Care for the Caregivers

January 2024:  KitKat (MW)
KitKat loved her people (especially Justin) for shoulder time
and lap-time - other cats, not so much....

As we enter a new year, we often take time to review the year past, to celebrate the big occasions and remember the hard ones – and in particular, to think about the friends we have loved and lost in the past twelve months.  

March 2024:  Hope  (KN)
The grand old lady of the Front Courtyard, Hope loved both people and other cats;
her friends Carly and Celine really miss her

At the Sanctuary, we do this not only at the turn of the year, but also in the summer, on what we call the Day of Chance, when a potluck occasion offers the chance to gather in person and remember the cats who have crossed the Rainbow Bridge; I will sometimes write about them at that time, but I have made it a tradition to do a blog tribute to the cats we have loved in a turn-of-year posting like this one.

March 2024:  Huey  (LBF)
Gentle and wise, Huey was greatly beloved, especially by Daphne,
who called him her Quality Control Inspector in the Double-Wide

The term that is strongly in my mind right now, though, is Compassion Fatigue, and I want to take the opportunity to think particularly of our Sanctuary med staff over the past years. As any caregiver knows, it can be exhausting tending to the sick or the ailing, and their days are full of tasks that focus on the cats’ health – wellness checks, monitoring and treating diabetics, administering medications, dealing with ringworm and fleas and ear infections, fluids for kidney cats, complete tending of new incomers who are not ready for volunteer care, and many other tasks.

May 2024: Dodger (MW)
Named for the dodging of cars that brought her to us,
this sweet lady was the benevolent queen in the SingleWide.

Many human patients are grateful to their caregivers – not so, with the majority of cats, and it’s hard to have to express your love by immobilizing your patient in order to deal with an eye infection, or to deal with the dirty bum of an incontinent cat who hates the necessary bath.

May 2024: Cagney  (MW)
One of our oldest "detective" cats, (the link is to Claire's blog of 12 years ago).
Cagney struggled with arthritis in the last years - but always loved attention and tidbits!

It’s the med staff, too, with our RAPS vets at the hospital, who sometimes have to make the necessary call that a cat is suffering too much, and needs to be released from its pain – or who find a cat who has “crashed” and have to do the final run to the hospital.

June 2024: Midnight  (KN)
I spent a lot of time coaxing this feral boy into accepting petting and grooming; 
chicken and consistency were key, until his health took a bad turn.  Miss you, Midnight!

And it’s the med staff who are at the Hospital with the cats to the end, reassuring them as they pass that they are still in loving hands, and undoubtedly grieving as they drive back to the Sanctuary afterwards.

July 2024: Leonardo di Catprio  (KN - the last photo)
This boy was a Back Courtyard icon, and his passing took many of us
by surprise, though he had become more frail...

I don’t think anyone goes into animal rescue care for the money – it’s a calling more than a career.  And burnout is not uncommon – if only a dozen or so cats leave to find new homes by adoption, they are well outweighed by the number of cats who pass in a year.  We have an aging population, we have cats with health issues as the reason for coming to us, and we have many ferals who have begun their lives malnourished and at risk, and who carry the side-effects into their later years.  Someone has to arrive early every morning to give the necessary early meds – and someone is there late into the evening to deal with the last doses.

August 2024: Raisin (KN)
This sweet old lady had come to us via a Vancouver parking lot;
she was fearful and hissy, but learned that humans often brought good food.

Cats who have been greatly loved are watched carefully when we know their time is coming, and it’s the med-staff who are ready when a furry body is found cold in its bed.  How can this be anything other than emotionally exhausting?  We volunteers grieve when a beloved cat passes, but we don’t have to carry the burden of responsibility for all of them – and we can step away and take a break when needed.

October 2024: Tumbleweed  (LBF)
Another Back Courtyard icon - Tumbleweed had cerebellar hypoplasia,
with little control over his movement, but lots of determination, and many people who loved him.

So, along with remembering the cats we’ve loved and lost this year, let’s also remember the med staff who have given them care and love – often unwanted and unappreciated by their furry patients, but always necessary.  I am grateful that we can give the gift of a gentle passing when needed – it is both the most loving and one of the hardest things we can do for a beloved pet. And when we mourn a beloved feline friend, let’s remember that the med staff also mourn, and have to deal with the “nothing that could be done” frustration that comes at the end for caregivers.  

November 2024: Quinn (KN)
This shy sweet boy was wary to the end - unless you had a treat in your hand;
if there was food he would summon up his courage and allow contact.

In this New Year, I hope that they can take all that makes them the caregivers they are, and make self-care a priority, giving themselves as much generosity and love as they give to our furry friends, and turning compassion fatigue into compassion satisfaction.

November: Calvin (MW)
He was the longest, skinniest boy, with the biggest appetite, 
and LOOOOVED his chicken. Michele's favourite cat - so many pictures!

Blog by Brigid Coult

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

loving memories also of
January: Jethro, Maximilian & Plum  /  February: Perry  / March: Tashi, Desmond, Monty1, Brodie  /  April: Gigi, Portia, & Kiefer  / May: Layla & Chester / June: Salina, Lulu  / July: Hailey, Sambuca & Percival  /  August: Paylan, John Henry, Malcolm, Marie /  September: Ginger  /  October:  Bill, Clementine, Big Dave, Jillian  /  November: Tiki & Cinnamon  /  December: Meepos, Monty 2, Magnus & Len

Pen 2 Pals

Calvin on "his" doorstep  (MW)

 Some cats are strongly territorial – not in the sense that they will defend their territory, but that they establish their space and stay there. In some areas in the Sanctuary that is enforced, of course – SingleWide cats stay in their building, as do the Aids and Leukemia cats.  But in both front and back courtyard there is the potential for a lot of movement between areas, and it’s interesting to note the cats who like to visit and those who stay in their own space.

The newly-painted pen 2  (MW)

Pen 2 is very much that sort of area. The cats who live there came to us in 2016 from the Shelter, and were all cats who for one reason or another had not been adopted or were deemed unadoptable. I blogged about them in the following year with an intro and a look at the blacks/tuxedos, a feature on the tabbies and one on the coloured cats.

Cadbury (KN)

Four years later and most of the same cats are still living in the same cabin.  We’ve lost Tubby and Minnow, Sophie migrated to the TeaRoom and Celeste to the DoubleWide, Zivko has set up his Boys’ Club next door in Pen 1, and Kevin is often with him – but everyone else is usually there. They have been joined by Skittles’ beautiful brother Cadbury, who occasionally craves petting, but is usually shy – and by Hillie’s sister/cousin Yma, who still does NOT want to be touched, but is curious.

Yma - watching from a safe distance  (KN)

My Friday morning is spent out in the back pens.  There’s a routine – a quick circuit closer to the TeaRoom to pick up plates from the night before, and put them in to soak. Then, gather scoop and bucket and start at the back to pick up the remaining plates and do the clean-up simultaneously. Pen 4, where I usually start, used to be very quick and easy, but needs more work these days, with more cats living there. Across to Pen 3 where I always used to spend cuddle-time with Dell – these days pen 3 is full of teenagers, and quiet cuddling isn’t yet on the menu.

Paula, Chase, Calvin (KN)

As I enter Pen 2, Yma scurries from the door to one of the kennels. If Cadbury is outside, he usually takes himself out of the way – if he’s indoors, he will stay on his shelf till he knows who it is. As I open the door, there is a rustle of activity. I don’t know if they recognize my voice or if the reaction is common to all volunteers – once they realize it’s me, they are active and interested.  On Fridays I bring a baggie with some of my own cat’s diet food, and some dental kibble. You wouldn’t think that stuff that’s “good for you” would be so popular, but it’s different from their regular kibble, and therefore “special”. Cats don’t do deferred gratification very well, so there’s a certain amount of edginess as I scoop their boxes and sweep out the cabins; a quick check to see that all the bedding is clean, and the excitement builds. 

Salina (MW)

Calvin, as always, is the ringleader, and comes down the ramp to take over the window-ledge and demand his share. He’s actually not good at sharing, and Chase will often get stuck on the ramp, unable to access his brother’s goodies or to go backwards to the shelves. Salina paces anxiously till she gets her portion.  Barbie usually remains in her bed; she likes the odd treat, but often she feels it’s not worth the effort; Booty is often the same.  Palma and Paula are still shy and hover on the top shelf or in the corner – they want their treats, but without direct human contact, please!

Chase and Calvin (KN)

On a cleaning shift there’s often not time to spend the sort of quality let-me-touch-you time with cats that we would like.  I don’t know about other people, but I tend to focus on getting the job done, and then I’ll go back afterwards for more time with favourites.  Sometimes that involves treats, or grooming; sometimes it just means contact.  Most of the Pen 2 cats will remain in their cabin for the greater part of the day – as it cools and dinnertime comes, Calvin, in particular, will wander round and make a few visits in the vicinity. Shy Paula is sometimes an honorary member of the Boys’ Club.  But it’s rare that you’ll find the Pen 2 cabin empty – it’s a much-loved homebase for the cats who live there

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Karen Nicholson & Michele Wright

November 2024:  Sad to report the passing of Calvin - loved and loving - gone to be with his brother Chase

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Calendar out-takes

There were two Pico pics - this is the other one...

As the days grow shorter and the colours change, fall traditions are present at RAPS.  Our Fall Gala will take place on October 29, and is a particularly important event for us this year because all the proceeds will go to the funding of the new Regional Animal Hospital.
Traditionally we also launch our calendar for the upcoming year at this event, though all the busy-work of marketing it will occur in November and December.  And traditionally, one of the Neko Blogs for October is reserved for the Cat Calendar outtakes – the pictures that for one reason or another, just didn’t make it into this year’s selection.

we hope that Cookie is being adopted...

Once again, the photos for the Calendar were taken by Michele Wright, whose work you should know if you follow her Feline Friday pages on Facebook.  Michele doesn’t confine herself to cats – she’s done many wonderful dog photos too, and her guineapig Freddie is a seasoned model.  She has a great eye for a picture, framing her subjects with love and a sense of their personality.

Latte has had her share of calendar features...

I always start the selection process by trying to make sure that we have a good cross-section of colours and breeds – black, white, grey, various tabbies, orientals, pairs and groups. Everyone has their favourite sort of cat, but I hope that everyone will find one cat they particularly love in the collection.

Blue is striking, but he’s a loner – very much the cat that walks by himself

We had several black cats make the cut this year, to the point that it was hard to eliminate one to keep the balance.  Bear lost to two other blacks, and to the contender for cover boy

Fuzzy Bear...

Similarly, we had two lovely white cat pictures.  Lumi was the loser here – we loved the softness of the shot that won, and pretty as Lumi is, she’s a cat that will nip if things don’t go exactly as she wants; neither of us had the warm fuzzies for her!

Lumi is a diva...

Michele adores the cats in Pen 2, and in particular Calvin, who is distinguished by the brown smudges in his tabby M markings.  I think she would happily have had a whole Calvin calendar, but I would only allow her one selection – this is one that didn’t make it

Calvin - one of about eight pictures!

One of the things I discuss with the med staff is the health of the cats concerned – it’s very hard when a much-loved cat passes suddenly, but his/her photo will appear later in the year. Of course, there is no way of telling, sometimes, but I’m much more wary about selecting a leukemia cat, for instance.  This year two of our potential models passed without warning just as we were making the final selection. The picture of Vienna was a perfect one for fall colouring, and Salty and Dusty’s devotion had earned them a place as a pair – to lose both Vienna and Salty was very hard on us all.

Vienna in the sunshine

Dusty misses her Salty so much,...

There are still others that I'm thinking we might hold over to another year - though I am sure Michele will have come through with another batch of wonderful pictures by then, and hard choices will once more need to be made.

Please watch the RAPS website for news of the calendar launch; they will be available at both the Sanctuary and the Shelter, as well as online and through some of our pet-store supporters.  It's not too soon to plan your Christmas gift-giving to all your cat-loving friends!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Michele Wright

Pen 2 cats - 2:Too Many Tabbies!

Calvin - MW

The Pen 2 cats were introduced in a recent blog, with some specific focus on the black, and black-and-white inhabitants.

Too many tabbies - DA

I hesitated over tackling an introduction to the cats in this pen, because five of them are at first sight seemingly identical tabbies, and it’s difficult to tell them all apart until you spend real time with them.  All of them have the characteristic tabby M marking on their foreheads, but their subtler markings vary.  Most tabbies have lines that appear to go from the corners of their eyes, and may run parallel or otherwise; it’s worth looking also for cheek markings and for the chest rings that may run cleanly or be interrupted

Sophie - MW

The most outgoing and confident of the Pen 5 tabbies is Sophie – she frequently meets visitors at the gate and demands attention. Sophie is a tubby-tabby, and not afraid to indulge in leg-rubs; she solicits petting, but really wants it to consist mainly of head-rubbing, and she is quick to object when the hand moves too far down her back.

Calvin - MW

Insofar as a tabby can be elegant, it’s personified (?catified) in Calvin.  He is leggy and streamlined; his facial markings are the easiest to distinguish, because the outer strokes of his M marking are brown smudges rather than black lines. Both he and his buddy Chase have yellow eyes; Chase has the clearer M marking, and his cheek lines are slightly divergent, where Calvin’s are more convergent.  Chase is a bit more wary of human contact than Calvin, who, like Sophie, solicits petting.

Chase says "I'm not ready for contact!" - MW

Calvin is photographer Michele Wright’s favourite of the Pen 2 cats, and her affection is clear in the beautiful pictures she takes of him.

Calvin - MW

The other tabby that is easy to distinguish is Celeste, who has the most beautiful big round green eyes  – they remind me of the eyes of our recently departed Sophie’s, in the Moore House.

Celeste - MW

Celeste is a bit smaller than the others, and her M marking has a strong dark strokes on the outside. She has dark under-eye shading and convergent cheek-lines

Zivko - BC

Looking very like Sophie, but much less outgoing is Zivko.  His tabby M markings are much darker, the outer strokes being black smudges, and his cheek markings are more varied than Sophie’s clear lines. He also has a small white chest-spot. He does not want to be petted – he would rather stay away from humans, but when approached, regards the finger offered for sniffing with great disdain; his expression says “You expect me to bunt against THAT?”

Zivko - MW

A challenge to volunteers to get to know these five!  When pen 2 is opened in a month or so, they’ll be venturing out – and then we have to be able to distinguish them from Stella and LouLou and Jody and the many other back-courtyard tabbies in our care.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Derya Aydede, Brigid Coult & Michele Wright