Charlie

Charlie (KC)

Charlie came into our care almost a year ago – he found his way into the garden of one of our volunteers. She saw that he was a stray rather than a feral – shy, but not terrified. She was tempted to take him in, but she already had two cats of her own, and when she brought Charlie to RAPS for checking, it was found that he was FIV positive. FIV cats can live with non-FIV cats, but it requires no aggression, and she wasn’t sure it could be made to work – so Charlie came to us, living in the New Aids pens.

An affectionate moment with Vinnie (BC)

Initially he was wary; he preferred to live in the second Prince of Wales pen, right at the back, with the shyer cats like Vinny and Rocket. But Rocket is no longer as scared as he used to be, and there are several volunteers who regularly spend time with the back-pen cats; Charlie was reminded that humans are Good Things, and enjoyed receiving petting and loves. The back cabin has become the favoured base for three good buddies – Charlie, white Vinny, and orange Junior, and they can often be found hanging out there together.

Three roomies: Vinnie, Junior, Charlie  (BB)

Charlie’s a really sweet chonky boy; lap-time is much appreciated, and if you don’t spend enough time with him, he will follow you around – though his “following” consists mostly of getting under your feet. I have a very soft spot for him because he’s a near-twin of my McCormick.  I wonder whether they might be related;  McCormick was a detective-cat who found his own way to the Sanctuary in November 2023; Charlie was found three months later, about 3k away from us, so it’s quite possible...  The vets put McCormick as being older than Charlie – but once cats are past kittenhood, estimating their age is mostly guesswork. Their detailed markings are different, but their body-type and attitude have a lot in common.

McCormick  (BC)

Charlie - possibly a brother?  (AM)

Charlie has one big handicap (well, two, actually) – he suffers from entropion, which is an eye condition in which the eyelid turns in, bringing the eyelashes in contact with the eye, causing painful irritation. Surgery is possible – the problem is scheduling it, since the Sanctuary cats have to be scheduled into the rare quiet times at the hospital.

Wearing a collar as entropion eye #1 heals  (HM)

Charlie’s right eye was done earlier in the year, but it’s taken till now to get the left eye done; currently he’s wearing a collar, looking sorry for himself, but healing well. As with all the FIV+ cats, we monitor them very carefully so that their immune systems don’t have to fight off any infections.

Caged for the initial healing of left eye  (BC)

Whether caged or not, Charlie loves to have attention from visitors. It is quite likely that he will be one of our FIV+ cats to be adopted; he’s a general favourite with everyone, and one couple has been back several times to have cuddle time with him.  Heal up quickly, Charlie – a new home awaits you!

Charlie inverted  (KC)

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Britt Burant, Katy Cobb, Brigid Coult, Anne Marchetti, Henrie Morgan