Anya

 This week’s blog is brought to you by our Kitty Comforter Coordinator, Anne Marchetti – thank you, Anne!

Anya  (KN)

I've always felt a little excited when a new cat arrives at the Sanctuary bearing the name of a friend or relative I know. Given that a large number of cats coming to the Sanctuary are usually feral or unsocialized, however, rarely does the cat's personality match that of the human. 

Anya spread  (AM)

My given name is very plain (“Anne”) and I had little hope a cat would ever bear my name. I am of Ukrainian descent and growing up my family would often call me “Anushka” (my mother told me it meant “little Anne” but Google tells me otherwise) or “Anya”. So when a feral cat named Anya arrived in late 2022 with her sisters, Bagheera and Gwen, I was thrilled and looked forward to befriending her. The feeling, however, was not mutual and despite my best efforts Anya spurned my advances and wanted nothing to do with me. This relationship continued until she was eventually released into Pen #7 which is a small pen of mainly feral cats, most of whom still need regular medical attention.  Her sisters have blossomed; Bagheera was adopted by former RAPS volunteer Mel (along with Scooter and Owen), and there's now a human baby sister to purr to.  Gwen has not given up grumping at other cats, but is doing really well in her contacts with people, flirting with visitors at the weekend.

Early suspicion: stay out of my space!  (KN)

Initially, Anya was very unhappy in her new location; she aggressively rejected all human contact, shunned feline companionship and sandwiched herself in a tight carpeted cat enclosure. She's effectively tail-less, but we don't think she actually suffers from Manx syndrome; however, not being one to indulge in self-care, her preferred hiding place very quickly became filthy and smelly, as did she. Her anxiety was obvious to all so she was given a short course of anti-anxiety meds and since her cat enclosure was now a health hazard, it was removed and destroyed. She took up residence in another outdoor cat bed where she and her bedding were more easily accessible for cleaning. 

The Anya rump (AM)

I visited her regularly, much to her chagrin, but she tolerated me since I always arrived bearing her favourite creamy tube treats. When working with cats like Anya, it's always “two steps forward, one step back”, and that's if you're lucky. I jokingly told the other Kitty Comforters that Anya must have been a nurse in a previous life because every time she lashed out at me with her razor-sharp claws, she managed to find a vein (and I would bleed and bleed...). Over time and with regular visits from Kitty Comforters who patiently worked with her, she eventually learned to trust humans. 

Any treats for me?  (AM)

She is a completely different cat now, although she still looks like a tubby little black bear with her thick fur and nub of a tail. I look forward to our weekly visits and I think she does too - when she hears my voice in the courtyard, she comes up to the locked gate and waits for me to enter. She prances on the spot and purrs when she's happy and enjoys lots of petting. 

A more confident outlook on the world.  (KN)

I overhear many people say that she's sweet (that certainly would not have been the word to describe her even a year ago!). It warms my heart when I see her having friendly interactions with other volunteers, no more fear and anxiety for her. And now I can say I'm friends with a cat who bears my (nick)name. I adore her, but if I'm honest, I'd love her no matter what she was called.

Blog by Anne Marchetti

Photos by Anne Marchetti and Karen Nicholson

Pen 7 shy ones

Clementine  (KN)

For as long as I’ve volunteered at the Sanctuary, Pen 7 has been the home for a bunch of very shy cats, known as the Barn Cats.  Initially they were a colony who had been doing pest control at a farm south of Steveston Highway; like a lot of colonies without supervision, their numbers got out of control and Richmond Homeless Cats (as RAPS was at that time) stepped in. Not only were there too many of them, but there was also inbreeding going on, and it was time to end the cycle.  In the end, there were about a dozen of them brought to the Sanctuary in 2008, and Pen 7 became a closed one.

Barncats enjoying treats

They were definitely a feral bunch, but because their pen was so much smaller than the other feral pens, they had to get used to humans popping in and out on them. Most of them never really tamed up, though a few of them became friendly with select visitors. The genetic quirks caused by inbreeding produced a number of curly tails, and, more seriously, some vision problems, so the med staff kept a careful eye on them. 

Rodan loved and was loved...  (KN)

I realised recently that they’d never been blogged either by Claire, who set up the Neko Blog, or by me; for most of us, I think they were just an anonymous collection of little cats who didn’t want much in the way of attention. There were exceptions; I don’t think there was anyone who didn’t love one-eyed Rodan, whose cage-stays had acclimated him to human contact.

Clementine   (MW)

Most of them have passed now – the only “originals” left are Jethro and Clementine. Orange Jethro is still very shy, and he has vision problems. He’s ready to emerge when food is on offer, but not to be touched. Clementine can often be found at the gate when treats are being handed out in the courtyard; she allows touch, but doesn’t really enjoy it.  She is very vocal about not being left out when it comes to food, but when the gate is opened, she doesn’t venture past the threshold. “Escape” is not an issue with the Pen 7 cats; they have their safe territory and don’t want to move beyond it.  

Jethro & SweetTart  (LBF)

These two were joined by SweetTart, one of the Candy Cats who was originally in Pen 6, but showed a fascination with the neighbouring barn cats and was glad to move in with them. On the other side, Pen 8 had also had a largely feral component, and when we opened it to the courtyard, and brought the Kootenay cats into pen 8, we also moved Hailey in with the barn cats. Hailey and her family had come from a colony Carol Reichert trapped at a cement plant;  Hailey’s best buddy Johnny had passed not long before, and Hailey was glad to be back in a restricted area.  Neither Hailey nor SweetTart are as keen on chicken tidbits as Clementine is, but they frequently hang around when goodies are on offer.

Hailey is still very cautious   (KN)

The other current residents of Pen 7 belong to the don’t-see-me variety of ferals. Anya and Buttons keep themselves in the warmth and comfort of the cabin, and don’t venture out at all. In the summer, Anya lived under the drapes covering a cat-tree on the porch, and she wouldn’t even come down to use the litter box at the bottom – the cat-tree finally had to be thrown out because it was impossible to clean it properly. Now she’s safely in the dark of the cabin, she’s using the litterbox there, which is much more pleasant for all concerned! Anya and Buttons get checked each day by the med staff; mostly we don’t disturb them in their preferred hiding places, and all their movement is under cover of the dark.

Anya is not keen on human company  (KN)

As with Pen 4, weekend visitors have no access to these cats – though some of the KittyComforters visit them regularly, just sitting quietly with them, and reminding them that they’re safe here, and humans really aren’t as scary as they think.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright

Gwen, and Sibs

Gwen (KN)

Gwen, Bagheera, Anya – three little ferals who’ve gone in very different directions...   They came in together from  Broken Promises rescue on Vancouver Island, well past the early socializing stage and very reluctant to have anything to do with us. All three were long-haired, two of them were black, and one a tortie. 

Anya (KN)

Anya is the typical feral – a hissy-spitty, “stay away from me” cat. The med staff decided to place her in Pen 7, the farm-cat pen, since she needed some eye care, and there are a couple of other cats also there for the same reason. Another reason to keep her out in the pens is that she has a Manx tail (or lack thereof) and often disdains the use of a litter box. Her first hideout was in a draped cat tree, and we ended up having to throw it out because as Anya’s toilet, it became something of a biohazard. By penning her, we can keep a more careful eye on her, and watch for problems, like the UTI difficulties some tailless cats suffer from. She doesn’t like humans, and only tolerates short visits from the med staff, who check on her daily.

Bagheera  (BC)

With Bagheera, it looked as if we were going to be faced with another feral cat, but it turned out that the health issues which she had to battle, actually did her a favour, since they confined her to a cage for longer than normal. And cage time means contact with Kitty Comforters, and for Bagheera, THE Kitty Comforter was Mel. Every visit Mel made, she spent time with Bagheera, who grew increasingly confident around her new human friend. Mel and her husband Scott moved to Alberta in the summer, and have taken Bagheera with them, as well as Scooter, who was shy until the Mel-and-Scott magic hit her. We love it when the shy cats blossom with love from their adopters.

Gwen (BC)

The third cat was tortie Gwen. Tortoiseshells tend either to be very sweet – cats like Blaze and Chelsea – or full of tortietude. And a feral tortie of the latter variety... oh, my! On release from her cage, Gwen relocated to the DoubleWide Deck and proceeded to establish herself as a bossyboots.  

Hiding up high  (BC)

Initially she hid out on the upper shelves, finding corners where she could hide, but it wasn’t long before she discovered that all the really interesting stuff (i.e. food) happened at ground level, and she began to make her presence felt.

 

Dinner-time floof on show  (BC)

Gwen is not a friendly cat with the other felines on the deck. She is tentatively interested in humans, especially when they carry treats, and she has learned that when she takes food nicely, more may be forthcoming. With food distraction, she can be petted gently, but she sees it only as a means to the next treat. 

Jasper & Gwen - standoff for the chicken tidbit...

She keeps a wary eye open for any cat who may encroach on her tidbits, and she is not slow to smack a cat like Jasper when she feels he’s too close to the next mouthful. When she is aware of competition in the vicinity, she grumbles as she eats: “Nom nom nom... I am enjoying this and you can’t have it!”

There may be bars - but inside is warmer!  (KN)

She has explored outside, but Gwen’s territory has mostly extended from the Deck into the DoubleWide, and she is often found hovering if there are promising smells in the med-cage, or in the pockets of one of the Kitty Comforters. Bribery is a very good way to convince a cat that it may well be worth giving up feral status for the good life at the Sanctuary!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult & Karen Nicholson