Tigger Two

Tigger  (KH)

Tigger arrived with us early this year, and was placed in the SingleWide trailer; his cage bore a warning that this was a reactive boy, and that volunteers and staff needed to be careful around him!

Exploring the SW   (BC)

When orientating visitors, I will often talk about the four main categories of cats who live here – the ferals, the semi-ferals (on a sliding scale), the health-issue cats, and those who have been surrendered. The latter sometimes come to us because of the death of an owner, or when a family relocates somewhere they can’t take a cat. But the most common reasons for surrender are “inappropriate urination” and aggression. Both issues may just be about a quirk in the cat’s personality, or may be a situational thing – something that stresses the cat enough that it has to express itself in pee or in biting.

Considering a lap-jump  (BC)

Tigger had lived with his family since he was a kitten, but due to changes in the home, he became increasingly anxious, which then manifested as aggression.  Sometimes that behaviour can be mitigated by pheromones or by medication, sometimes the stressor can be removed from the equation – sometimes none of that works, and the cat comes to us.

Hideaway time on cage-tops  (KH)

He’s only the second Tigger we’ve had (four Bobbys, four Whiskers, four Jinxes...); the other Tigger was also an orange boy who I met in my early days at the Sanctuary; a Front Courtyard boy who generally disliked other cats but had his favourite humans, from whom he demanded cuddles. Claire blogged him back in 2012. Our new Tigger shares the dislike of other cats, and is reserving judgement on the humans. Once released from his SW cage, he largely took himself out of the way to the shelves and cage-tops. He would come down and interact with a few people, showing himself to be sweet but changeable, often lashing out without much warning. He seems to dislike men, and older people.

Did someone say "Treats"?   (KH)

As he became more confident in his new home, we began to see more Tigger-attack issues. With staff and volunteers, that’s part of Sanctuary life, but it’s not good when we have visitors, and when Tigger started getting aggressive during visiting hours, something needed to be done, and we relocated him.

Finds a hideaway on the DW Deck  (BC)

When a new cat comes in, its placement may just be about where the first available cage is, or it may have another rationale. In Tigger’s case, the fact that he’d been an indoor cat may have been behind the decision to put him in the SingleWide. We’ve had situations where there have been dominance / bullying issues among Front Courtyard boys, and relocating a cat to the Back Courtyard changes the conditions; in the Back Courtyard there is more room to get away from each other when needed. Tigger was moved to the DoubleWide for a quick relocation stay in a cage, and once it was opened, he had a much bigger space with which to work – he could stay indoors if he wanted, or he could explore the full range of the gardens.

Exploring from the TeaRoom   (BC)

Currently he’s staying close to known turf; he’s become a regular visitor to the TeaRoom, and will sometimes come outside if there are treat-type reasons to do so, but we don’t yet see him out and about with any consistency.  Last weekend we put a collar on him to warn visitors to treat him with caution; the most usual attack follows having been nice when accepting goodies, and then launching himself, teeth and claws, at a passing leg. Personality-wise, he reminds me most of Gizmo, who can be a sweet boy, responding to pets, and then suddenly lash out – generally when another cat has wandered into his personal space bubble.

Mooching on the deck - 
Tigger loves Churus!  (AC)

Sadly, there’s no way we can give him the stress-free, other-cat-free, quiet un-anxious life he would probably like – but he’s like a coiled spring, and needs to release the tension from time to time. At least in the Back Courtyard he has the space to go and be alone when he needs to do so.

Blog by Brigid Coult
Photos by Andy Chiu, Brigid Coult & Kim Howe

Captain Jack

Captain Jack - "CJ"   (BC)

In the spring of 2023 we took in a group of cats from Foster Critters in Duncan who were all FIV+. We thought it was likely that they were, in fact, all related: one-eyed mama-cat Marble, Simon and Smalls, and Biggie, who might have been son or sire. Smalls was black; all the others were orange tabbies. About a year later we added two more orange boys from the same rescue; it’s likely there were family genetics there. Junior went to join his cousins/siblings in New Aids;  Captain Jack went to the Val Jones pen.

Courtyard snoozing  (BC)

So why split them up? Sadly, Captain Jack (or CJ, as he is commonly known) is one of those cats who has been discovered to have bladder crystals. This is predominantly a male-cat thing; the feline urethra is so narrow that any obstruction can totally block the bladder, and unless it’s spotted in time, the cat dies in great pain. Surgery is expensive; luckily the typical crystals that make the blockage can be dissolved with the right diet. So the Val Jones has become the Urinary corner even though some of the cats pre-date that designation; Jim has lived there since 2019; Minuet and Virginia, as females, are not as likely as the boys to have bladder blockages,  but everyone eats the special food that will keep a few of them safer. Merran was moved over from the SingleWide when his problem was diagnosed; the Val Jones is an FIV+ pen, but FIV+ and FIV- cats can cohabit easily enough. We separate the FIV+ ones so we can keep an extra careful eye on their health, not because we need to protect the other cats from them.

Life is serious...   (BC)

Unlike the other felines in the Sanctuary, the Val Jones cats don’t get all excited when visitors arrive because the red cups containing treats have to be left in between the gates. There are some special treats allowed for bladder-crystal diets, but in fact the cats are quite happy to have petting/grooming attention with no extra food.

CJ, when he first came to us  (KN)

Captain Jack was about three years old when he came to us in April 2024. Initially he was a bit of a bully with the other cats – he’s the biggest of the VJ residents, and maintained the dominance. We will sometimes see this in the early years – teenagers pushing boundaries, which includes bugging the people/cats around them. If the calculations about CJ’s age are correct, that would make him late 20s in human years – and we all know that some young men like to maintain that macho attitude.  We know that he’s not had an easy time;  the life of a feral cat is rarely a long one, especially for the un-neutered males who are driven by their hormones. CJ’s records from the previous rescue noted that while cleaning up a facial abscess, they had to remove lead from his jaw and suspected that he had been shot in the face. 

Playing with his buddy Jim  (BC)

Now no longer at the mercy of his hormones, CJ has come to tolerate the cats around around him.  No small part of this is the work of Jim, who is a relentless lover.  Jim came to us with his beloved Frank (we called them FrankenJim), and when Frank passed, Jim mourned, but didn’t shut off his love. He was often found snuggling with Minuet in her early scared days with us; he befriended shy Merran: he cuddled with Magnus (now passed) even when it was the last thing Magnus wanted. And when CJ came along, Jim had a new target. The two of them play-wrestle, they snuggle under the lamp and they share a chronic cold which seems to pass from one to the other and back again. I think most of the cuddle-drive still comes from Jim, but CJ now enjoys it.

Loving laptime with Justin  (JS)

The Val Jones area remains a lovely quiet place to visit some favourite cats. CJ has his own favourite humans, and though he is not commonly a lap-cat, he is quick to claim time with Justin, the volunteer who has many of the other cats queueing up for comforting snuggles. After scary teenage years in a feral colony, with humans shooting at him, CJ is discovering that Sanctuary life is the best thing ever!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Karen Nicholson & Justin Saint

A Trio of Tuxies

Atari  (BC)

The covered courtyard known as the Old Rabbit Area (ORA) has typically been dim and quiet, a refuge for scared ferals, with draped shelves and many hiding places.  Two recent factors have brightened it up – a custom-built structure made of used pallets, painted and with sisal-wrapped posts, and a trio of active little tuxedos.

New places in which to be a cat...   (BC)

The covered places remain, but there is now more space for cats who enjoy open beds. The structure was built by a RAPS supporter known as CatDaddyDan; it was constructed and painted in the parking lot beyond the gate, and then brought inside in pieces and connected in its new site, with approval (including pee) from the residents.

Kahlo  (BC)

The tuxie I see on it most frequently is one of a pair of boys who came to us from Prince George, with the names Rembrandt and Kahlo. They were caged for a while in the Hill House next door, and there, Rembrandt was outgoing and happy to see the Kitty Comforters when they visited, while Kahlo hid behind a drape. Since release, the roles tend to be reversed and it’s Kahlo who comes to investigate visitors, while I have to hunt to find Rembrandt. Both boys are slim and leggy; Kahlo is easy to identify, with a half-’tache on his face. It’s lovely to have more outgoing cats like this in the ORA, demonstrating to the shy ones that humans are not as scary as all that!

Rembrandt  (BC)

Rembrandt is more typically tuxedo in colouring, with a white facial blaze and white shirt-front; and long white socks. Tuxedos are one end of the spectrum of bi-coloured cats; the other end is the Turkish Van pattern – all white, with coloured tail and head splashes. In between fall the harlequin cats, with irregular splashes of black, or the ones known as cap-and-saddle or mask-and-mantle – predominantly white cats with strong black markings. A classic tuxedo should be about two-thirds coloured – so the black cats with a small chest marking don’t classify as tuxedos.

Mayday (L) and Eddie (R)    (BC)

It’s easy to confuse Rembrandt with either of two other tuxies; Mayday is another of the “gimme chicken!” crowd, and has a lightning paw; his blaze is a bit more pointed than Rembrandt’s and he wears socks rather than stockings; Eddie is very similar, but his black nose smudges into his left cheek; he has actually been with us since the spring of 2023, was adopted, but never settled in his new home; he is happy to be back with his buddies at the Sanctuary,

Atari  (AM)

The third of the new tuxies, and another who bases out of the ORA, is pretty Atari who came to RAPS last spring with her three kittens Yahtzee, Checkers, and Monopoly – part of a colony rescue from near the Skybridge in Surrey.  As is common, the kittens socialized well and were adopted out; Mama Atari was very wary with us initially.  After arriving at the Sanctuary she was identified as having intestinal problems, and put on a limited protein diet which necessitated cage time. This can work either for or against us; in Atari’s case, she became very happy with human contact, wanting petting and cuddles, and offering resentful nips when the visitor had to leave.

Atari  (AM)

It’s lovely to see her out and about with fresh confidence;  she is often a greeter at the gate, and she lays claim to the bed under the heat lamp in the ORA whenever possible. I find that if I sit next to her, she will quickly come onto my lap and make herself at home; she doesn’t want to be picked up or held (many of our cats don’t want that), but when it’s her own idea, she settles right in. I would guess the med-staff are keeping an eye on how her gut is behaving now that she is back eating from the common plates; if her problems are dietary, she may need fostering so she can return to a limited protein diet without cage time. For the time being, medication is doing the job.

Kahlo loves to play  (BC)

All our three newcomers, as well as Mayday and Eddie, are still young, and it’s good to have that happy energy around the Front Courtyard.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult & Anne Marchetti