Texans in the Single-Wide

Syd-Sr.

Most of the RAPS cats come to us as ferals or strays; some are surrendered with behavioural issues; just occasionally they arrive when their human can no longer care for them.  Two years ago, a woman in Texas reached out to us. She had probably heard of us through the Pets and Pickers show, she had done some internet research, and now she was asking for a very special partnership with RAPS. Her health was declining; she knew that she would probably have to go into hospice care, and she needed to know that her beloved cats would be in good hands.  With her lawyer’s help, she made a bequest in her will that would enable their continued care at RAPS, as well as making it possible to get them to us.

Sunshine & Syd-Jr.

That promise came due this summer when she went into end-of-life care, and it was time to bring the cats to Richmond. Mandy Lichtman, with her daughter Maya, made the journey with the somewhat stressful return, described here by Mandy, and in early September the ten Texan cats came to the Adoption Centre, where they were temporarily housed for assessment, and given a chance to assess us in their turn.  From there, they were moved into the Sanctuary proper; some into the Hill House (two large cages where five of them could move freely), one in the Connor House, and four in the SingleWide.

Oreo snoozing with Syd-Sr.

Some of the SingleWide cats are still caged – some health issues, and waiting for vaccines to take effect.  Syd-Sr is a sweet panther; he had some time in a cone with dental stuff, and the med staff removed the shelf in his cage to deter him from much jumping. (Sadly, that meant getting down and up from the floor – not such fun for us older KC’s!)  He looooves human attention and comes over to snuggle happily. 

Oreo is still suspicious of our motives...

His occasional cage-mate is black and white Oreo, who is not socially minded, and is more of a Garbo (I-vant-to-be-alone) cat.  You can offer treats to Oreo, but she is mostly disinterested – not even accepting the Churus that everyone else adores.  Beware the lightning paw – Anne tells me she can be petted – but not by me, yet!

Syd-Jr

In the facing cage by the window you will find Syd-Jr – no relation to the other Syd, and a cheerful boy who loves attention. He has obviously had a haematoma ear at some point, because though not as crumpled as the left ear of our sweet Bossanova, it bends flat (more like Little Orange’s ear). Syd is quick to jump up for cuddles, but has to compete with his roomie, who is quite clear that visitors come to visit her.

Sunshine

Sunshine is the oldest of the group, and very clearly the commanding dowager.  She will join Syd-Jr on a lap, and then turn and smack him till he gives over space to her. Both these cats have some respiratory issues, and having them in the SingleWide will help the med staff keep a careful eye on them.

Texas Sophie loves visitors

The fifth cat was initially in the Connor House, and has joined her family in the SW. Her name is Texas Sophie (to distinguish her from the Sophie in the back courtyard), and she is a sweetheart and a cuddle-bug – so much so that it’s difficult to get a good picture of her, since she’s excited when someone visits her. She’s another of those cats that has decided to remain in her cage, even though the door is open; she was taken over to the Hill House to see the other members of her family, but quickly returned.  She is over-grooming, probably from anxiety, and her legs are almost bare of fur; we may have to try some anti-anxiety meds for her. As KC coordinator Anne points out, the Single-wide is a good place for those nervous kitties; it's quieter than the courtyards and they're able to get more human attention.  

Not shaved down for surgical care - 
Texas Sophie over-grooms when she's anxious!

Under the terms of their owner’s bequest, all the Texas cats are now permanent residents of the Sanctuary, and not on the adoptable list;  you’ll have to come visit on Sunday afternoons to get cuddle time with them...

Welcome to Canada, sweeties! 

Blog & photos by Brigid Coult

Another FIV Sweetheart

Chance (KN)

In the last few months we’ve had the addition of some very special cats to our FIV colony. I introduced Trooper in August, and Hank and Goose last month. As we’ve got to know them, we’ve also had another special boy in the background – and he is starting to blossom.  His name is Chance - a name he shares with one of the first cats I met at the Sanctuary, and who Claire Fossey described as "a furry disaster"

The battered boy - a picture from his Victoria foster

This second Chance came to us last July from Broken Promises rescue on Vancouver Island – we think he’s about 5 years old.  Even more than Hank, he’s a poster boy for an FIV stray – a big blocky cat with the musculature and large jowls of a late-neutered feline. He has the crumpled “cauliflower” ears of a long-time boxer; in his case, fighting may not be so much the cause as ear-mites leading to haematomas that never received any care. He reminds me of our beloved Bossanova – the ears are part of that, but the sad eyes and the hissy fearfulness that gradually gave way to trust complete the picture. When he was trapped there were obvious signs of fighting wounds, and he had care from a loving foster before he was transferred to RAPS.

Still wary, but hopeful  (BC)

He spent the first six weeks in a cage – initially with a drape in place, and some aggressive hissing coming from behind it. Many newer volunteers, in this situation, quietly pull the litter box out for scooping and place food and water for him without disturbing him.  The Kitty Comforters push the boundaries a bit, and several of us would climb into his cage with him, even if only to talk.  We discovered that a back-scratcher was a useful tool to allow him to experience touch at a remove, and found that he adored scritches round his head and ears – what he didn’t enjoy was having his drape moved, but once it was out of the way, he became quicker to settle down to enjoying caresses and melted into the petting hand.

Under the chair  (BC)

In the usual way, once the med staff decided it was time, Chance’s cage was opened, and having lived for a few days pretending the barrier was in place, he ventured out and went to ground under the adjacent chair. This presented a little more challenge – entry to the cabin usually meant discovering a Kitty Comforter lying on the ground, and coaxing Chance to emerge – all the while gently dissuading the other FIV cats who felt that humans lay on the ground for their benefit, and gathered around for attention.  Occasionally Chance would take some human-free time to climb the cat-tree and find a place in the cage-top beds, but he really preferred being at floor-level, and where he could retreat to a hidden place.

Chance thinks Henrie is a great cuddler

It’s wonderful that we have so many friendly cats in this pen – cats that are just longing to have someone with whom they can cuddle. Trooper, Biggie, Simon, Hank, Boomer, Angus – they all want attention, and the first four at least would do really well in their own homes (Goose went to his new family last week!) - but the fact that they all want attention means that Chance is very wary about emerging from hiding. 

Cuddles with Marty - and Trooper wants in...   (VE)

Our regular NewAids volunteers have proved to be most successful – they may not be labelled Kitty Comforters, but they sure have the gift!  Once the dinner plates are out and the cats otherwise occupied, Chance is more willing to risk himself and climb up for a cuddle – and the worried face relaxes to the point where you can see the smile emerging.

Look at that smile!  (KC)

Chance’s life has probably been a series of battles with other tomcats, and at the moment he’s actually happier with humans than he is with the other felines.  But he’s come so far from the fearful boy of the past summer; once he becomes fully comfortable with the largely non-aggressive encounters with a testosterone-free community of cats, we hope his growing confidence will make him an active member of our FIV family.

Hey Hank - can I share the lap?   (BC)

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Katy Cobb, Brigid Coult, Vince Edwards,

Henrie Morgan, Karen Nicholson

Over the Bridge in 2023

Pandora - December - LBF

Pandora came to us in bad shape, but she had
nearly two years of greatly improved health with us before her aging body had had enough.

The Sanctuary is a place where we celebrate life – specifically, the lives of many cats who, in other circumstances, would have been euthanized for being unadoptable.  Many ferals have come through our hands, and though some have eventually accepted human attention, others have remained feral for much of their lives. Adopters shy away from taking cats with FIV or FeLV, diabetes or kidney disease – and we rejoice that we have been able to give them shelter and treatment. We have partnered with rescues in other places, and taken groups of cats that a smaller organization may not be able to house.

Dango - June - KN

Dango came to us from Alberta in 2019, and joined the New Aids pen; earlier this year he was relocated to the Val Jones pen so that his renal diet could be closely monitored.

But because many of our cats are with us through much of their lives, we are, time and time again, with them for their deaths. Sometimes they are unexpected, as in cancer, or FIP.  Sometimes we watch the gradual aging of a beloved friend, and know that their time is come. Many cats hide their ill-health, and occasionally we will find them already passed; most of them are taken by a staff-member to the hospital, where they will pass gently, held by loving hands.

Kiwi - December - MW

Kiwi came from the same shelter as Dango;

we lost her to FIP, which is a random mutation of an otherwise standard feline coronavirus.

The turn of the year is a time when we look back over the past twelve months, and remember more than fifty of the furry friends who have “crossed the Rainbow Bridge”. So once again, this is less a blog, and more a photo-essay that may bring smiles and tears and memories and love of some very special cats. We can't feature them all, but here are a dozen of those who have gone ahead of us.

Tugboat - February - MW

Much beloved by all, Tugboat became very frail in his last year,
and was cuddled and comforted by humans and cats alike.

Sprint - December & Shaggy - July;  LBF

Little Sprint was a junkyard cat, very shy, and with health problems; 
Shaggy was one of the last of the “oldies” from the former Moore House.

Sara Lee - March - KN

Sara Lee had lived here for most of her 21-odd years.
Easily identified by her bi-coloured eyes and her smoke coat, she was a fixture at the coffee table, where she toured from one lap to another.

CB Lincoln - February - MW

Cinnamon Bun Lincoln was named for his curled tail,
and known for his tendency to pee on anything/anyone he wanted to claim.

Little Orange - October - KN

One-eyed Little Orange was loved by volunteers and visitors alike,
and is greatly missed by his friend Allison who visited him every week.
He’s reunited with his girlfriend, shy Merilee.

Stella - February - MW

Stella was a regal presence in the Tea-Room and the breezeway; 
she liked to sit high up and reach down a paw to those seeking her attention.

Bossanova - August - KN

Bossanova evolved from a shy boy hiding high on a shelf
to a cat who would hover hopefully, looking for treats and attention.

Jazz - September - KN

Jazz was the doorkeeper for the Single-Wide.

Originally collared as a signal that she was a reactive cat,

she came to enjoy the attention she got, and demanded that everyone stop on the way in to pet her.

Pancake - March - KN

Pancake was the son of Autumn, in the front Courtyard;
he proved too shy to be adopted, and returned to us to make his life
with his cat friends in the DoubleWide.

Tara - October - KN

Tara remained a scared feral most of her life with us,
only allowing contact in the last months when she was confused and forgetting that she was scared.

Hamlet - August - KN

Hamlet came to us as a feral, but soon developed a presence
 as a benevolent Godfather on the DW deck.

Rainbow over the Sanctuary - BC

Blog by Brigid Coult

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

Farewell, Bossanova

Having been away for five weeks, I was looking forward to resuming my Sanctuary cat blogging. But the planned one is on hold – usually I prefer not to write about cats when we lose them, but some of them are just too iconic not to memorialize.

Bossanova (KN)

In January 2012 a couple of adult cats were trapped on Mitchell Island – an area that is sometimes a dumping ground for unwanted pets. We didn’t know if the two came as a pair, and it became evident that though they enjoyed each other’s company, one was a stray who liked human attention, and the other we thought was more likely a feral.  The latter was given the unlikely name of Bossanova – a chonky unneutered male, about four years old at the time, this boy was no graceful dancer. He came to us with a crumpled ear, probably the result of a burst haematoma, sometimes seen in cats who scratch at their own ears because of mites or some similar problem. And he was one of those cats who was pretty unnerving for inexperienced volunteers, hissing and lunging when anyone approached the door of his cage.

(MW)

But it takes more than that to put off our cat-whisperers, and Bossanova progressed from accepting scritches with a back-scratcher, through cautious petting to full-on belly-rubs. It’s possible that he had had human contact, and what we had been seeing was extreme fear-aggression rather than feral behaviour. Whatever his background, there is nothing as magic as having an initially angry cat accept your caresses.  Once reunited with his buddy Meepos, he relaxed happily into mutual grooming sessions.

Bossanova & Meepos  (CF)

It was decided to relocate the two of them to the Single-Wide. Both took the usual scared-cat route, and got themselves high up and out of the way. The SW deck has an upper shelf that runs all the way around, and Bossanova took over one corner and refused to come down. With an adjacent litter-box and obliging volunteers who brought him breakfast in bed, he decided he was set, and for most of the following year, he remained in his corner. He didn’t object to human attention – but on his terms. Early on, we established that his treat of choice was chicken, and he learned that I usually carried a baggie of tidbits when I visited. It got so that he would hear my voice, and I would find him perched hopefully on the edge of his shelf waiting for handouts.

(KH)

Gradually the lure extended itself; he would venture down the ramp to chest-height, then all the way to the floor. He felt less secure there; he interacted better when at eye-level, and the back of the couch became his favourite place. In time, he would venture to the couch seat, to a paw on the lap, and finally to lap-sitting – though the focus was always the food. Weekend visitors were always amused when I called and Bossanova would come down the ramp for attention. He enjoyed being petted and fussed; when scratched at the base of his tail, he had a lick-reaction on his front paws or on the ramp in front of them.

(JS)

All of us who have spent any time in the Single Wide will miss this gentle boy – the pleading eyes, asking for treats, the progress from fearful to friendly, the way he would perch on the back of the chair in the main room, so as not to miss anything being handed out. For Kim, Bev, Justin, Joanne, Margaret, Michele, Martyn, Debbie and many others – the room is a little emptier and our hearts are a little heavier. Bev tells me that she carried him around the other day for a while and he enjoyed that – we’d never have guessed, when he came to us, that he would be such a cuddle-bug. 

Rest well, sweetest boy – you were well loved in our care. 

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Claire Fossey, Kim Howe, 

Karen Nicholson, Justin Saint, Michele Wright, 

Choosing a Laptop

Bill, in New Aids, loves his laptime with Mel  (MD)

So you’re thinking about getting a new laptop? What’s important to you? Weight? Flexibility? User-friendly? There are so many models from which you can choose – and they’re all at the Cat Sanctuary!

The Single-Wide lapful  (JS)

As the song says (and we all know the pain) – “I can’t right now; I’ve a cat on my lap!” - lap-sitting with a cat is the perfect way of doing nothing and getting all the feels for it! But there are many different styles of lap-sitting.

Magnus says, "Come and sit with me NOW!"  (MW)  

There are cats like Magnus who climb into your lap and just settle there – no twitching or wriggling – just letting you know that you are now their comfy place, and you are NOT TO MOVE.

Adria LOOOVES lap-time - though it may not be restful   (BC)

There are the cats who want to be on your lap, but who wriggle and squirm to make sure they have all your attention; they want petting, but they don’t necessarily want to be held.

Oh, that smile....    (JS)

There are the cats like Roe who are advanced lap-sitters, blissed out by caresses, even allowing belly-rubs – and who will happily hog all your time. Roe is jealous if anyone else gets Justin’s attention before her.

"Can I come up now?" Bossanova is needy  (KN)

There are the lap-standers – they want to be up, but they don’t want to relax. Our sweet late Sara Lee was another lap-stander – and even when old and creaky, made determined efforts to struggle into volunteers laps at coffee time, though without ever settling. Bossanova can be coaxed into lying down with a bit of a belly-rub.

Cuddles with Jasmine need planning   (KN)

There are the cats with whom it’s wise to have a towel as padding – our leaky manx cats are loving and seek attention, but plan ahead to protect your clothing!

Sitting VERY still with JJ   (BC)

There are the cats who leap for your lap, but who do NOT want much in the way of touch! At coffee time, the human frozen postures tell who has JJ or Sophie sitting on them – both girls are reactive around hands, and stillness is appreciated.

KitKat is less interested in laps  (JS)

For some, laps are less an attraction than shoulders - KitKat is a determined shoulder-sitter!

Huey doesn't want Daphne to move  (DJ)

For others, the idea of the lap is nice, but they don’t actually want to be on it. Huey likes it best when he can sit on the couch beside you, and keep a possessive paw on you lap so that nobody else will claim it.

Elvis leads the lap-loading - 
Selena and Bear want in on it as well  (BC)

And for cats like Elvis, the lap is only the foundation to get as high on the chest as possible, so that he can gaze into your eyes, put his paws around your neck, and tell you how much he loves you.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Melanie Draper, 

Daphne Jorgenson, Karen Nicholson, Justin Saint, Michele Wright

The Cuddle Crew

Marty, Dodger & Merran   (JS)

A few years ago, it was usual for visitors to the Sanctuary to ask for the Dryer Gang, who hung out in the Single-Wide trailer.  Just inside the door, the lid of the dryer made a well-loved place for the cats to hang out together – usually some combination of Simone, Bantam, Chickadee, Zoe and Little Mama. The warmth coming up from below, and the vibration, combined with its situation just inside the door where everyone who entered offered attention – it was the favourite place to be. (Search “Dryer Gang” in the Neko Blog for more pictures!)

Sitting with a lapful  (JS)

Things have changed in the SingleWide, though. As our cats age, the faces change; all the core Dryer Gang members have now passed, and so has the dryer, which has been replaced by a stacked washer/dryer – too high for comfortable cat access. Instead, the big chair in the middle of the room has been taken over by the cats, and the Cuddle Crew has evolved.  As with the Dryer Gang, this is not a fixed combination, but there is a core group that is usually present.  Most of them are cats that were too shy in earlier years to interact with humans, and now they can’t wait for attention.

Dodger  (LBF)

Dodger is probably the central point of the group – the Simone figure round whom the others gather. She’s always enjoyed human attention, but usually from a shelf or the floor; now she has become a lap-cats, and loves to have petting and belly-rubs.

Dodger, Marty, Merran, Mr Pink  (KN)

Usually Marty is present. He is probably the oldest and most frail – he’s the last of a group of cats that came to us in 2008, and he is under medical care for an eye condition. He’s a climber – either up from the floor or down from the shelves behind the chair and over the shoulder – and loves to have hands on him.

Marty & Merran (JN)

Tabby Merran came to us from the same trapping operation as cow-cats Kirsty and Mya – but he sure doesn’t have the same genetics in terms of colouring!  He took a long while to become comfortable with us, and was an expert in finding all the hiding places available; he’s still a little wary, but he loves snuggles with the other cats and is willing to tolerate human attention.

Dodger & Mr Pink  (JK)

Mr Pink is probably the closest thing we have to a Salty/Mario equivalent in the Single-Wide;  they were the cats in the Back Courtyard that all the other cats loved to love. Pink is also something of a cat-magnet; he gets on with everyone (except perhaps BeeBoo), the shy cats are relaxed around him, and he just loves having visitors.

Bossanova (KN)

I have known Bossanova since he first came in as a very angry feral, and watched his progress as anger became timidity, and then as he gradually became braver. I think those of us who know him back in the early days would have found it hard to imagine that this boy would become a lap-cat – less for snuggles than for the prospect of treats, perhaps, but the end result is another member of the Cuddle Crew.

"Come sit down! You're late for cuddles!"  (JN)

Other cats swing in and out of this group – Presley, Nova, Shaggy, Sarah Paylan, Kirstie and others – and it changes when they move out on the back deck. But the core group can usually be found together. 

Marty, Dodger, Merran  (LBF)

I am fascinated that this sort of consistent gathering has always been a feature of the SingleWide – and it doesn’t really exist in the DoubleWide. There are usually cats in the DW that like being on the couch, and when there was a cat-magnet like Salty, there was competition to be with him. And there are cats on the DW deck who like to snuggle together, but do NOT want human attention.  But the SW Cuddle Crew are a very cooperative bunch, enjoying each other’s company, as well as all the attention they can get from the humans around. 

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Jennine Kariya, 

Joanne Nicholson, Karen Nicholson, Justin Saint