A Day for Chance

Chance in 2009  (BD)

Chance (formally Last Chance) - was an early acquaintance for me when I discovered RAPS. He was in many ways the archetypal scruffy stray, and not a cat that would easily find a home. The Sanctuary was Chance’s home, and he was loved by staff and volunteers alike until his death in 2013. Our annual summer party (cancelled for two years now, thanks to COVID-19) developed a tradition of taking a moment to remember Chance and all the cats like him who had passed through our hands. We would read the story of The Rainbow Bridge, and the names of the cats who had passed since the last Day of Chance, there were tears and happy memories – and many cats around who wanted our attention RIGHT NOW, if you please!

Sweet Sammy - newly come, and sadly, newly gone (KN)

In this blog, I always write about the beloved cats who have gone on at year-end -  and sometimes (as little as possible) when an iconic cat passes. This year we had a particularly brutal few weeks in early spring when in short order, we lost Puffin, Chateaux, Fable, Janine, Spooky, Ninja, Minnow, Skittles, Zimmer, Darwin and Shadrack – and they were memorialized in a March blog

sweet front-courtyard Fable  (MW)

On the last Saturday in August this year we are having a quiet virtual Rainbow Bridge Day for staff and volunteers, an opportunity to remember Chance and other raggedy strays, and especially the cats who have passed since last year. Here are some of our furry loves not already mentioned above. I have linked to some of their early blog entries, but you will find more by following the name listing to the right of the page.

Princess & Spike (KN)

Spike and Princess were a long-term and loving partnership – sometimes with an added buddy, though mostly just the two of them. Spike passed last November, and Princess was left on her own. We lost her just at the beginning of this month.

Elegant senior gentleman: ZeeZee  (KN)

ZeeZee was one of many senior cats who came to us when a senior owner could no longer care for them. As with a lot of the older cats, there were already health concerns, and our focus was on making sure that he felt comfortable and at home with us. ZeeZee wasn’t so keen on other felines, but he loved human attention.

Jack Sparrow & Pops  (KN)

Jack Sparrow and his father Pops came to us from a bad situation - both with considerable physical problems.  Though these two boys were adopted out last year to a home that loved them, they remained ours in our hearts. Feisty little Jack passed last spring, and Pops just this week. We are glad they are united again.

Little Mama on her shelf over the dryer  (MW)

The SingleWide is missing some big personalities in small bodies – all had been with us for most of their lives, coming in as ferals, and gradually acclimatizing to human attention. All three were part of the Dryer Gang.

Belinda & Jenny  (KN)

Belinda and Jenny became true lap-cats, loving being petted by “their” people. Little Mama was always a bit more cautious, preferring the shelf above the dryer to the cuddle-puddle on it, and then her cat-cave, where she could hide out.

Zimmer   (PH)

“Homely” is probably the best description of this sweet boy who had obviously lived a hard life as a feral, and who was terrified of us for some years. Gentle determination and good experiences finally brought him around, and in his last year with us he enjoyed being petted and loved.

Lovely Lincoln (MW)

One of two Lincolns in the back courtyard, this boy was always known as “beautiful Lincoln”. Sweet-tempered and affectionate, he is much missed.

Two sweet old ladies - Renee & Calista (KN)

These two little sisters lived here most of their lives. Calista was the shyer of the two and preferred to hang out with her buddy Jamie;  chatty Renee preferred human company, though she did not appreciate our constant efforts to keep her unmatted! Calista passed before Christmas; Renee just this past week.

You have chicken? GIVE ME!   (KN)

A loud voice was silenced when we lost Dexter. With the leukemia cats, it’s only a matter of time, but Dexter had been with us longer than most of them. We think he was deaf, and he was very vocal in getting our attention at dinner-time.

Chateaux (Ashes) and Shadow (MW)

These two boys came in together – possibly litter-brothers. At some time in the transfer there was a mix-up in names (Marianne Moore told the story) and it took a while to sort out which one was which. Shadow lived in New Aids; Chateaux proved to be FeLV+ and made his home with the other leukemia cats. The two of them passed within months of each other.

Leland  (HC)

For a grumpy guy, front-courtyard Leland was much loved. He didn’t much like other cats, but humans (especially his beloved Debbie) who would sit and cuddle him – that made him very happy.

Samantha  (MW)

In her glory days, this pretty girl was the most photogenic of the cats – the camera loved her! She was still very shy when I first met her, but social with other cats – especially her series of feline boyfriends – VanDyck, Eclipse and Chimo – all loving snuggle partners.

Staff and volunteers love working with the cats – but with so many seniors, it can be hard to come in and find that a particularly well-loved cat has passed. We constantly have to remind ourselves that if it were not for our work, many of them would have lived short stressful lives, or been euthanized as ferals. In our care they have had much love, and many of them have returned it.
 
See you on the other side of the Bridge, kitties!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Henley Chiu,  Barbara Doduk, Phaedra Hardman,

 Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright

I want to take the opportunity to thank former volunteer Claire Fossey, who wrote the initial blogs (linked above) about many of these cats, and through whom I first got to know them.

The Tuxedo Club - part 2: The Catsino

There are various areas around the Sanctuary where cats who prefer to live “outside” can find warmth and comfort.

Now she's getting frail, this is Calista's favourite spot
in the front courtyard - BC

Often the shyer cats prefer not to be inside one of the buildings, but are willing to compromise by living on an enclosed deck.  When the weather is chilly, they can find warmth on an enclosed shelf, or, if they’re lucky, in a basket or a papasan chair under a heat-lamp.  Once a new cat is released from its cage in the Double-Wide (DW), it will often make its way to the deck, for an area with good hiding places. Draped chairs and shelves, a walk-way around the wall, and the reassurance that there won’t be many visitors gives cats the chance to settle, and eventually allow contact.

The "regulars" are joined by Hickory and Aspen - BC

The favourite place on the DW Deck is on a mattress, built out in an area that overlooks the volunteer tea-room below. The heat lamp hanging over it gives a secondary name to the area – the Cats Red Light District.  Bodhi, Hamlet and Luke were introduced last week as the core members of the feline band PURR .  But volunteer Daphne Jorgensen has been visiting with them regularly, and feels they need to push the boundaries a bit more.   Daphne posts regularly for our Staff/Volunteers closed page, but with her permission, I’ll share some of her musings on the DW deck inhabitants...

You want into this Catsino? - DJ

from Jan 28...  Everyone out there was cozy under the heat lamp. They let me know that life is good in the “Red Light District.” Wow, that’s aptly named. Apparently, what happens in the Red Light District stays in the Red Light District; it’s like Las Vegas.
Hmm, I thought, see no evil, hear no evil; that’s not always good. That’s when I noticed that Jade had followed me out onto the veranda. Oh no, the slasher had arrived. She reminded me that whatever she does to me cannot be disclosed. I looked to the others for support but found a bunch of giant lazy Mafia looking cats with faces that registered nothing. Last week was the ladder incident and now she just drove me off the armchair.
Perhaps I shouldn’t linger too long in the Red Light District. I feel like I just escaped an illegal gambling den

Waiting for refreshments - DJ

from March 17 ...    I checked in with the occupants in the Red Light District in the Double Wide. I let them know that all casinos are shut down. I asked the Hamlet if his casino was closed pursuant to the government mandate. He was eating when I was asking. It looked like his in-house restaurant was still open, contrary to the government order for quarantine.

from April 14 ...   I was visiting the Mafia cats in the Double Wide. It’s business as usual for them. I asked what was new and happening and they let me knew that they are starting a band that will always front line at their Catsino.

Barb & her Boys

Slayers - with Baxter leading -  LBF

They showed me their debut album cover, which is posted. Their band is called the Slayers. Barbara is the lead singer, Hamlet is on electric guitar, Luke on bass, Bodhi on piano, and Bubbles on drums. I asked them if they had a title for their new album and they confirmed they do. It’s called Tails of the Red Light District. Nice and hard core!
These are the songs on their album so far:
- Pandemic Blues;
- Ain’t Got No Kitty Comforters;
- JJ’s Revenge;
- Feed Me Now;
- Don’t Crap On Me; and
- Cat Slaves Are My Bitch.
They’re still working on more material. I asked who their manager and promoter is. Hamlet said they don’t have one yet.

Working on the love ballad album - LP

Hmmm...opportunity for me? But I’m not sure if my values align with theirs. I mean singing about Cat Slaves Being Their Bitch? Well, I might (ahem) resemble that remark.

Quarantine is obviously producing a variety of cultural inspirations at the Sanctuary – we’ll have to see if performers and audience alike are able to maintain interest, or if, being cats, it’s simpler just to find somewhere quiet and enjoy the required hours of snoozing.

Blog by Brigid Coult and Daphne Jorgensen

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Brigid Coult, Daphne Jorgensen, 

Karen Nicholson, Louise Parris

Twin by Name

The two Lincolns share a shelf - DW

When we welcome newcomers to the Sanctuary, various things come into play with naming them.  If we know nothing of the cat in question, it’s usually up to the med staff to choose a name – preferably one that’s not already used, and one that begins with an alphabet letter that’s not too well populated.  The cat may be named after someone responsible for catching it (like Zimmer) or if it found its own way to us, it is given the name of a TV detective (Magnum, Kojak, Cagney, Watson...)

Sophia (top) & Sophie (bottom) - BC

But if it comes in to us with a name in place already, we try not to change that – we don’t know how much cats recognize their own names (though they certainly recognize voices). And so, inevitably, we have a few naming duplicates.

Orange & tabby Hannahs - MW

Our two Hannahs both live in the back courtyard.  Neither shows much interest in the other; tabby Hannah prefers people to other cats – vice versa for orange Hannah

Tabby & b/w Lucys - PH

Both our Lucy-cats are ladies of solid proportion, and again, both are back courtyard cats. Tabby Lucy would rather stay in the warmth of the laundry- or tea-room, unless the sun is out, in which case she sunbathes happily; black-and-white Lucy is usually found somewhere round the entrance gate

Cinnamon Bun Lincoln is less elegant and pushier than his long-haired "twin" - MW

The two Lincolns are Double-wide cats who occasionally visit in the back courtyard; both love human attention.  Handsome Lincoln can usually be found posing on one of the DW shelves;  Cinnamon Bun Lincoln (named for his curled tail) can be pushy when it comes to getting human attention, and is occasionally known to make his pee-mark!

Sophie/Sophie/Sophia - MW

 We have several Sophies: there’s tubby Sophie in Pen 2, who’s ready to greet all visitors; tortie Sophie in the Single-Wide; sweet Sophie of the beautiful green eyes in the Moore House – and there’s Sophia, also in the Moore House.

Calista - front (MW) - and back (BC)

Calista is not the most common name – but we have two of them, and they’re both shy. Front courtyard Calista is Renee’s sister; she has her favourite people, but tends to stay out of the way when there are too many visitors around. Back courtyard Calista is still pretty feral, but volunteer Marty has been working with her, and she’s allowing feeding, and (finally) a little petting.

WobblyBob (BC) & BellyRub Bobby (MW)

At one stage we had four or five Bobbys – the only ones now are Belly-Rub Bobby in the front courtyard, who loves everyone (but especially volunteer Chris) and Wobbly Bob in the back, who really only loves people when they have chicken in hand!

Mary SW (MW) & DW (CF)

Mary in the SingleWide is a sweetie; a former feral who has lost her shyness and enjoys attention. Her namesake in the DoubleWide is still very feral, and prefers to stay hidden up on the cage-tops.

MadMax & New Aids Max - MW

Mad Max, also in the DoubleWide, is something of a misnamed boy – neither mad-angry, or mad-crazy; Max is very shy, and wary of humans unless they have something worth hanging around for – he’s another chick-aholic. Beautiful orange/white Max in New Aids is something of a newcomers, and has not had his Neko-profile done yet – watch this space!

Princess with BFF Spike (DW) / manx Princess (MM)

I guess Princess is a fairly common name for female cats. Our royal trio in the Sanctuary includes the beautiful girl who is Spike‘s BFF and hangs about near the med cage, the little black and white manx in the Moore House – less beautiful but entirely lovable – and the elegant Princess Diva, who is the cat who walks by herself in the back courtyard.

Her Highness, Princess Diva - MW

Repeated names -  but all very individual personalities – there’s no confusing one of these cats with his/her “twin”!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Claire Fossey, Phaedra Hardman, 

Marianne Moore, Debbie Wolanski, Michele Wright

The Volunteer/Cat relationship – Allison and the Front Courtyard Cats

I hope to make a regular feature of some of the volunteers who spend time with the cats – we met Julian in September. When I asked Allison about being part of the series she was at first daunted, and then sat down and wrote pages about her favourite cats. We decided that it was perhaps a little too much, so she decided that what she would do would be to write a poem.

cat-cuddling is fun - but work comes first!

 

Allison is a regular volunteer at the weekend; she makes spotless water dishes in the front courtyard her particular concern, and she’s a wonderful guide for Sunday afternoon visitors. She has no cats at home – and a non-cat-loving husband – but happily cat-sits for her friends at any possible opportunity.
Allison has a particularly close relationship with Little Orange, in the front courtyard - on a Sunday he waits anxiously for her, and follows her around as she does her chores. Some of it is cupboard love - he's a big fan of the dried chicken titbits she brings - but most of it is that he just loves her.

with Little Orange

Calista became a special buddy when Allison spent time working in what we call the Yellow Door area, where many of the front courtyard ferals hang out. Allison put hours into working with a shy boy called Marmalade, and in the process, attracted his girlfriend Calista, also a feral. We lost Marmalade a while ago, but Calista has joined the greeting crowd, and also looks for Allison on a Sunday.

 with Calista - MW

The Old Aids rooms also get visited, and a particular favourite there is Kojak. He is also a chickaholic, and his addiction has helped him to become braver and braver in approaching visitors

with Kojak - MW

In Allison's own words:
Hi, my name is Allison and I have been coming to the sanctuary for over 3 years now, having become a volunteer about 2 years ago.  And yes, I have a special place in my heart for my friend Cathy, a volunteer who introduced me to RAPS!
I absolutely love the sanctuary and all that it represents: the cats, staff, volunteers and all of our visitors.  It’s an amazing gathering of cats and people which is different every Sunday. 

Boxed cats - MW

 

I am a gal from Richmond who grew up with loving cats,
So when Cathy told me about the sanctuary it was her back that I gave a pat,
Each Sunday when I go I can hardly wait,
To arrive at the sanctuary and open the gate,
The love that the cats show to me,
Makes it worthwhile getting down on one knee,
I do have to tell you I have some favorites too,
Like Little Orange, Calista and Kojak to name a few,
So come to the sanctuary where you will have fun,
We have warm dry places to sit and watch the cats run!

Non-running basket of cats - MW

Hope you can come and visit us, and remember, every Sunday is different…….meow!

 

Blog: Brigid Coult

Photos: Michele Wright & Brigid Coult

Renee

Renee came to the sanctuary five plus years ago with her sister Calista. Karen suspects the pair of names may have been chosen as an homage to Ally McBeal, but one that went a bit off the rails with cat-Renee's name somehow morphing into something closer to "Reenie" in pronunciation.

Starting her RAPS life in Doug's shed like her sister, Renee turned out to be the tamer of the two. Described in her file as "talkative," she likes being patted and will meow will approval while arching her tail into the air to receive as many pats as you're prepared to give out.