Adopt me, please!

RootBeer  (SM)

The Adoption Centre is overflowing with kittens – and as quickly as a fosterer brings a new group in to us, a new pregnant mom arrives, and the foster family is back in action.   We are so grateful to our supporters in adoption – the various pet-stores who give temporary home to our kittens so that more people can see them, and the partners who allow us to exhibit them in unexpected places.  Of course, it’s kitten season, and the weather has been fine, so lots more kittens are coming to us from both safe and unsafe origins – and with the unsafe ones (like the trailer park kittens), being trapped and coming to us may be a matter of life and death.  But the kittens are not the only ones needing homes, and we have a few cats at the Sanctuary who are needy as well.  Two of them have been featured in earlier Neko Blogs.

RootBeer enjoys visitors who will work at his pace  (SM)

RootBeer came to us more than a year ago, a solid golden-tabby boy with a chip on both shoulders. He had come to us from another shelter that was not able to keep him, but they didn’t want to see him euthanized.  He didn’t like humans, he didn’t like other cats, and he just wanted to be left alone. He had some health issues which vet investigation discovered meant that he needed to be on a limited diet, and he turned out to have asthma, which is easily treated with an inhaler. In the course of RAPS Hospital visits he bonded with one of the vet assistants, who fostered him, though she knew that it had to be a short-term commitment.

Watch me grooming...  (SM)

So – time’s up, and RootBeer is back with us. Currently he’s living in isolation at the back of the SingleWide. He’s very happy not to have other cats around him, but he’s grown used to people, and welcomes visitors. He needs to be an only cat, both because of his dislike for other felines, and because he needs specific food. He could continue as a foster, with RAPS taking responsibility for all his medical and feeding needs – what he really wants is someone who will be patient and loving with him, and allow him to take his time adjusting to yet another home. We think he’s about 5 years old.

Frank spent much of his time hiding  (KN)

Sweet Frank  came to us earlier this year, having been surrendered by a family who was moving and couldn’t take him. He struggled with life in the Front Courtyard; he was the new boy in a schoolyard being picked on by the bullies – and like some bullying victims, he turned his anger on smaller cats.  He was moved into the SingleWide, and discovered the joy of door-dashing; he didn’t really want to be back in the Courtyard, but he really wanted to be on the other side of the door!  

He still needs to hide - but there is more choice in the Back Courtyard!  (BC)

When his bullies were adopted (separately!), he was allowed to return – though he would occasionally door-dash the other way, back into the SingleWide!  He still needed to be watched, though, and we were concerned by the way he would hide.  The decision was made to move Frank into the Back Courtyard, and I think it was a good one. He had to put up with a little cage-time in transition, but now he’s out and about and has much more space in which to keep out of other cats way. Cats like Jasper and Gizmo can be avoided, and his favourite humans watch for him and offer cuddle time.  

Frank loves a lap!  (BC)

He really needs a home where he can be The Cat – allowed to have his quiet time when he needs it, but with petting and attention available. Sadly, he tends to vanish at the weekends when visitors arrive – even wearing a bandana, he manages to become invisible until things are quiet again. The vets think he’s about 8-9 years old

Lomi has claimed her bed, and wants to stay there   (BC)

The third Adoptable is a very pretty tabby & white girl who is still reticent about coming forward. Five-year old Lomi was surrendered to us recently by her elderly owner, who was no longer able to care for her. After her Hill House cage time, Lomi vanished into the Old Rabbit Area, the covered courtyard that is the safe area for many shy cats.  She has taken up residence on one of the shelves, and is now happy to hold court for admirers; she’s friendly and happy to accept petting and attention; she’s not really food-motivated, and though she has allowed herself to be held, she is nervous about going beyond the doorway.

She's curious - but not quite ready to come out  (BC)

This is a disadvantage in terms of adoptability; the Old Rabbit Area is an out-of-bounds area during visiting hours, because it’s really important that the shyest cats have a safe area that they know will not be invaded when we have strangers around. Anyone interested in meeting Lomi will need to make an appointment with Shelter Manager Valerie to be introduced during a quiet time. Lomi appears to be quite relaxed around other cats (though not actively social with them) and might do well in a home with another friendly feline.

Such a sweet face...   (BC)

We really hope all the cats & kittens in the Adoption Centre will find loving homes, and most of the people visiting the AC are going there for that purpose.  There are a few other Sanctuary cats (Guacamole, Gwen, perhaps Bello) who, with luck, will eventually find their own places.  RootBeer, Frank and Lomi need to be sought out with purpose; they all need experienced cat-people with much patience for these three whose pre-RAPS life has not been easy, and for whom the Sanctuary is just not enough.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Selena Marchetti, Karen Nicholson

Luka

Luka  (KN)

Usually my Neko-blogs come into existence when I find I have a nice collection of pictures, and decide to write a cat-profile around them.   In Luka’s case, I was asked for a picture for a potential sponsorship certificate, and discovered I didn’t have any!

Posing nicely   (JS)

Luka is one of our many black cats in the front courtyard. I am grateful that I don’t have to know every black cat by name, as the med-staff do – for them, it really matters that the right cat gets the right meds. For me, if I can’t identify a cat, I can call it Black Cat 42b, and not worry too much about it.

You can turn it on now   (KN)

But everyone working in the front courtyard knows Luka – because she’s one of our collared cats; reactive, a little spicy, with her favourites.  She is best known for her habit of hanging out in the sink; she doesn’t want to be wetted down, but she likes to have water available.

If the sink's taken, a drain will do  (CP)

Luka has been with us for two years; her original name was Luna, but we’ve had several Lunas, and one letter change set her apart from the others. She came to us from from a family that was moving, and who were not prepared to take this little diva with them; I believe there was a new baby and Luka was feeling displaced, and acting out with pee, as well as with her claws. With us, she has settled down in her own way – the collar is mostly a warning, but in the right mood, she’s pettable. She’s mostly a loner; she doesn’t interact much with the other cats.

On the prowl  (JS)

So I went in to do a Kitty Comforter shift, and said I’d get a photo of Luka at the same time.  And of course (typical cat) she was nowhere to be found.  Not in or around the sink. Not in the Connor, which was still being cleaned. Not in the adjacent seating area. Nowhere around the SW entrance. Oh, well, I thought, later...    Two hours later I returned to the front courtyard. No Luka – checked everywhere. Nothing can disappear like a cat that doesn’t want to be found.  I touched bases with Carol and Justin, coming on shift as I left, and asked them to look out for her.

No sink - but a box is acceptable   (KN)

Karen, of course, had a photo of Luka on file. Then I got messages from both Carol and Justin, and a regular collection of photos – lots of choice for her sponsor!

Luka and the grass treat  (CP)

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Karen Nicholson, Carol Porteous, Justin Saint

July rainbows

Neko, from the Leukemia pen  (KN)

One of the hard things about involvement in the Cat Sanctuary – and I think it has to be particularly hard on the med-staff – is the number of cats we lose through the year. The cat population at the Adoption Centre constantly changes, but it changes because Adoption Centre cats are gone to new homes. The majority of our Sanctuary losses are the cats we lose to age and illness, and it hurts to come in and find that a beloved friend has gone.

Denzel always sat with his paws neatly turned out  (BC)

Often this seems to happen in waves. We had a couple of months earlier in the year when we had only a couple of passings – but this past July has been painful: 12 cats gone in 26 days.  And somehow, to have them cross the rainbow bridge in this lovely weather feels all wrong.  

Jerry, from the Val Jones pen  (KN)

The first to go was sweet battered-looking Jerry in the Val Jones;  Jerry was one of the few FIV cats that showed the effects of the virus; he struggled with skin problems and mouth problems.  But he loved his feline buddies and his human friends, and was never happier than when having cuddles. Three days later we lost Neko from the Leukemia pen, and Denzel from the DW deck. Handsome Neko had been a very spooked feral for some time after coming to us, spending most of his time in the overhead walkways, but in the last couple of years his reserve had thawed, and he came down to enjoy petting from staff and volunteers.  Denzel was the last cat trapped at the old 5 Road shelter, before RAPS left it for demolition and rebuilding; he was a good buddy of Luke and Bodhi, and of Hamlet, now gone – the three tuxedos formed the core of what Daphne called the Mafia cats in the Catsino - and Denzel was the honorary consigliere.

from the gremlin Autumn was when she first arrived....

to the flirt who loved everyone   (KN)

The following day, sweet Autumn crossed the bridge. Autumn had been with us since 2012 when she arrived with her kittens; the angry hissy girl of those early days turned into a floofy flirt who enjoyed nothing better than human attention. She’d had mouth problems for at least the last year, and a lot of cage time while the vets tried to sort out what what happening with her.

Chumley, lounging in Pen 1 (MW)

Paula, exploring outside Pen 2   (MW)

A surprise passing was Juliette, one of the cats from what we call the Newton hoard. Most of that colony is doing well, but one of our concerns with them is how inbred they likely are, and it’s probable that Juliet was carrying a genetic timebomb.   Three days later, we lost four cats in a single day.  Two of them were seniors: Chumley (kidney disease) had been with us 14 years, and Paula (cancer) for a bit less; she was one of the Pen 2 cats who came to us in 2016. As we lost the older cats from that colony, Paula stepped up to become quite the bossyboots, changing from a hide-away girl to one who roamed the courtyard.  Lloyd in Pen 4 has gone to be with his beloved buddy Len across the Bridge, and with him was one of the Hotel cats from the past winter's trapping;  we never really got to know Kimpton well, and he was not a happy Sanctuary dweller, unlike his companions Westin and Wyndham.

Higgins, in the DoubleWide  (KN)

The following week, sweet Higgins passed;  he came to us as a battered boy, and he never really recovered his health, constantly struggling with skin conditions – possibly an auto-immune situation. He rarely ventured outside, making his home in the Double Wide, where there were always people around to make much of him;  he was pretty wary of other cats.|

Would there be any chicken for me?  (KN)

Two more shocks – little Nova, from the SingleWide, was gone at the weekend; Nova had arrived with her kittens, and been a very ferocious mama until they went for adoption;  once they were gone she settled into Sanctuary living, becoming a chickaholic and a happy dancer. The SingleWide seems very empty without her determined begging!  And sweet semi-feral Fletcher, who came to us with his buddies Fonzie and Flynn, had been hiding away and losing weight; both of them had cancer.  Fletcher had been learning that humans were not so bad, but the feral instinct is not to show weakness and by the time he was seen, it was too late.

We had all too little time with Fletcher   (BC)

So July was a pretty brutal month – and all that on top of losing Willow, Charlotte, Sylar, Flash, Marble and Adam in June. Four of those were seniors, and anticipated – the loss is never welcome, but the passing of senior cats has to be accompanied by gratitude for their long lives with us, and for all the love that was shared with them. And even for the relative newcomers like Juliette, Fletcher and Kimpton, we take comfort in knowing that their time with us was lived in safety, and with much love and care from staff and volunteers. Rainbows at the Bridge mean there was rain, and tears – but their light was so beautiful... 

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright