Our Sweet Diabetics

Careen (MW)

November is Diabetes Awareness Month – but not everyone may be aware that cats, too, can suffer from diabetes.

Nikki and his Shadow  (KN)

There are two types of diabetes in cats. In Type I there is a decrease in insulin production, and therefore blood glucose concentrations are high. In Type II diabetes, glucose levels are high because cells in the body do not respond appropriately to insulin. In both types, the body cannot access the sugars needed, even though there is plenty of sugar in the blood, because insulin can’t transport the sugar from the bloodstream into the cells that need it.  Type II is the more common variety, and though it cannot be cured, it can be controlled with injections of insulin, and in some cases, with dietary management. 

Mojo is one of our larger cats  (BC)

Currently we have five cats with diabetes at the Sanctuary: Luke and Careen in the DoubleWide, and Nikki, Blaze and Meepos in the SingleWide. Two other cats are watched: big Mojo lives in the offices, where we can control his diet; his diabetes is currently in remission, and as long as we don’t let him overeat, we can probably keep it that way.  And newcomer McGregor (in next week's blog) came into our care with possible diabetes, but also seems to have it in remission – we watch him carefully for signs of recurrence. In his case, elevated blood sugars may have been a sign of stress.

Nikki holding court - look at those big
polydactyl feet!   (KN)

Nikki Sixx-Toes was diagnosed diabetic when he came into our care. He was a semiferal cat, wary about being handled, and the pen where he was living did not allow the med-staff to treat him without additional stress to his system. Reluctantly, we brought him inside and caged him – and unlike most feral cats, he grew to love it, and the attention it brought him. He got lots of fussing in his enclosure near the staff office, and received visitors with regal enjoyment.  Four years later, his throne has moved to be the papasan chair on the deck, where he is attended and guarded by his girlfriend Shadow.

Shy Meepos (KN)

Also on the deck, but usually hidden away, is fellow-diabetic Meepos, whose condition is of more recent diagnosis. Meepos has been with us for more than eleven years; he was trapped as a feral on Mitchell Island in the company of his buddy Bossanova, and the two of them were initially pretty shy, and took great comfort in each other. Meepos was initially the friendlier of the two, but never became as sociable as Bossanova – he will emerge and accept gentle attention if it’s quiet, but he prefers to stay out of the way. His is late-onset diabetes – most of his time with us, he’s been fine, but he’s not an active boy, and between his inaction and aging, his system quit processing blood-sugars properly.

Blaze (MW)

Sweet Blaze is the sister of fellow-tortie Toes, who lives in the front courtyard. The two were separated when Blaze developed skin problems and was brought inside where she could be treated more easily. She can usually be found on the shelves backing on to the big cage, and loves to have attention so long as she can remain in her own space. Like the other diabetics, she’s something of a chonk – it’s hard to balance the need to give them extra food at the same time as they get their insulin injection, with not overfeeding them. Their extra is mostly protein, with a few treats, but with so many cats around, there’s no way of stopping them eating more of the crunchies that are out for the cats who prefer to graze. With food and insulin every 12 hours, they have no reason to be hungry, though, or to raid the crunchie-bowl.

Luke (BC)

In the DoubleWide, Luke is the younger of the two diabetics. He is part of the Tuxedo Club that hangs out on the deck, and he has also suffered from dental problems, which have necessitated occasional caging while he heals. He’s an active and social cat, both with humans and with other cats, and just loves attention – which makes it much easier to give him his doses.  The other diabetic in the building is Careen. Careen was an outside cat for some time, and shared cuddle space with sweet Willow in Pen 5. When we recently noticed her changed habits in terms of eating and peeing, she was brought in for testing, and remained caged for a bit longer. As an outdoor cat, there was some discussion about her release – she’s friendly and handleable, but trying to find a grey cat on a dark night to give her insulin could well be a problem. However, Careen decided that having been moved into the DoubleWide, she might as well stay in warmth and comfort. She can usually be found peering down from the cage-tops, and her one bad habit is that when it’s meds time, she moves herself to the most inaccessible spot, and takes some coaxing to come and enjoy her special plate of goodies (and the minimal needle prick that goes with it).

Careen on the DW cagetops (BC)

Diabetes in a cat is a long way from being a death sentence, and doesn’t need a vet to do the injections; the insulin needle is very fine, and the dose is very small – the only disadvantage is that the cat-parent needs to schedule their activities in order that the dose is regular. And getting special plates of food – they must feel as if they are being treated as the royalty they consider themselves to be.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright

Visiting the Dilutes

LittleCat & Menjosie   (BC)

A recent shift in the Single-Wide offered the opportunity to spend time with a couple of cats who are fairly new to us.  Little Cat and Menjosie are a bonded pair who came in to us as a result of allergies and dog-stresses at home. Menjosie is a chonky little torby with beautiful green eyes; she is outgoing and happy to interact with visitors. She is deeply attached to her companion, Little Cat, who is a calico.  Little Cat is still wary until she trusts you, when she can be very chatty!

LittleCat   (BC)

The rules around tortoiseshells (torties) and calicos ensure that they are practically always female – the genetics binding colour and gender are very strong. Rarely, you will find a male, and they are usually infertile. A similar genetic linking was thought to tie orange cats (almost always orange tabbies) to gender; it used to be thought that something like 90% of them are male, but the proportion is probably less extreme, and we certainly have our share of orange girls at the Sanctuary. Torties and calicos are basically the same colour combination – but in torties, the primary fur colour is black, and in calicos it’s white.

Menjosie  (BC)

Our SingleWide torties (except Blaze) and calicos all have dilute colouring. Dilute is a gene that affects the cat’s hair by causing the pigmentation to be patchy, giving the illusion of a lighter coat colour. Black colouring becomes grey, red colouring becomes anything from peach to cream. Little Cat is a calico with plenty of white fur, but her coloured fur is a lovely grey/peach mixture. Even torby Menjosie has some of the dilute colouring, and you can see that her fur beyond the tips is mostly pale.

Flash  (KN)

The two of them are in one of the SingleWide cages, with the door wide open. Cats tend to be territorial, and one of the problems of caging is that they end up claiming the space – so it’s frustrating for them when they have to be turned out in order to accommodate another cat needing the cage. So far Menjosie and Little Cat have remained home-bodies – they don’t want to explore further.  But they are getting visitors.

Noelle  (KN)

Noelle and Marie are former occupants of the same cage, and now the door is open, they are wanting to be in “their” space again. There are no territorial battles, but there are frequent visits. They are another bonded pair – mother and daughter, in this case. They too came to us after stresses at home caused inappropriate use (or lack) of the litter-box, and they’re still stressed enough that it’s still a problem, which probably means they’ll not get adopted out.  

Marie  (LBF)

The two of them were evicted from the cage about a year ago, and have moved to several other areas, but they now seem to have settled at ground level either in Pandora’s cage (Pandora is an extremely grumpy senior girl who prefers the shelf or the cat-tree.) or in a two-tier sleeping cave in Menjosie and Little Cat’s cage.

Noelle & Marie  (BC)

They too are dilutes – Noelle is calico, with clear white base-fur; Marie is dilute tortie, with minimal white and a strong suggestion of the split-face pattern common in torties, though given her colouring, it’s not as clear as it appears in Blaze, for instance. Both are shy, but willing to be coaxed for petting and attention.

Flash - (KN)

Of course, after visiting with this quartet, I also needed to climb a ladder, and visit with Flash, who prefers to live quietly on the cage-top.  This sweet girl came to us with old injuries from a dog, and she rarely ventures down to floor level, but feels that she has everything she needs on the top floor. She has her favourite humans who know where she hangs out, and she enjoys a little loving. These gentle girls are all lacking in “tortietude” (perhaps the dilute gene affects that too!), and appreciate a visitor who will interact with them at their own pace. 

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Karen Nicholson

Calendar 2019 out-takes

It’s coming.... it’s coming....

Jasper: "Listen up, folks!"

It’s almost time for the new RAPS Cat Sanctuary Calendar for 2019!

Reefer: "Did you say it's coming?"

Once again, photographer Michele Wright provided a great selection of photos from the Sanctuary inhabitants, and once again, it was hard to make choices, and to bring the final numbers down to the chosen fourteen.

Pico: "Where is it?"

We hope that you will hurry to get your calendars ordered so you can see who made it – and so that you can plan your Christmas lists so that you can give Cat Sanctuary gifts to all your friends and families.

Palma - we loved the colours of this

The photos in this blog are some of the ones we loved, but that for one reason or another just didn't make it into the final selection.  Sometimes it was because we already had a photo of that cat; sometimes we didn't need another black one; sometimes it was a good shot, but perhaps not a calendar picture you might want for an entire month.

Handsome tortie Blaze was just beaten by another tortie.

I'd asked Michele for a couple of pair or group shots, and we loved this one of Walker and Capilano playing together.  But for me, one of Michele's talents is eye-contact with cats, and these guys weren't watching the camera!

Walker is the only creature Capilano loves

Pico is so photogenic!  But she'd already featured in the 2018 calendar, and much as we love her, it was too soon for a repeat - plus, we already had a tree-climber!

Pico is a fearless climber

Everyone who works in the Single-Wide knows and loves Bossanova - though his love isn't given to everyone! His was the last photo that we reluctantly moved into the "not 2019" column.

Life is a serious business for Bossanova

Sophia always reminds me of an elderly lady with wild hair - especially, when she's just had a body-shave to deal with her constantly-matting fur!  She was a cat I ended up deciding not to add because she one of our old Moore House cats, and therefore a bit more fragile than some. It's so hard when we lose a calendar cat, and have to see their image months after they've gone. We lost Tricia and Faith who featured in the 2018 calendar; Sophia and another couple of cats ended up being put in the "no" pile for potential health reasons.

Sophia says "We are not amused!"

Looking over these photos, I can't help but smile - but I think you'll be smiling too, when you see the photos in Calendar 2019. Copies will be available in all the RAPS facilities - the 5 Road City Shelter, the 6 Road Sanctuary, both Thrift Stores and at the Hospital as well as online - and they make wonderful Christmas gifts.
When you give, they live... every calendar sold supports RAPS cat-care.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Michele Wright

A Trio of Torties

For a good while now, the front courtyard has been home to just one tortoiseshell cat – Treacle, who mostly lives in the Hill House, and is beginning to show her age. Suddenly this winter, we seem to have torties everywhere we look.  In fact, there are only three newcomers in the front, but they have made their presence very evident.

KitKat - MW

KitKat came to us in the fall when the Sanctuary was a temporary home to some of the shelter cats while their regular home was undergoing remediation and renovation. She had been surrendered by her family for peeing – probably in a stress situation – and then at the Five Road Shelter she showed herself to be friendly enough, but was obviously stressed by the number of other cats, and, as so many of them do, expressed her feelings once again with her pee. When the time came to return her to the Shelter it was decided that the space we could offer her would be altogether preferable, though she would not be so obviously an adoption candidate.

KitKat - BC

A short period of being penned was followed by a front courtyard release, and a successful one – KitKat has made herself very much at home. Like many other torties, she’s not a big fan of other cats, but she mostly ignores them, preferring the company of humans, especially if they allow her to climb on their shoulders.  We think that this friendly girl might make a good candidate for the adoption list, especially if she goes to a home where she is the one-and-only, and is unstressed by other four-legged company.

KitKat loves shoulder-climbing - DW

Blaze and Toes came to us together from another rescue in the Interior of BC. The siblings had been trapped as young ferals with a group of cats, and were recognized as a bonded pair. As many of our visitors know, ferals can turn the corner and become very friendly. Blaze made the jump, but Toes never really did, preferring to steer clear of humans. Their family finally returned them to the original rescue, who were unable to find somewhere the two of them could be together. We have occasionally taken in cats from this rescue (most recently in a tragic situation with a hoarder who died) and it was felt that this pair might have a chance of settling with us.

Blaze - MW

After a short stay in the big cage in the Hill House, the two were released, and very quickly made themselves at home. Blaze takes her name from the marking on her face – less defined than KitKat’s very clear stripe.

Blaze - BC

Toes is darker, but as her name implies, her blond toes quickly identify her. Both are most active (and interactive with humans) in the evening at feeding time; Blaze quickly comes for petting while Toes hovers at arms-reach.

Toes - MW

Both have established themselves in one of the feral areas (the room with the yellow door), but they also enjoy being tucked away in the gazebo in the middle of the courtyard. Recently Toes took her gazebo passion to new heights.

Toes' adventure - DW

Time will tell if the confidence of other former-ferals will have an effect on Toes’ shyness, or if a feral-savvy home could be found eventually for these two sweet girls together.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Debbie Wolanski and Michele Wright