Tucker

Tucker  (KN)

The RAPS Cat Sanctuary is so-named because we are a place of safety for many cats who have no other options. There are shelters and rescues around the province who do wonderful work, but who are unable to offer long-term options for ferals, for leukemia cats, for the incontinent or aggressive. Tucker is one such cat.

Tucker in time-out  (BC)

Tucker came to us last year, and has spent much of his time in a large cage next to the med-staff area. Because of aggression, he was transferred from Broken Promises Rescue in Victoria, who tell us that he was trapped as a feral kitten with his mother and the rest of his litter. We understand that he suffered a neurological injury that may have resulted in a personality change as well as a physical handicap. The rescue works through fostering, and Tucker didn’t do well, being picked on by his mother and another cat in the home. It doesn’t take much to startle him and he easily becomes overstimulated. Loud noises scare him, and make him jumpy. And when he’s scared or reactive, he swipes out and his swipes are forceful. 

"Smack!"  (BC)

When you watch Tucker get around, it’s easy to see that he’s not quite in control of his body.  Like our sweet Honey Bear (now gone) his movements are a little jerky and without the usual elegance of a cat. There’s a slightly unfocused look to his eyes, as if he can see something we can’t;  that may actually be a vision issue, because he had eye problems that needed treatment for a while, but I’m inclined to think it ties more to his neurological issues.

Helping Molly in the morning  (MS)

Med-staff Molly says “He's getting better with the other cats, and knows to steer clear of the more assertive personalities, but he will attack the older, sweeter ones like Tuggy and Dazzle. I think it's that he can tell they're easy targets. I'm hopeful that he'll learn not to, but everything takes him twice as long to figure out. He's an incredibly sweet boy, who loves to be held and sit on laps. Just do it with an ounce of caution, as he gets nasty when other cats are around, or when he gets set down he may lash out. I have a soft spot for him, but he's not the most popular with everyone else”.

Jasper having a face-off with Tucker  (BC)

Tucker’s foster in Victoria also has a soft spot for him, but recognized that he was not a cat for anyone but a really cat-savvy person. When we have visitors at the weekend, Tucker is caged so that he doesn’t get over-stimulated. Once visitors have gone, he emerges and wanders, exploring with no sense of other cats’ territory. Med staff are used to keeping an eye on him, and watching to see when things have become a bit too much and he needs to be back in his peaceful place. Even feisty Jasper can become a target at such times, and it’s always better to intervene before an actual cat-fight takes place.

Tucker sleeping - MS

We have a limited number of cages for med-care and new cats, and don’t usually allow any cage-space to be claimed, though there are always exceptions – many long-term volunteers will fondly remember little tuxedo Aurora, who spent most of her life with us, refusing to leave her cage. And big blond Oscar (now adopted) would sulk and refuse to eat when shut out of his favourite space. Tucker’s cage is a safe refuge for him, and it’s large enough that it can have its own cat-tree, to make his (occasionally unsteady) climbing a bit safer. Molly says that part of his self-soothing seems to be lying is a slightly twisted posture with his head thrown back – it doesn’t look comfortable, but he does it often enough that it obviously does give him comfort.

Quiet time in his cage  (BC)

We don’t know Tucker’s future – if adopted, it would have to be to someone very cat-savvy, who was prepared to have him be an only cat. There may be other medical issues; for now, at least, he is best in our care, with access to the knowledge of the vets at the RAPS Hospital, and with staff and volunteers who love him.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Karen Nicholson & Molly Sjerdal

Leukemia Losses

We lost Kojak this week.

Kojak - by Carol

This sweet boy has been a resident of the Old Aids area, where many of our leukemia cats live, since early 2013.  In that time he progressed from a scared, angry cat to one who would occasionally hop up into a lap – especially if chicken was on offer. We got to know his anxious little cries as he anticipated food being given out. He was loved by many volunteers – Carol, whose photo this is, Alice, Candy, Allison…  He was one of my own sponsor cats.

by Brigid

Feline leukemia affects the immune system, and cats carrying it have less resistance to infections – hence our emphasis on washing/sanitizing before handling them. It’s not to protect us – leukemia can’t be  transmitted to or through humans – it’s to protect them from something carried in from handling another cat.

by Michele

Kojak’s been unwell in the last few weeks, showing cold symptoms; he was caged for extra care, and a lot of loving from his human friends and the Kitty Comforters. But, as is typical with leukemia cats, his system just said “enough!” and shut down on him.  We know it can happen any time – we give them all the love we can, because we never know how long we can keep them.

As I lay in bed that night, having a little weep, I found myself naming the leukemia cats of Old Aids that I have loved and lost, and imagining them welcoming Kojak among them:  Aurora, Spot, Bella, Jeremy, Jasper, Panther, Bingo, Bobby, Frieda, Blue, Jessie, Butterbean, Bubba, Brady, Sabrina, Jackson, Max, Todd, Raven and probably many others.... I’ve included some of their previously unpublished photos here, and links where profiles have been featured.

Bella - by Phaedra

 Frieda - by Claire

Jackson - looking for handouts

Jessie - by Michele 

Blue & Sabrina - by Michele

 Aurora - by Michele

Bubba & Brady - by Debbie

We have them to love for all too short a time – but heaven wouldn’t be heaven without cats, and I’m sure these will all be waiting for us at the Rainbow Bridge

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Phaedra Hardman, Carol Porteous,

Debbie Wolanski & Michele Wright

Footnote: As you will see from the initial Kojak blog, he was one of the cats that found us; he was trapped in our own parking lot, and as was traditional for cats like this, named for a fictional detective.

On the day Kojak died, another cat was found and trapped in the parking lot. He has been named Watson (for Sherlock Holmes' sidekick). I'd like to think that Kojak's spirit had something to do with a homeless cat finding a new home with us.



Checking in with cats of blog posts past

What that title says.

Click on each cat's name in large type above their picture to read the original post about them.

Aurora

Wonder of wonders, Aurora is out of her cage! True, she didn't have much of a choice in the matter, but still...
Major renovation work recently started on the building where she'd been living up until recently. With the whole inside being gutted and rebuilt, including the cages, cats who'd been housed there before naturally had to be moved somewhere else. As her preference for cage dwelling is well known, Aurora was given portable cage in another building. She stayed there for a time, the one day there she was snoozing in a bed on the table next to the cage. Now she seems quite pleased with her new little corner of the world and is even making a few new friends.

Baby

Baby has also left her cage recently, though in her case no convincing was needed to embrace broader horizons. Now she's in the front yard and looking quite pleased with herself.

I'd wondered if her obsession with swatting at other cats who came near the door of her cage would continue or even escalate once she was free to roam around and swat at will, but this doesn't appear the case. If anything, it seems like she just likes reaching through barriers - evidenced by her cheerfully pawing at me through the fence as I was coming through the gate the other day. Once I was on the same side of the fence as she, it was all purrs and cuddles.

Grizzy

Somewhere along the line, Grizzy concluded that the world hated him and so he wasn't going to let anyone near without a defensive hiss and swat. The fact that cats like Groucho unaccountably decided to start beating up on him certainly didn't help.

How to convince a cat who thinks he's friendless that he's wrong? We kept trying, but were consistently rebuffed. Then slowly it seemed like he perhaps wasn't swatting quite as hard. More time passed, and he'd allow himself to be touched - if food was part of the bargain. Finally, he started to show signs of wanting a few pets, food or no.

We're so glad he's beginning to understand that he has a few people on his side after all.

Checking in with cats of blog posts past

Something a little different for today - rather than introducing a new cat, I thought it might be time to check in on a few of our friends from past posts.
Click on the title for each cat's section to read the original post about them.

Rita

When I wrote about poor grouchy Rita last August, this overstuffed kitty was so obese she had to struggle to get up if she fell over. To make matters worse, she hated other cats so much that they had to be kept from her sight.
Well, she's not as large as before, and will accept human cuddles with much less likelihood of a sudden switch into grumpy swats, but she still hates cats. And so she still has a room of her own. Now we just need to find a way to get her out and about for a little exercise without meeting any of the hundreds of cats living at the sanctuary...

Jingles 

Jingles, another enthusiastic cat-hater when she arrived, has adjusted somewhat better. She still doesn't like other cats getting in her face, but it's now possible to approach her and enjoy a cuddle without her eyes darting back and forth to see if anything furry might possibly be thinking about coming near. 

Shadow 

Shadow posing in front of his "Poo Record"

Shadow's medical condition (severe constipation) has caused him to spend a good deal of time in a cage these days, so staff can monitor his bowel movements. If he manages some, he gets to come out for a while; if there's a concern, back in he goes.
Of course, any time he's out and about when I come for my shift, there he is waiting to "help" me at the table where I dish out the cans. Purring away, I might add.

Aurora

Aurora still likes her cage as much as she did when I met her last September, though she did try something new and exciting by moving into the cage next door to her usual one for a time... to the surprise of anyone who noticed the change.
Now she's quite content with expanding her horizons by sitting on the bottom shelf of her cage rather than the top.

Greyson

Greyson was having a pretty tough time of it for a while there after his arrival in November. He was stressed out by the other cats, started having skin problems, got sick off his medication... more stress, more skin problems. But now that all seems to be in the past. His fur looks good, his eyes are bright, and he's very responsive to anyone who wants to have a visit with him. All in all, very content and well adjusted.

Squeaks

When I first met Squeaks, I had to take the reason for his name on faith, as he almost never spoke to me. Perhaps he just needed to get to know me, since now, far from me having to seek him out, he often follows me around and squeaks loudly at me until I pay attention to him.

Nevada

Nevada is now back outside with his buddies. He will, if in the mood, allow himself to be approached and even enjoy rubs and tickles like he did when he was in his cage. He's less willing, unfortunately, to allow staff anywhere near him when it's time to give him fluids that keep him healthy enough to be able to enjoy sitting out there and visiting with people...

Cow

Cow was let out of his cage back in February and seems well on his way to being one of the self appointed greeters of the front courtyard. Apparently no big adjustment problems for this one - he's a happy boy.

Charmin

Even for those who may consider themselves at least passably fluent in feline, cats can sometimes be a bit hard to figure.

The signs providing information on any cats being kept in cages will sometimes include a note warning that this particular inmate is especially determined to get the heck out of that cage at the first opportunity. This is understandable. We don't tend to think of cats as really relishing the idea of a cage. And then we see cats like Aurora, who have no interest in leaving the cage once the door has been left open -- indefinitely. And then there is Charmin, who can't seem to resist scooting into any and every cage at the first opportunity. When I'm opening the doors to various cages at dinnertime, she'll often appear by my feet, looking for an opening to slip in far more eagerly than the cat on the other side is looking to zip out.

As far as distinguishing characteristics go, Charmin's other one doesn't require the opening of a cage door to notice:

Yes, another member of the RAPS one-eyed cat club. 

Here's her story, told by Leslie (originally published in The Love Blog, July 2009):

"Charmin, our one-eyed Persian, was surrendered to RAPS as a high-strung young cat many years ago. We found a loving home for her, but her situation deteriorated a couple of years later. The young couple had a baby and then decided to get a puppy. All of that activity was too much for Charmin, and she started to urinate around her home. RAPS has a policy of always taking back the animals we adopt, and Charmin has a permanent home at our sanctuary."

I'm told that Charmin originally came to us with the full ocular complement, but somewhere along the way suffered a rupture of the right eye, leaving her with just the left. Persian cats can be particularly prone to eye problems due to the shape of their faces.

This doesn't seem to stop Charmin from doing any of the things she wants to do, though, from presenting herself to available visitors or volunteers for a little attention to conducting regular inspections of any cages she can wrangle access to. Always making sure she's not missing out on a thing.

Aurora

In my last post, I wrote about a few reasons why RAPS staff may find it best to keep certain cats in cages for a time. On rare occasions, though, there is no reason that a cage dwelling cat should be there... no reason, that is, except out of respect for the wishes of the cat.

Leslie sent me this story about a pretty former feral named Aurora:

"Did you know that we have a cat who has remained in her cage in the Connor House for several years?  Believe it or not, Aurora will not come out into the big, bad world outside of her little home.  She came to us feral, and now is tame but shy. I used to lift her out occasionally and set her on the floor, but she'd immediately return to the safety of her cage. She doesn't seem to mind when other cats join her in there, but Aurora has made up her mind.  She's not coming out, no way, no how."

The Connor House is the name of one of the buildings housing cats at the sanctuary. The front door is open to give cats access to the large open area of the front yard in the warmer seasons and there are cat doors to allow movement between indoors and outdoors during the cooler months.

Aurora's cage door is wide open; she can climb down any time she feels like it. She does not feel like it. Despite being friendly and calm when I visited her for a soft and a few photos, she clearly hadn't the slightest intention of venturing forth.

photo provided by RAPS

According to Leslie, "Aurora is actually the 2nd cat at the sanctuary who didn't want to leave her cage.  Many years ago, we had a cat with leukemia who didn't leave her cage for almost 5 years."