Flat Cats

Once again the Cat Sanctuary is basking in the best of BC summer weather – and most of the cats have decided that activity is OUT.

Latte

Wherever you go, little patches of shade each hold a cat. The front courtyard has been rigged out with an awning, the new trees (thank you to Purina and Evergreen) are giving green respite and the gazebo is popular.

Puffin
In each building the fans are going, and cats have plastered themselves on shelves, so that often only the toes can be seen.

unknown toes

The barn cats find a convenient umbrella and stay out of the sun

And everywhere there are sleeping furry bodies...

Ash

Emily

Harry

Leland

Tommy

Thanks to Michele Wright and Moira Langley for the pictures

Yale

Back in January, Phaedra posted this picture on Facebook of Yale having a good old yawn while siblings Gabriel and Saffron looked on. She described how Saffron had hissed at her until she realized that a lamb treat was on offer, Gabriel was scared but managed to pull himself together enough to collect his portion, and other brother Ash accepted her food offering but refused to come close enough to be in the picture frame. Yale, she said, was the fearless one.

Yale, Gabriel and Saffron

photo by Phaedra

These days, Ash and Saffron are much more readily friendly. Gabriel's still working on it, but is making progress. And Yale seems to have made himself a favorite among the volunteers who work in the singlewide.

Here are a few photos from my first proper visit with him last week:

And here are a few from a couple of volunteers who he'd already won over long before I met him:

photos by Kim

photos by Michele

Gabriel

After his feral mom, Grace, Gabriel is still the shyest of the family that includes Ash, Saffron and Yale. Until recently, he tended to stick pretty close to mom. In the last couple of months, though, he's started to strike out on his own.

When Leslie introduced me to him last week, while he wasn't ready to come down from his safe perch above the door, he allowed me to slip a few treats up on the plank in front of him and even take his picture without causing him to bolt. After making the appropriate number of treat offerings, I was actually able to go as far as offer a fingertip for sniffing without a flinch.

This may not seem like much, but to those who've worked with feral, semi-feral or just plain scared cats know that being granted permission to reach that far into an animal's personal space is huge. That first finger tip to nose tip touch is just a start, true, but it can signal the start of a beautiful friendship.

Saffron

Daughter of Grace and sister of Ash, Gabriel and Yale, Saffron is probably the most outgoing of the family.

Gabriel, Saffron and Yale

photo by Michele

photo by Kim

In fact, Saffron was the first one of her family I met, and the only one to make a point of introducing herself to me.  I came across this little unknown kitty in the singlewide, perched on the edge of shelf and trying to stare me down for some cuddles or food (dinner was being served at the time) or whatever else might be on offer. As I started patting her, I asked Michele who she was and was told her name was Saffron.

Introductions having been made, Saffron happily settled into purring, rubbing and dancing, stopping only briefly to have a little play with a nearby cat toy. 

When I came to see her a number of days later, she was just the same: friendly, open and ready for a visit.

Ash

When feral mom Grace and her kittens arrived at the sanctuary, Ash was the scardiest cat among his scaredy cat siblings.

young Ash

photo by Michele

Leslie recalls the day they were vaccinated, when Ash was so frightened that he ran around behind where she knelt and climbed into her jacket to hide. In his mad flight, Ash didn't realize that Leslie, who he thought he was getting away from, was actually in the jacket with him.

Although Ash still has the odd brief "Eek!" moment if caught off guard by someone he doesn't know very well, he gets over it quickly. No more hiding in jackets for this boy. He's truly come a long way in the past year and a half. 

Ash has decided he quite likes people and very much enjoys being stroked. In fact, he seems to have gone from being the most timid of his siblings to being one of the most outgoing.
 

Grace

In the summer of 2010, RAPS received a call from a dockyard with a request to come and trap a feral mom and her four kittens. The family was brought to the sanctuary, with the mom given the name Grace and her kittens being called Yale, Saffron, Gabriel and Ash.


The man who'd called RAPS to take the cats away didn't just put them out of his mind as soon as they'd gone. He even paid a visit to the sanctuary, where he was relieved to see that they were being well cared for and that the move had not resulted in the family being split up. 

Grace and her now grown kittens still all live together in the singlewide, though the kittens are much more independent these days than when they were small and scared.

Grace herself is quite a beauty.... or at least I think she is. She's still very much a feral and feels a strong need to hide up on the shelving by the ceiling of the enclosed porch behind the singlewide. Even looking at her for more than a second or two can set her to flight.

Hopefully, when she's observed us for long enough from her safe perch, she'll realize we wouldn't harm her for the world. And maybe someday she'll even follow the example of her young ones and consider liking us.

Look for blog posts this week and next on the rest of the family.