Torbie Twins (not!)

Aspen (LBF)

Ariel and Aspen are two pretty torbie girls who came in around the same time, and could easily be mistaken for sisters, but who in fact have no blood relationship.  Aspen is from a shelter in Shuswap, and Ariel came from Sammy’s Forgotten Felines, in Kamloops.

Ariel (MW)

Our Sanctuary Assistant Manager was one of the founders of the latter rescue, and still maintains her links in Kamloops. Sammy’s grew out of a need to help feral cats who were not necessarily adoptable. Many rescues around the province will take in cats, but if they prove not to be tamable in a fairly short space of time, they are often put down. The women who founded Sammy’s had no deadline; if a cat remained terrified or angry, they would pull strings with other rescues (like RAPS) to find alternative homes.  The important thing was to get all the cats of a colony trapped and spayed/neutered so that the cycle of continuous litters of kittens was broken.

The "home" Ariel came from (VW)

One situation outside the city boundaries proved particularly hard; it had been cleared once, but the owner continued to hoard cats and the colony grew again. The cats were also not being fed well (mostly bread!) so there were frequent stillbirths and malformed kittens. Once more, Sammy’s went in with traps, hoping to get all the cats.  Ariel was one of the last hold-outs; Valerie tells me that she would taunt the trappers by sitting on top of the trap, waiting to be fed while the door was still tied open.

Ariel (BC)

Most of the cats from that situation are very small – probably largely a result of malnourishment – and several of them had to be taught to eat cat-food now that bread was no longer on offer. Interestingly enough, most of them have also semi-tamed; Barbara, Bruley, Baxter and ZsaZsa have all been adopted; Sailor is friendly (if a little nippy!); Ursula still hangs out on the DoubleWide deck – and, now that it has a cat-door, she's exploring the courtyard.

Ariel had no time for taking it easy on the back deck – she wanted out and she wanted action!  She’s not as tame as Sailor, though she will allow a little petting, but she’s no scared feral; you work around Ariel, rather than expecting her to move!  She’s playful – bring out a feather toy or a long blade of grass, and she’ll all attention.  She’ll even tackle the big bad hose that’s out to water the gardens, and smacks it until it lies still.

Aspen braving the great outdoors (KN)

Aspen has spent most of her time with the others on the DW deck, but like them, is now using the new cat-door out to the back courtyard, and exploring more often. She’s much shyer than Ariel, and very wary of humans approaching her.

Ariel (LBF)

Both girls have the classic tabby “M” on the forehead that makes them torbies rather than calicos. Ariel has more tabby colouring; Aspen has more orange in her fur. I look for the front legs, when telling them apart;  Ariel has a tabby right foreleg, full sleeve, and Aspen’s right foreleg is all white. Their faces are very similar, with Aspen having more white on her nose than Ariel.  And now that they’re hanging out in the same area, it’s even easier to get these non-twins confused! 

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Brigid Coult,
Karen Nicholson, Valerie Wilson, Michele Wright

Video by Karen Nicholson

 

Kittens from Kamloops

All over the province there are rescues doing great work to address the problem of feral cat communities.

Barbara, Bruley & Baxter - KN/BC

Life for feral cats is hard and usually short; prey may be scarce, predators are always at hand, and humans add to the danger with traffic, poisons and non-humane traps. Nature causes cats to mature rapidly so that the population is maintained – or increased. This was the situation near Kamloops last fall, just outside the city limits, where a colony of cats which had been almost trapped out in 2015 was found to have grown again. A private rescue team went to work to live-trap the inhabitants and get them spayed and neutered, in the hope that the numbers could be got under control permanently.

Bruley & Ariel - LBF

When this sort of project is applied to a colony like this, various things may happen to the cats.  The very youngest will be taken into fosterage (if possible) and given careful handling to get them used to humans. These kittens will often be adopted easily. The adults will be assessed, and either tamed if that is possible, or released in a controlled colony. They will still have to deal with many of the perils of living wild, but the colony caretaker will feed and check on them. The “teens” will vary; with luck, caging and handling will tip the balance to tame them. However, for a small rescue, it requires resources of materials and people that are not always accessible.
RAPS is the Regional Animal Protection Society – and this sort of situation is where we can sometimes help cats outside our own municipality. At the Sanctuary, large cages, attention from staff and volunteers, and time are all factors that may take a spitting kitten to a purring lap-cat.

Barbara - KN

Our first Cariboo kittens were a trio of little tabbies – Barbara, Bruley and Baxter. Barbara, in particular, caught our attention, because she has a facial similarity to our loved-and-lost Daisy – probably caused by a mild chromosomal imbalance.  All three were initially very wary, but scared-wary rather than aggressive-wary, and they soon got used to handling. Beautiful Baxter – a classic-pattern tabby – did so well with contact that he was adopted by one of our volunteers, and has himself a home and much love.  Bruley, who is shyer, had relocated to the back deck of the Double-Wide, and joined the crew who like to lounge around on the mattress.

Ruff makes a big fluffy mattress for Barbara - KN

Tiny Barbara has fearlessly ventured out all over the back area;  she has joined Sara Lee as quality-control at mealtime, she visits with the tuxedo boys on the deck, and she has made herself totally at home with us. Unfortunately, she is one of those cats that often has a low-grade cold, and frequently needs to have her face cleaned. Barbara really likes other cats, and can often be found snuggling, if she can find a tolerant body to lie on - in fact, eating and sleeping are definitely her favourite things!

Ariel supervising the morning clean-up - KN

These three were followed to Richmond by two more pretty torbies.  Ariel settled in fairly quickly, and like Barbara, explores the back courtyard. She is particularly fascinated by the green hosepipe used for watering the gardens; it obviously reminds her of Cariboo snakes, and gets slapped accordingly.

Aspen - LBF

Aspen came in about the same time, was caged rather longer than Ariel (again, for upper respiratory care) and was not happy with human attention; she’s another who’s moved to the back deck, where she can hide behind the mattress.

Sailor - KN

From the same colony, but obviously with different genetics, is Sailor. Not a big cat, but slim and leggy, Sailor’s tabby/white makes him look very different from the others. Very wary at the beginning, Sailor quickly decided that he likes humans – almost too much, because he gets so excited by attention that he bites. He’s learned that this is not appreciated, and it’s more of a mouthing of fingers these days, but if he were ever to be adopted, it’s a trait that would need to be monitored.

KN

The latest from that colony are Zsa-Zsa and Ursula, two more tiny tabbies.  Part of the size factor is genetic – some cats are just naturally smaller.  Part of it is malnutrition in both mama and kittens; a mother that is not much more than a kitten herself will probably not have the natural nutrients to grow big healthy kittens.  Zsa-Zsa and Ursula are still wary of contact; they will accept a touch, but much more than that will result in a smack – with or without claws.  Like “brother” Bruley, they have gravitated to the deck colony of semi-ferals.

Ursula & ZsaZsa - KN

We also took in four other kittens, who were rapidly transferred to the Shelter and adopted. Other shelters around the province have also taken cats from the same colony, which has now been completely cleared. We can only hope that nobody goes dumping their unwanted cats there again, to begin the cycle over again.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen & Karen Nicholson

Furry Families

As we approach the Family Day weekend, I thought I’d take a look at some of the feline families that constitute the Sanctuary inhabitants.

Sandy and Pebble can never be mistaken for anything other than sisters! - KN

Because so many come in as ferals, we can’t always be sure about which cats are related – but family is family – through blood or through bonds of affection.

Mozart & Pistachio - KN

Some of last week’s blog cats are obviously family by blood – Mozart, Pistachio and Caleb have clear family resemblance. Their “teen” buddies, Leo and Benny are bonded, but not genetically related to each other or to the first three; however all are obviously “family” to each other.

In  Pen 6: Aphrodite, Athena, Vesta, Nyx - LBF

This past summer, we had a major trapping operation when a feral colony was suddenly discovered, with kittens and pregnant moms everywhere. All the kittens have been adopted, but we’re working on getting the young adults comfortable with us.  Pen 6 is now home to a colony of shy teens, and the Kitty Comforters are making slow but steady progress in coaxing them to accept attention.

Pax - MW

Zeus - now a cuddle-bug - MD

Two big black fuzzies are probably the baby-daddies to a number of the adopted kittens. Zeus and Pax now live in the Val Jones area with the other friendly FIV+ cats. Both have settled well, and may well have been strays rather than feral; however, an un-neutered cat is anxious to roam and find a female, and fighting males can easily pass FIV to each other in bites. 

Ariel - KN

Barbara - KN

One small family has joined us from Kamloops. Outside the city boundaries, another feral colony grew out of control. Private rescuers have been going in and trapping, and shelters in many places have been stepping up and taking in the less adoptable cats. We accepted Baxter, Bruley, Barbara and Ariel – knowing that the first three had a respiratory virus and would need careful tending. They have done well, and are now part of the Double-Wide population, and reunited with Ariel. Barbara is particularly loved by many volunteers; she has something of the chromosomal disorder that marked our beloved Daisy.

Honeydew, Melon, Kiwi - KN/LL

brother Shiver - MW

The three calico cats in the Connor House are obviously sisters; Melon, Honeydew and Kiwi all seem to enjoy each others’ company.  We don’t know whether their “brother” Shiver is related by blood – his appearance is nothing like the others. But more than one male cat can mate with a female, and it’s possible that in one litter you can have kittens that look radically different from each other, because half their genes are from another source.

Samantha loves to snuggle with Eclipse - KN

Without genetic linkage, there are cats that move together to make clear “families” - sometimes of semi-bonded pairs, sometimes just of individuals that like each other. Samantha likes to have “her boys” around – she is most often found snuggling with Chimo (who still misses his beloved PawPaw), but loves to be with Eclipse, and now Winston is often in the vicinity.

A sisterly grooming session with Sage & Silky

Little Barbara (above) has made herself at home on the DoubleWide deck with the feral boys - Luke, Bodhi and Hamlet are unrelated but bonded, and now they have a little adopted sister.

Barb and her boys - JK

Cats often have a reputation as loners, but at the Sanctuary we also see how important family can be to them.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Melanie Draper,

Jennine Kariya, Leslie Landa, Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright