Back Courtyard Shadows

Shy Minnie in Pen 8

Throughout the Sanctuary, there are feral cats lurking out of sight or on the edge of our vision. Some of them have come from our own kitten-rescue efforts; others have come to us from other rescues across the province. Many of those rescues are doing amazing work with little in the way of resources, and they rely on fostering for ongoing care for their cats. And as we all know, some cats will tame down fairly easily, and others resist it all the way!  For a fosterer, the hope is always that you can get a cat to the point of allowing contact and building a relationship – and when that doesn’t happen, it’s very hard to know what to do with a stressed and angry animal in the long term. 

Escaper Volcano is getting used to us 

At the Sanctuary, we can release these cats into the general population and play the “wait and see” game. Some of them may go their entire lives avoiding us, others tolerate our presence as long as we don’t invade their space too much, and with luck, a few will learn that with humans come good treats and gentle hands.  Most of the shyest cats can be found out-and-about in the early morning, and in the evening; cats are by nature crepuscular, meaning that they are most active in the twilight. And it’s usually staff member Karen whose patience and camera-eye can capture views of the ones that many of us see only rarely. All the photos in today's blog are hers.

Sherlock is very wary

Sherlock and his brother Mycroft came to us together; they were spotted on the trail-cams around the perimeter, trapped and brought in. Sometimes these “detective cats” may have been dumped, but these two were definitely feral, and had probably been making a living off the rodents in the surrounding farmland. After their obligatory cage-time for neutering, vaccines and so on, their cages were opened. Sherlock made for the courtyard; Mycroft chose to remain indoors. He adapted really well, and in fact has been adopted (he’s just “Mike” now!) and has his own home. His rough-coated brother Sherlock has also adapted well – just, not to people. He migrates happily from the south wing to the eastern one, and no longer freezes in fear, but he doesn’t trust us, or allow an approach. That’s OK – it’ll happen when he’s ready...

The Winter King - majestic, but cautious

I introduced beautiful Plateau back in September, and he remains wary and dislikes too much attention. He usually hangs out around Waldi’s Hut.  He has been joined by The Winter King, who prefers the comfort of being IN the hut – though he is quick to exit or to hide when any human enters. He came to us from the Shuswap lakes are this past fall, and we had hoped he would tame up, but in the Adoption Centre he huddled in his cage, and only reluctantly tolerated touch, though without aggression; the staff decided to bring him over to the Sanctuary and see if he might blossom (like Bello did). He has obviously decided that he will remain on the wild side.  Thankfully, unlike his namesake, he is no fighter, but manages to co-exist quite happily with his roomies.

Devon and Cordelia, in Pen 8, prefer to be up and out of reach

Next to Waldi’s Hut is Pen 8, given over to a group of refugees from a hoarding situation in Victoria. These cats have been very wary with us, mostly going into hiding when anyone comes in to clean or feed. The Kitty Comforters (particularly Patti) have been working on building trust with them – sitting quietly with music, offering tasty treats and gentle play. Some of them are getting much braver and coming to the gate, especially in the evening; others prefer to remain out of reach, though they are obviously not as scared as they were. Churu to the rescue!

Pretty Pinnacle prefers to stay in hiding

When Lisa and Ken rescued the Commuter Colony last year, there were two naming conventions applied – one group was the Hotel Cats (including Westin and Wyndham) and the other was the Topological Cats (including Plateau, above). The latter group also included Summit, Meadow, Pinnacle and Volcano. Pretty tabby Pinnacle has removed herself as far as possible, but can occasionally be seen at a distance, or lurking in the shrubbery.  Volcano showed himself to be an escape artist, and since recapturing a black cat is not the easiest thing, he has been confined to the escape-proof Pen 7, where he is beginning to get used to the presence of humans; as well as regular visits for cleaning and feeding, Pen 7 is regularly entered by the med-staff handing out necessary meds to other cats.

Tubbitha - no, you may not pet me!

The colony that came to us from Cranbrook, known as the College Cats, has established themselves firmly in Pen 3. Most of them prefer not to use the cabin, which is largely occupied by the group that came from a Calgary hoarding situation back in 2021; the College cats prefer to use the outdoor shelters, and largely operate like a shoal of fish – where one goes, the others tend to follow.  All except for Tabitha, who has separated herself from her family. Renamed Tubbitha, this solid tabby girl has established herself just outside the cat-door leading onto the DoubleWide deck. I assume she goes in when it’s cold, but mostly, she remains at the base of the cat-tree. Visitors proceeding into New Aids have to be warned not to touch her; unlike Hickory, who is also dark tabby and enjoys attention, she is quick to warn people off. The collared cats are marked as cats who will approach and then change their minds, reactively; Tubbitha is not collared because she doesn’t want to be approached at all.

Handsome Chef has the BEST whiskers!

Beautiful tuxedo Chef is right on the edge of contact. He arrived with us in a Tupperware container from another rescue this past June, He came with the name Chicago, but we already had a Chicago among the Pen 6 Newton cats, so his name was changed. He’s still quite young – probably less than 2 years old – and the inner kitten is still there in his reaction to wand toys. He doesn’t want direct contact yet, but he likes treats, loves to move, and is sometimes to be spotted playing with a found object, whether manufactured or just a leaf. He’s quick to swipe with sharp claws when you get too close, but he obviously enjoys being around the courtyard even when people are there – he doesn’t go and hide out in the gardens.

Princess offers the royal sploot

Our little Iranian refugee, Princess, has always kept her distance; she likes to have visitors come and speak Farsi to her, she is a dedicated chickaholic, and she follows me around in the pens, but she did NOT want contact. Suddenly she is presenting herself for petting (though under specific conditions: she has to be on a table or a shelf and there must be no other cats around) - then she ducks her head under my hand and clearly tells me to go on and stroke her. I knew that she’d started accepting it from other volunteers, but it’s the most amazing feeling to have that gift of trust. She’s been with us more than four years – who knows when or if the others will allow that touch.  

But in their own time.... 

Blog by Brigid Coult

All photos by Karen Nicholson