Mindfulness in Motion

This week's blog comes to you from volunteer Laura Funay, who is one of our devoted Kitty Comforters.

Bugle says "GO AWAY!- unless you have something tasty!"  (KN)

Every so often, an acquaintance will ask me: "ooh, what did you do to your hands?" If bandaged, they may expect to hear about a cooking incident, or a hike in deep bush country.

The answer is always: "I volunteer with cats."

And this is what Bugle looks like when we treat her right...   (KN)

No, I'm not a masochist. There's also a second part to my answer, and it's always "I just wasn't paying proper attention."

Approaching RootBeer with caution (LF)

People without cat experience often say that they don't know how I can keep doing this. It is, 95 % of the time, entirely preventable, so it's down to me to keep scratches from happening. I consider it part of life-long learning. Any red marks I do receive are notes from my furry teachers, reading "much room for improvement." It brings to mind the expression "That which hurts, also instructs".

Beautiful Malibu  (KN)

Having ADHD means that the moment I step through the sanctuary gates I'm monitoring where I put my feet, the level of my voice, and where I rest my gaze. My inner Agnes from Despicable Me is squealing "they're so fluffy I'm gonna die!" She's hard to keep down. A new gorgeous floof like Malibu can make me gasp in surprise and awe. Unfortunately, it sent him running, and put us on the slow road to friendship. I'm still working on turning that gasp into a long breath and slow blinks.

Sweet Pea (MW) is a beloved old friend

Moment to moment, as I walk slowly through the front courtyard, I greet old friends like Sweet Pea by name and give scritches and knuckle rubs. In cat etiquette, looking away during a greeting is rude, so I focus my eyes on each friend in turn; my usual impulse is to look EVERYWHERE.

Cher (AG) loves attention on her own terms
but can become over-stimulated

The moving meditation continues. The kitties in need of attention are waiting in their cages or in their hidey holes, so I must be brief with the friendlies, and leave with a "love you, see you later." Time-blindness must be kept in check. It's incredibly hard to do, but I'm prepared with my list of KC kitties, and that helps. Somewhat...

Benji (MW) wears a collar to remind us he's reactive

Caged cats, whether new or receiving treatments, have sheets explaining their personalities, plus advice on how to approach them. I read them very thoroughly now, having learned a valuable lesson from Benji a while back. In my excitement to meet this friendly fellow, already purring through the cage, I skipped the line about overstimulation leading him to bite, which he did. Later, when a much-younger nurse practitioner questioned my life choices while prescribing antibiotics, well, that also helped with my reading comprehension a great deal.

Little Cat's expression tells me to approach carefully  (KN)

Awareness of the environment and remaining in the present, as in seated meditation, are absolutely necessary for me. A wandering mind while petting can lead to hurt feelings and an indignant swat, Eyes on kitty, hands on kitty, mind on kitty. Do your shopping list on your own time, human! New cats, known divas like Little Cat, Jobie and Jade, even longtime friends have their peculiarities when injured or startled. Focus and attention are impaired in an ADHD brain; kitty comforting exercises these skills, with immediate rewards. 

Sweet shy Sprint came to trust me   (LF)

For me, getting slow blinks, rumbling purrs, or piles of floof from five minutes of brushing reinforces my "training". Old friends like Zimmer, Snotty Bobby, and Sprint, eventually recognized my voice and approached me for cuddles and treats. It's a big win for the KC team and staff, having a former cage-topper come down to the floor to mix and mingle and get their share of treats. 

Sam is approachable if there are no other cats around  (KN)

I'm currently working on handsome new tabby Root Beer who likes to hang around Hill House and needs a lot of brushing, but group living seems to stress him out, so it's slow going. Orange Sam now waits for visitors in the Single Wide foyer and is an absolute darling when no other cats are around. It will take time for them to tolerate other cats, so for now I must be patient and alert. I must be improving: I haven't come home with any red notes for the past month.

Blog by Laura Funay

Photos by Laura Funay, Akira Graham, Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright

Benji

Me? A biter...?   (KN)

Most of our behaviourally challenged cats are with us because of “inappropriate urination” - meaning, they pee anywhere except the litter box!  Sometimes they do it because they feel under stress in their home, sometimes it‘s a medical problem, mostly it’s just become a bad habit.

Handle with Care! - Eli (MW) Jobie (CP) Sophie (MW)

A few of them have come to us with aggression issues – usually their people have tried to pick them up when they didn’t want to be picked up, and a bite or two later, they’re surrendered to our care.  Many of these cats actually do fairly well with us, because staff and volunteers know that we have to let the cats make the decisions about touching.  Beautiful Eli really just needs someone who will not expect him to be a lap-cat until he’s really ready.  Jobie, who came to us with a bad reputation, has her favourite people now.  Feisty Sophie in the TeaRoom loves to jump on laps and have her head petted – you just need to make sure not to go any further down her body.

Benji   (MW

Benji came to us last year with warnings about aggression.  He is such a handsome boy, and he was obviously unhappy during his cage time – but he was a hard cat to visit because as soon as he felt you were leaving him, he would bite – whether to hold on to you, or in punishment, we don’t know. When he was released we resorted to a past Sanctuary tradition and put a collar on him to indicate his tendency to bite. In Sophie’s case, a collar doesn’t last long and she quickly manages to lose it;  Benji, on the other hand, wears his collar with pride.

Benji (LBF)

We’re still working out the parameters of his aggression. He is definitely super-sensitive to touch and a petting session that would have any other cat purring quickly has him indicating “too much!” But at the same time, he’s quick to ask for attention. We don’t know how much human interaction he had before coming to us, and if he’s just never learned to “play nicely”.  

Watching out for other cats  (KN)

The right person and endless patience are working wonders for grey Smokey in the Moore House, and JJ from the DoubleWide;  both have found “their people” among the volunteers and JJ has gone to her new home, while Smokey will soon be going. Neither one has changed overnight, but they have both found people who are ready to wait for the cat to make the move. In common with Benji, neither particularly likes other cats.  

Tabbies with 'tude - Jasper & Benji  (KN/LBF)

Much the same can be said for Jasper, who, like Benji, can be a trouble-maker, and need an occasional time-out. But we have seen significant progress with Jasper (mostly thanks to Karen’s patience) and he has learned that humans are more inclined to play with him when he is not aggressive. We hope that Benji will learn too.  Wand toys and things at arms-length are key for many cats; fingers are just too tempting.  It would be lovely if someone can take Benji on as a project and help him learn that he does not always need to react with his teeth.

Blog by Brigid Coult

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