Ursula

Ursula (KN)

Weekend visitors are always amazed at the fact that we have 400+ cats in the Sanctuary – plus a fluctuating number of cats in the Adoption Centre and in fosterage.  And sometimes they are a little disappointed when they have those numbers, but don’t see the place actually swarming with cats. What they don’t take into account is how many of those cats are ferals, or are at the feral end of the spectrum.

Ursula lurking anxiously  (MW)

I would guesstimate that about a quarter of the Sanctuary cats prefer to have very little to do with us, at least, unless they know they can trust us as individuals. And when visitors arrive on Sundays (the last Saturday opening till next spring is October 31!), many of those cats go into hiding – in the closed pens 4, 7 and 8; behind Waldi’s Hut; out of reach in the back sections of pens 1-3; in the building that are closed to visitors.  It’s the Kitty Comforters’ job to ID some of those cats during a quiet afternoon, and coax them into accepting a little human attention.

Not a safe life for Ursula's original colony (VW)

Ursula is one of our tiny-tabbies – small perhaps purely from natural genetics, but perhaps also from malnutrition as a kitten. She originally came to us from Kamloops six years ago, from a feral colony which had grown out of control in dangerous conditions.  A group of local rescuers moved in to trap,  neuter and rehome all that they could; that operation created the organization called Sammy’s Forgotten Felines, with whom we continue to work. Some of the younger cats were fostered and adopted, but for slightly older cats who have only known a feral life, that was not a simple option. RAPS took a number of these ones from both the Cariboo cats and from a rescue in the Shuswaps, giving them time to decide whether to give in and socialize, or to stay feral.  These cats included Barbara, Baxter and Bruley, Ariel and Aspen, Sailor, ZsaZsa and Ursula.

Relaxed in play  (KN)

She and Aspen are the last of this group to remain with us – a few have passed, but most were tamed and adopted. Ursula held firmly to her feral principles: humans were treated with wariness, and smacked hard when they got too close – Ursula was a cat’s cat. 

Bodhi is a cat-magnet  (BC)

Unlike Aspen, who prefers the back of Pen 1, she opted to remain with the DoubleWide deck group, and has attached herself particularly to gentle Bodhi (who actually prefers the company of his buddy Luke, but who will tolerate having a tabby girlfriend following him around.

May I come on your lap?  (KR)

Until recently humans were mostly no-go – volunteers on the DW Deck for cleaning or feeding were avoided or ignored, unless appropriate bribery was involved. But when KC Karrie opted to spend some of her time sitting up on the level that holds the mattress and the heat lamps (both intended for cats, not for humans!), Bodhi came for attention – and where Bodhi went, Ursula followed.  Before long, Karrie’s KC vibes had done their work, and Ursula was lap-sitting and accepting gentle petting.

Enjoying garden time  (KN)

She is still pretty suspicious of most people, but we have a lot of patient KCs, and other Deck cats who can model enthusiasm about treats and petting.  She’s unlikely ever to be a really tame cat, but at least now she has accepted that we are no longer The Enemy.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Karen Nicholson, 

Karrie Radford, Valerie Wilson, Michele Wright