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 I’ve included some of their previously unpublished photos here, and links where profiles have been featured.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.



A new look at some favourites



Ann, one of our Kitty Comforters, visits regularly on a Sunday afternoon with her two daughters, Ava and Selena. Both girls have a magic touch with cats.   Imagine my delight when some new pictures arrived in my inbox – Selena has a magic touch with a pencil too!

 





Deety - DW

Selena says:

“I can only come on Sundays because I work during the week but I wish I could come to the sanctuary more often. It's my favourite place to be besides my own home!! My absolute favourite cat there is Puffin, he's perfect and beautiful and I love him...and my other favourite is Dirky. I sponsor both of them!

Puffin - CC

 Other friends I love are Daisy, Yoda, Darwin, Renee, Peppercorn, and Dell!

 

Daisy - MW

I have two cats at home, Zoe and Oreo, and they are both great!! I've wanted to draw some of the cats for a while now but I wanted to practice a bit since I don't draw animals often. :)

Paolo - MW

The 6 cats that I drew are all favourites of my family!”

 

Belinda - MW

When these pictures started going the rounds there was instant interest in matching image with original – and it was surprisingly easy!  Selena’s pictures are so full of the personality of her models.

 

Bubba - MM

We’ll look forward to seeing what else will come from her talented fingers!

Blog by Brigid Coult & Selena Marchetti

Pictures by Selena Marchetti and Candy Chen, Marianne Moore, Debbie Wolinski & Michele Wright

The Volunteer/Cat Relationship: Val & Gilbert

A blog from volunteer Val Lea:

Like all new visitors, I was captivated the moment I walked through the front gate one Sunday afternoon.  Debbie started a tour, but I soon wandered off all starry-eyed and found my own little piece of heaven.  But Debbie, how can I be here more often, how do I volunteer? 
She suggested I fill in dates when the regular volunteers were away, so I jumped right in.  Because a full time job limited me to evenings and weekends, I cleaned the Moore House on a Sunday or the leukemia area on a Saturday, or scooped an evening shift. 


Bubba-love among the leukemia cats - VL

It still wasn’t enough for me, so I came most Sundays too.   One summer, a feeding shift became available in the double-wide while a regular volunteer took the summer off.  That’s how I came to love (and be able to start recognizing) the cats in the double wide. 

Double-wide Dale - AV

I would have taken any shift, but luckily a regular Wednesday night shift scooping became available in the double-wide and you can’t imagine anyone more excited to rush away from work to scoop poop!  It is still a highlight of my week.  Luckily lots of visiting time is included.
Some of my other favourites are Buddy, Dale, Kevin, Henrik Sedin, Yoda, Bubba, Paulo, Booster, Toby, Salty, Ella (you see where I’m going?  Way too many to mention—I could go on and on) Sweetpea, Roly, Calista, Emery, Matt. Pickles, Emily, ………

Buddy hanging down from the top of the cage
for a head-rub - VL

On a side note, I generally call the sanctuary the “cat ranch”.    When I told a co-worker that I was volunteering at the cat ranch on Wednesday evenings, his eyes grew wide and he said “They have a RANCH for CATS???!!  Too funny…
It’s so nice to be around people with the same love for cats—more smiles on people’s faces than anywhere else.

Cuddles with Jumper, Renee & Miller - BC

The next order of business was to choose a cat to sponsor (which is an absolutely wonderful concept, by the way).    I took it very seriously and wanted to make the right choice.  Yes, the donation goes into the “kitty”, so to speak, but I still felt the urge to choose wisely.  After all, this would be “my” cat and would be spoiled with extra treats and attention.

Gilbert waiting patiently - MW

On one early visit with a bag of chicken, I was feeding the cats in the front courtyard.  Brigid was sitting on a bench and said “Can you spare a little for Gilbert?  He loves chicken but he’s a bit shy”.
Sure enough, this precious orange kitty sat about a meter behind the bolder cats, with his paws neatly together hoping he wouldn’t be overlooked.    My heart melted and from that day Gilbert became my sponsor cat. 

Quiet time with my boy - BC

I saw from a 2010 neko files post that at first he often hid in the rafters, but with a lot of time and effort was gradually coaxed out.  I started out sitting next to him with the always-welcome chicken and Temptations and he has even sat on my lap once or twice.  But if the bolder cats come by for attention, he always graciously steps back and allows them to have a turn.
Gilbert can be found in the front courtyard and sometimes curled up in the gazebo.  When next handing out treats, please look for the little orange gentleman waiting patiently to be included.

Blog by Val Lea

Photos by Brigid Coult, Val Lea, A. Vandenbrink & Michele Wright

The Sound of Mew-sic

Visitors to the Sanctuary are often surprised by how quiet the place is. Other than the occasional plane passing over, and some distant traffic noise, all is very peaceful. Unlike dogs, who are often very vocal, most cat communication lies in body language – both posture and touch.  There are, of course, sounds we would prefer not to hear – the hiccupping noise of an incipient hairball, the occasional spat as Treacle warns someone out of her space, the muttering of grey Leland telling us he’s in one of his bad moods. 

 

There are one or two particularly noisy cats, chief among which has to be Booster, who perches in the corner of a cage and yells until someone comes to pay attention to her.

 

Josie waits impatiently for Doug (or any other Josie-fan) to come and pat her bum – whereupon she trills her little Josie-song.

Other cats are noted for more subdued vocals.

Bubba, in Old Aids, talks to his favourite people until he is hugged, as he wishes.

 

Lucky is pretty quiet for a Bengal – but when he raises his voice, you hear it!

 

Cisco (on right, with Yoda & Fred) is vocal in his impatience in the tea-room as he waits for someone to pour coffee, and give him a little taste of cream.

 

Max, in the Val Jones, talks in a whiskey baritone.

On Sundays the vocals are dialed up as afternoon visitors arrive, and cats swarm the gate, saying “Feed me!  I’m starved!”  Wayne appears with his chicken offering, and the clamouring gets desperate. The same phenomenon occurs every evening as the feeds begin – there is always a chorus of already-well-fed but hungry cats.

Back courtyard Owl is particularly vocal when chicken is about,

though in this case it was a small moth he was after!

Pictures of cats with open mouths got me thinking about what they might be singing

O Solo Meow - Dodger

 

Purrrfidia - Esme

The (would-be) lion sleeps tonight - Achilles

 

Stray Cat Strut - Birdie

 

My purr will go on – Little Orange (PH)

 

(Everything I mew) I mew it for you - Skye

 

You got a fur-iend  - Skouch

 

Good vibrations - Arnie

 

 

What does YOUR cat sing?

 

Blog by Brigid Coult
Photos by (mostly) Michele Wright
with Brigid Coult & Phaedra Hardman

 

 



Warm and fuzzy feelings

To mark Valentines this year I decided to look at some of the cats that have obviously developed deep attachments to each other. For a few of them, they’re family relationships – mother and son or siblings – for others there is obviously The One Important Cat – and then there are a few who just send out the pheromones that say “I’m lovable!”, and the other cats gather around.

Bantam & Simone - CF

Any visitor to the single-wide will be greeted by the cuddle-puddle on the dryer – led by two grey cats who came from the same source, and are probably siblings. They are happy for a little interaction with humans, but they really love to be with each other.

Garfield and Diamond- MW

Blog-readers may remember Hiro and Sophie, who are often found together – Hiro is a mama’s boy, but has recently started to be a bit more independent. We have just welcomed to the Sanctuary Garfield and Diamond, who are similarly attached. They are in fact adoptable, but being at the Shelter was too scary for them in the small cages there; with us they have room to move as they please – but mostly to snuggle.

 

Liam and Lady Lightfoot - PH

Liam and Lady Lightfoot in the New Aids are often found together, but Phaedra tells me it’s rather a one-sided affair – Lady has something of a crush on Liam, which isn’t entirely reciprocated. Phaedra says, “When Lady snuggles up to Liam he will slowly move to another spot; usually she doesn’t take the hint, and follows him. Liam usually relents because he's a peaceful little guy.”

Many readers will remember our dearly loved Mario who had a harem of devoted followers of both genders who trailed round after him

Mario & Shrek (RIP) - CF

Just over a year ago we lost Mario to cancer and for a while his followers were bereft; Nelly in particular is wary both of people and of other cats and hasn’t found another love. But it was apparent that Mario’s mantle had, at least in part, descended on Salty, who can often be found on the double-wide couch, absolutely surrounded by furry bodies.

The couch cuddlers - MW

He does seem to have a favourite, though – he’s most often seen with Lana – so much so that we chose their picture for the February picture in the calendar this year.

Lana & Salty - MW

There are a few other cats who seem to have that magnetism.  Kiddie is a double-wide table-top cuddler - frequently found sleeping (or trying to) with another buddy

Prince & Kiddie - BC

 Shy black Jet in the back courtyard has a devoted following – here he is with one of his favourites

Jet & Mad Max - MW

and beautiful Foxy (Silverfox) in the front courtyard is usually found with his buddy Cheetah

Silverfox & Cheetah - BC

Sweet Pea is often avoided by humans, because of her dirty back end, but quite often she can be found cuddling with one of her buddies – Lillix, in this case

SweetPea & Lillix - LL

When Shuga was diagnosed with feline leukemia, she and her buddy Esme were delighted to be reunited in the Val Jones enclosure.

Shuga & Esme - BC

Many of the AIDS cats have become so as a result of fighting in their feral days – at the Sanctuary, “fixed” and fed and warm, they’re more often found cuddling together than doing battle. And now we discover that the newcomer in Old Aids, Bubba, is another charmer like Mario, for both cats and humans. Even the alpha male, Merlin, seems to gravitate to the new boy, and shy Kojak was seen being tenderly washed by him.

Happy Valentine’s Day – to cats and humans alike!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Phaedra Hardman, Claire Fossey, Leslie Landa & Michele Wright