’s Hut and Newcomers, Arwen likes Newcomers and the Back Courtyard, tabby Della likes the Back Courtyard and the DW Deck, grey Fargo likes the DW Deck and the little bit of the courtyard next to it – so they all overlap a little bit.  But it’s the three black cats that can most frequently be seen together.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult & Karen Nicholson