Black Cats in the Front Courtyard

Allen (KN)

Black Cat Syndrome is indeed a thing!  It takes concentration to recognize the details behind all the black fur, and when that black fur is wary and hiding, it can be hard to distinguish one black cat from another. We have a lot of black cats in the Front Courtyard of the Sanctuary, and learning who’s who is largely a process of elimination. I have to confess that I am still not good with some of the shy ones who don’t interact enough to make personality a good factor.

Reefer  (KN)

Allen is currently the largest of the black cats; having lost his buddy Kenji earlier this year, he has become more social with a whole lot of the others. He has also become braver with people, allowing petting and hand-feeding in a way that he rarely did when Kenji was alive to step up and run interference. Reefer is stockier, and is not so much black as very dark chocolate – a colour that intensifies during the summer months. Both boys are dedicated members of the chicken treats crowd. Reefer and his friend Figaro are the last of a group that came to us in 2017 from a closing shelter on the Sunshine Coast.

Bowie's tail identifies him immediately (KN)

A few of the cats are easily identified visually, though they’re wary of close contact with us. PennyLoaf, with one eye, is usually found on a shelf in the Old Rabbit Area, hiding behind a drape; occasionally she will venture into the Hill House, but will scurry back through the window if she feels insecure.  Bowie, who’s a bob-tail, is mostly spotted on the run; he hides out with his friends Janis Joplin, Joan and stumpy-tailed Jett, and all four of them want nothing to do with us! 

Caleb gets kisses from Wasabi  (BC)

Wasabi, who’s one of the three tripods in the front courtyard, is easily identified; he is out and around more frequently because he is devoted to handsome tuxie Caleb, and follows him around, nudging and grooming his buddy,

Nyla guarding "her" cage  (LBF)

There are many more less-distinguishable black cats.  Three of them are collared; Luka, who I blogged last year, mostly hangs around the sink and generally avoids other cats; the other two originally based themselves in the Connor building, but can now be found everywhere. These are the ones I’d started with when I planned this blog.  They are practically identical, and their collars are what everyone looks for. The older of the two is red-collared Nyla – also known as "the Annihilator". She came to us in 2023, and is more than 10 years old. She’s one of the cats who laid claim to the cage where she was first placed, and when it was opened, she refused to move.  She was very reactive for some time; not just cage aggression, but a believer in attack being the best form of defense. Her red collar is somewhat frayed and tatty, but she is not easy to handle, and nobody’s in a rush to replace it! In three years of living with us she has mellowed somewhat – meaning she no longer rushes to lunge at unwary visitors, But she’s no cuddly kitty, either, and volunteers have learned to treat her with respect

Harbour is working at being a lap-cat  (KN)

Harbour is almost exactly Nyla’s twin but a good bit younger, and she sports an orange collar. She came in last summer, having apparently been found as a stray at a dumpster with three teens and another female, but the Adoption Centre folks said that their fur smelt like someone had been smoking with them in the house...  The other young female, Pier, and the teen kittens, Bay, Cove and Shore were all adopted.  We think Harbour was the mom of the last three. There were a couple instances of her getting overstimulated and bite-y while at the AC – cages are smaller than at the Sanctuary, and it can be stressful for cats – so she was transferred to us.

Harbour has learned to mooch for tidbits  (BC)

There were one or two reports of reactivity, but since coming out of her cage she has settled well, and is willing to come for petting, treats and lap-time. The collar is now less of a warning, and more of identification.   Now that she’s settled, we’ll need to consider whether she's adoptable. If we could find the right cat-experienced family that were willing to put in the work and learn her boundaries, she’d probably do well in a home. 

There are still many other black cats around in the Front Courtyard: Jenny, Norah, spicy Emily, sweet Spooky, curly-tailed Benny – and that’s without taking into account all the nearly-black ones with small white markings: TicTac, Daiqiri, Alyssa, Cuddles....   Probably time for another blog!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Brigid Coult, Karen Nicholson

Little Grey Ghost

Dahlia (BH)

Visitors to the New Aids pen are usually accosted at the gate by the shameless scroungers: Domino, Mr Binx, Cypress (and slightly less assertively) Wyndham.  Angus, Obelix and Boomer are rarely far away. Among our FIV+ population, it becomes pretty obvious that it’s male-dominated – in fact, there are only two females in the pen at the moment:  calico Amaretto, and grey Dahlia.

You may touch my paw ONCE only  (KN)

That makes sense when you remember that the virus is passed in the context of a deep bite, and that it is usually the unneutered males, both feral and stray, who will fight with each other over territory, or food, or mates. Once trapped and neutered, the lack of testosterone dulls the urge to do battle, and the occasional scuffle is rarely a real fight.  A female will sometimes acquire the virus in the course of mating, if the act involves biting, and an FIV+ female can pass the virus on to her kittens in utero. We don’t know how either of our girls was infected, but with care, they will live lives as long and healthy as any uninfected cat.

Dahlia likes to perch on the steps  (BC)

Many of our FIV+ cats have come to us through other shelters; Amaretto is one of many from the central area of Vancouver Island. Dahlia is local; she was found wandering in the area near the former RAPS Shelter (now SPCA) on No 5 Rd.  The person who found her wanted to keep her but she was becoming too fractious for them to take care of (not surprising, knowing our Dahlia!); they took her to the vet for checking, discovered she was FIV+, and surrendered her to the shelter, from which she was transferred to the Sanctuary. This was in the fall of 2020. In early December of that year, she did a jail-break, but remained hanging around the parking lot and was finally coaxed into a trap with a tasty plate of chicken.

She prefers to be at eye-level to greet you  (MW)

Most of the male cats in New Aids are solid, blocky boys; they build up jowls and muscle as they grow up unneutered, and they maintain their build.  Dahlia looks very unlike them, slim and long-haired, she is not usually a fan of people. She likes her comforts, and can usually be found in the main cabin rather than outside; her preference is to hide behind a drape in the top cage, and currently she is a little miffed that it’s occupied by a newcomer, and she has to find an alternative bed.  New volunteers are often warned about approaching her; you can frequently get two pets in, and then she’s had enough and lets you know it.

Favourite resting place in the top cage  (HM)

However, Marty tells me that this week she allowed herself to be petted by a visitor, and loved the attention – when they left, she had an attack of the zoomies, and sprinted outside and then back in. Who knows what attracted her to them?  But like all cats, she can take you by surprise. Awhile ago, a volunteer arrived for a New Aids shift just in time to get a phone call telling of the death of a family member.  We sorted out how to cover her shift, and she decided she needed to take time with the cats before rushing home. Sitting on the ottoman in tears, she was surprised and touched  that the cat who approached and sat with her quietly was Dahlia – not usually any sort of a lap-cat, she obviously understood distress and offered quiet comfort.

Dahlia (KN)

She’ll likely never join the social crowd at the gate; she’s not a welcomer, and her tolerance for people usually has its limits.  Mostly she prefers to remain hidden, and dislikes being disturbed. But when she recognizes something in a human – perhaps the magic hands, or the sadness – she will emerge and make her presence felt.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Brielle Hutchison, Henrie Morgan, Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright