The Winter King

The Winter King (KN)

In May 2025 a large long-haired cat came to us as a transfer from Shuswap Paws. The vets think he's about 8 years old.  He was pretty shut down while he was at the Adoption Centre, but accepted pats while first in the cage at the Sanctuary. Sadly, it didn't last! 

Feeling safer under a table  (BC)

He’s named for the title character in a wonderful trilogy by writer Bernard Cornwall. The Winter King is an alternate name for Arthur – romanticized in mediaeval chivalry, but much more likely to have had an origin in 5th-century Britain, after the Romans had withdrawn. There are so many re-tellings of the story, but I particularly loved Cornwall’s gritty view. Sadly, the TV series based on it was a major disappointment – I was left wondering if the screenwriters had actually read the book... 

Sometimes cleaning is better done upside down  (KN)

Our own feline Winter King was finally released from his cage, and like many feral cats, promptly vanished into the back courtyard area around Waldi’s Hut, where there are lots of places to hide.  And hide he did – we might occasionally see him in the early morning or at dusk, but he didn’t want to be touched, and like beautiful Plateau, even looking in his direction could spook him. I always kept an eye open for him, because of his resemblance to my beloved Kojak who we lost ten years ago.

Good hiding places behind the cabin  (BC)

A couple of months ago the med-staff noticed that he was looking pretty matted. Many of our long-haired cats struggle with mats – if they don’t want to be groomed (and the ferals rarely want that) the only option is to sedate and shave them. Ideally, this happens when they’re already at the hospital for tests, but our med-staff are great at getting them woozy enough on gabapentin that the job can be done in a cage – it may not be the close shave they’ll get from the vet techs, but it gets rid of the mats. We’ll be seeing more lion-cuts in the course of the next month, with the improved weather and the skills of Gracelyn, who’s back with us for the summer.  Our boy spent a few days in a cage – to give the meds time to work, to have the mats cleaned up, and then to recover. And in those few days, we think a light-switch went on – perhaps humans weren’t too bad... 

Getting pets from Karrie  (BC)

Once back in the courtyard he began to be a bit more daring about being out and about while we were around. He didn’t actually ask for attention, but he accepted it when offered, and was obviously more comfortable with touch than he had been since arrival. He found a few favourite beds, and used them often enough that it was possible to find him. He prefers to put himself under a table or a chair, but if you’re ready to crawl to him, he doesn’t back off, but accepts petting with dignity.

Quiet conversation with Basil  (BC)

He’s on good terms with most of the Waldi’s Hut cats, and can often be found in company with Basil, who is missing Smithy – Smithy disliked most humans and let us know it, with bad language, but he always had feline friends in the cabin). The one cat he is wary about is Gwen, who is Smithy-in-reverse – likes humans and hates cats – and who gets jealous if someone like Winter King is getting all the attention.

Winter King (BC)

If visiting day is not too busy, he will even come out and interact with a few of the visitors; he places himself right at the boundary, so he’s ready for a quick escape, but the lure of caressing fingers keeps him from making a break too soon. I remember how scared Bello was last year, and how he made the transition to a tame boy that found a loving home. I don’t know whether Winter King has any experience with a home, or if he’s a feral that has made that enormous jump from fear to cautious trust – he’s certainly not tame yet, but perhaps, with lots of patience...

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult & Karen Nicholson

Changes

Beautiful Plateau  (BC)

As we all know, cats do NOT like change!  Especially for feral and fearful cats, coming to the Sanctuary can be a difficult experience – more contact with humans than they find comfortable, handling by medical staff, unfamiliar food, cage-stays – it’s not surprising that when we release them from their cages at the end of their initial stay, many of them vanish into hiding in the courtyard, or high up on cage tops.

Still fearful   (KN)

Beautiful Plateau was mentioned only in passing when I introduced Westin and Wyndham, who came from the Commuter Colony in the early months of 2025. They were two of the tamer group of refugees – likely strays rather than ferals – and both have made themselves at home with us, and are favourites with weekend visitors; we hope that both will find homes eventually. Plateau went first to the Adoption Centre; we couldn’t believe that such a gorgeous boy wasn’t a stray, and hoped that he would tame up. But Plateau was terrified; he flattened himself on the floor of his cage and reacted aggressively out of fear; when he was moved to the Sanctuary, his behaviour didn’t change, and when he was finally released he vanished so completely that we feared he’d escaped altogether.

You can't see me...  (BC)

Very slowly, we began to see this lovely boy ghosting around in the early morning and late evening hours. Initially he based himself somewhere in the back of Pen 5 – we think he hid under a pallet – occasionally he would emerge into the breezeway, and climb into the shrubbery to hide. Gradually he relocated closer to the main courtyard, usually at the back of Pen 8, where a number of other ferals went, and where there are number of boxes and kennels in which to hide.

Much more calm  (BC)

Then another set of changes – we were sent a group of cats from a hoarding situation on the Island, with Pen 6 already full of our Newton Hoard, we had to empty Pen 8 to accommodate them. Initially there was confusion, but gradually the cats who had established themselves in Pen 8 relocated nearby – mostly around the back of Waldie’s Hut, or in the shelving in front of the SingleWide deck. Plateau remained mostly a loner; there was mutual tolerance with the others, but he didn’t seem to interact with them much.

Still prefers to be alone   (BC)

Another month, and more changes: the DoubleWide, which has been the centre of activity for more than 20 years is really showing its age. In an ideal world, a devoted donor would step up and replace it; in practice, it’s Ken that steps up with a plan to refurbish it, and deal with some of the problems of wiring, insulation and rot – not to mention years of cat-pee! The main rooms are stripped; cages are relocated anywhere space can be made for them; the Med-Cage is relocated to the SingleWide – and every cat who has based themselves there (mostly on the cage-tops) has to relocate too. There are a lot more cats wandering around the back courtyard – some of them adjusting well, others obviously not really happy. The courtyard reminds me of when I first came to the Sanctuary and our cat-total was around 700!

The spectator at the edge...

Interestingly enough, Plateau seems to be taking this in his stride and adjusting well. Increasingly he is emerging earlier in the day, as long as things are fairly quiet and there are few people. He makes eye-contact and listens when I talk to him; he’s not ready to accept actual touch yet, but will accept chicken tidbits as long as nobody else gets pushy about it. He’s not ready to stand up to Mandarin or Walker or Motley when they make first claim, but he’s ready to lie in the sun and bask while others move around him. He reminds me of the early days of Bello, who was brought to us as “too feral to tame” and who has gone last week to his own loving home.

Sitting near Motley - a budding friendship?  (BC)

I think our initial assessment was probably correct – this beautiful boy is a stray rather than a born-feral – but his experience of living in a colony with other ferals, in a situation that was full of fear and danger, swung him back to the feral instincts that underlay many cats’ behaviours. Long-term RAPS people will remember our beloved Dell – so terrifying in his initial time with us, and then so loving when he realised he was safe with us. Plateau may not know it yet, but the best is yet to come.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult & Karen Nicholson

Reef

Reef

Reef is one of several cats who has come to us from another shelter that was unable to get him adopted.  Like Bello, he was trapped and neutered, but was so fearful that potential adopters were unwilling to consider him.  He came into our care, caged in the Connor building while we gave him a chance to get used to the people and the smells and the other cats. There, he was very vocal, letting us know very clearly that he wanted out of there!  Volunteers and Kitty Comforters visited him, but some cats just hate cages – no matter that ours are much larger than most commercial ones – and Reef couldn’t wait to get out.

Don't bug me...

Release day came, and Reef didn’t hang around long. He quickly discovered that most of the shyer cats prefer to hang out in the Old Rabbit Area, and that there are lots of places where he can hide behind a drape or in an upper-level basket. And there he would probably have remained, if not for Carol Porteous.

Climbing down onto Carol's lap

Carol is a favourite with many of the front courtyard cats – actually, she’s a favourite everywhere she goes! – but she is usually on shift for feeding in the front, and the cats gather at the gate as she arrives. Like former volunteer Lori (now living in Alberta) she brings both freshly cooked chicken and fish, and some of the tastiest of the commercial catfoods. She has a particular gift with the very shy ones, and it’s thanks to her that I have begun to know little tripod Chutney, and Reef.

Leg-rubs

She calls him Reefie, and his head immediately pops up from the basket where he’s hiding. Within a couple of minutes, he makes his way to her, climbing down from her shoulder to her lap, and then weaving around her legs.  Because he is so confident in her presence, he is also comfortable with me, and before long I have a new lap-sitter.

Under the heat-lamp

Reef is about 5 years old, and a skinny boy; possibly life in the wild has left its mark, and it will be good to see if we can get a little more condition on him.  My guess is that he is actually a stray rather than a feral, and is now remembering what it is like to have humans giving him some love.  It’s heart-warming to see how handsome Bello, in the back courtyard, has blossomed – to the point that he’s now wearing his “adoptable” bandanna at the weekends.  Reef is still a bit too wary for that, but when there are few people around I can call his name and he will emerge and offer leg-rubs, and then lap-time. 

Watching us from above

It doesn’t take much to spook him, and there are other cats like Cuddles and Westin who get a bit jealous (Westin demonstrates his jealousy by sitting on my feet!), but every encounter makes him a little more confident.  He’s not ready yet to go further than the doorway, but he’s made such progress in the last while that I am confident that our patience will eventually be rewarded by a cat who is no longer “too feral to adopt”.

Blog & photos by Brigid Coult

Handsome Bello

Bello - the handsome one  (KN)

I don’t remember when Bello came to the Sanctuary – usually I will meet a new cat in my Kitty Comforter shift during their initial cage-stay with us. But in late spring I started to notice a pale ghost in the back courtyard, generally around Waldie’s Hut, or on the shelves backing onto the SingleWide. Any move towards him resulted in his doing a disappearing trick, and I went to the med staff to find out more.

You can't see me, I'm not there....   (BC)

We have good relationships with a number of BC shelters, and will sometimes accept cats from them that are too feral for adoption;  they know that in our care, these felines can remain feral but safe as long as is needful.  Bello is one of those cats – in his case, he came from the Lower Mainland Humane Society in February. He had been trapped as a feral, and was consistently fearful with them, and not considered a good adoption prospect. RAPS was to be his sanctuary. We think he's around three years old.

Bello's portrait from FVHS;
crouched down with ears pinned back in fear

Because we had all his medical records, his cage-stay was brief - a short while in the Adoption Centre, a stay in Newcomers, where he remained behind his drape. And like a lot of ferals on release, his first instinct was to go and hide – generally emerging in the early morning or late evening. I tend to be an early morning volunteer (when I’m not feeding in the evening!) and found Bello was more open to contact when fewer people were around. He could often be found comfortably settled on a cat-tree where he could slide away behind the shelves if he got nervous.

Starting to be patient with an approaching human  (BC)

Bello is the masculine form of the word bella, meaning beautiful.  His name suits him – he’s really handsome, in a striking way. We suspect there’s some Siamese in him, evidenced in his lynx-tip coloring and blue eyes, but his chonky body shape is much more British Shorthair.

Coming for pets....  (KN)

Patience began to pay off; he would allow a little contact, and accept tidbits from my hand. I heard from other volunteers that they were starting to get somewhere with him.  Occasionally he would approach for a leg-rub; he started interacting with other cats, and could be found enjoying the sun with the others. He stayed well out of the way on visiting days, but would appear when things were quieter.

Lounging comfortably for visitors  (BC)

I left in mid-June for a 3-week (cat-less) vacation, and came home to the Sanctuary to discover that Bello had blossomed; he was out more, looking for attention from people, and even being around to accept petting during visiting hours – though he tends to settle himself in a chair just out of reach of the rope that marks the cats-only boundary!  

Happy smile   (KN)

It seems to me that Bello is one of those cats that is likely a stray rather than a true feral; he may well have had a home, and been so traumatized by its loss that he reverted to the terrified feral behaviour. We do have ferals that tame up in time, but both Bello and his buddy Guacamole have made the switch relatively quickly, and we hope that both may be candidates to find their own homes in due course.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult & Karen Nicholson