Kamloops Catz 2: Lots of Orange

Persimmon  (JS)

In last week’s blog, the bonded cats from the Kamloops colony were introduced.  That's not to say that the other cats don't show bonds with each other;  there's a lot of crossing of groups, and assorted cuddle-puddles, but those five cats are the most consistent in their choice of company.

Persimmon  (VW)

Of the other darker orange cats, the dominant personality has to be Persimmon.  Right from the beginning, she was the brave one; though not tame, she was ready to approach us and allow contact. She’s probably the most identifiable of the long-haired oranges – the largest of them in both size and build. She exudes a matriarchal presence, though as far as we know, they’re all similar ages. She is probably also the most comfortable with being on her own.

I'm big, and I'm cute!  (KN)

Persimmon is ready to interact gently with visitors at the weekends, either from the cuddle-puddle in the Tea Room, or from a favourite perch on the cat-tree outside. She enjoys petting, and is not wary of strangers if they’re clearly cat-people.  Every now and then she will join the other cats in a wander down to Pen 5 for a little visit there, and then she’ll make her way back to her cosy bed.

Billy  (KN)

Short-haired Billy is her orange opposite.  He is something of a fraidy-cat. He prefers to avoid contact with humans, and manages by staying mainly in Pen 5, which especially in the summer becomes a playground for many of the Kamloops cats. 

Billy in his own home  (KN)

The shelves in the cabin are well-occupied, and Billy tends to be outside, sleeping in one of the straw-filled dog-kennels nearby. He is an observer rather than a participant, but can occasionally be drawn into play with a wand toy.

Cheeto looking judgemental  (KN)

The other two long-haired orange boys are Cheeto and Kumquat. Cheeto has the same sort of pointy face as dark brown Chaga – possibly they’re brothers. He’s all orange with a white tail-tip, and he has a tiny dot on his nose.  For me, Kumquat, who’s a little smaller, is “the other orange cat” – if I can’t positively ID him as one of the others, it has to be Kumquat. 

Kumquat (MW)

He’s a part-of-the-group boy, usually found in company with the other cats and often looks anxious, like Mercury (another orange boy but from a quite different colony, living in Pen 1).

There was one other orange girl – Ginger – but sadly, she passed suddenly last September.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Karen Nicholson, Justin Saint, Valerie Wilson, Michele Wright

Most of the other orange cats are much paler in colour, so I’ve grouped them together in next week’s blog, which I’ve called Blondes have More Fun.

Floof on the Move

Mega-floof in Pen 6 (LBF)

In the early summer of 2021 we welcomed an influx of feral cats from Kamloops and it turned out that the majority of them were varying shades of orange, and many were long-haired.  They came to us as feral half-grown adolescents - living wild too long to be easily tamed.

Sharing a chair in pen 8  (BC)

After the mandatory cage-stays they were moved together into Pen 6. This enclosure has been the home for a variety of new groups of cats – a group from the Sunshine Coast in the summer of 2016 -  the ones we called The Candy Cats in the fall of 2017  -  the McLeod cats in the summer of 2019   – and now these Kamloops cats.  The last three groups have all been fearful ferals – only Skittles of the Candy Cats and Aphrodite of the McLeod cats broke out of feral behaviour to enjoy human attention.

Anxiously waiting for dinner  (LBF)

Pen 4 remains a closed pen for ferals, but we like to open up new colony pens as soon as we feel the cats are fairly settled.  Pen 6 has been open for some time, but the Kamloops cats initially remained very determined to stay inside its bounds or within easy reach. Sometimes in the evenings, waiting for dinner, they would move into the courtyard as a group, and then escort the volunteer bearing plates as food was delivered – it felt rather like wading through a shoal of orange fish!

Food is served!  (JS)

Two things have happened recently, and I suspect they’ve both affected the status quo. We’ve had a burst of hot days, and despite adding some shading to the area above the door, Pen 6, which is one of the smaller ones, has felt very hot. Hoses deliver misting around the perimeter, but when your fur is floofy, you don’t necessarily want to get it wet!  And another group of cats coming in – this time a colony from the Kootenays (details to come) – have necessitated turning the shy inhabitants of Pen 8 out. Most of them are fairly happy to relocate around the courtyard – they spend a lot of time there – but the three Candy Cats (Hershey, Butterscotch and Purdy) have relocated themselves back to their old turf in Pen 6, which is now starting to feel very crowded!

Claiming the bench in the garden  (LBF)

So the Kamloops cats have started to explore!  Persimmon has always been the bravest of them, and the most ready to accept human attention, but we’re finding the others in Pen 1 and Pen 5 as well, and recently a collection of them braved the Tea Room to find a cool corner on the stairs. 

Cheeto/Kelvin/Cheddar in the Tea Room (JN)

Black Chaga (black with a lot of rust colour in his fur) is also an adventurer and has been found in all sorts of corners.  Pretty grey Chamomile is now allowing herself to be groomed by Lisa, but others have needed more drastic shave jobs to cut out the mats that develop in floofy fur.

At night on the Pen 6 cat-tree (JS)

They have always enjoyed using the cat-tree at the Pen 6 door; frequently every level has mounds of orange fur taking up the space.  Now they’re expanding their territory to the group of cat-trees outside the tea-room, and there were eight orange cats and Chaga occupying the perches several days ago. Most recently, they’ve gone still higher, to establish themselves on the top of the adjacent food cupboard. 

Floofs on the roof - Cheeto, Cheddar, Persimmon
with grey Chamomile photo-bombing at the back  (JS)

 It’s very satisfying to see them feeling so much more comfortable in their wider surroundings, and more receptive to approaches from staff and volunteers, although they are still wary of contact with humans.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Brigid Coult, Joanne Nicholson, Justin Saint

Winter Kitties

 

Cornelius & Gemini enjoying snow and sunshine (LBF)

Ten days of snow in the Lower Mainland is pretty unusual; most of us need to head to the mountains to get the white stuff. So when it happens, everyone is taken by surprise - cats included!

Leo seems to love being outside  (KN)

Most humans and cats tend to fall into one of two categories; we turn our backs on what's going on outside and cosy up for the duration, or we get outside and enjoy winter sports.

The Pen 6 cats would rather stay in a warm floofy pile  (LBF)

This happened during the holiday, when we had volunteers missing, and covering the extra shifts was complicated by the need to dig out paths to access the various buildings.

Sunshine on (piles of) snow.  (BC)

The majority of cats seem to prefer their comfort, and stayed safely in their buildings. There was, after all, no point in putting plates of food in their usual places outside; frozen catfood is not appealing to anyone. 

Chai is much more an indoor kitty than she used to be;
she stays carefully in the shoveled areas (KN)

In the front courtyard there was some serious hibernation, with only occasional visits outside to investigate the conditions. 

Autumn loves the snow, and her thick coat keeps her cosy  (MW)

But there are always a few intrepid explorers.

Kenji is another floof with no fear of the cold   (LBF)

Something under the snow attracts Figaro's attention  (KN)

The pen 3 cats are from Alberta.  They probably have no actual experience of an Alberta winter, having come from a hoarding situation, but they have been eager to get out and investigate.

Cornelius leads the way (LBF)

but encourages the others to join him!  (KN)

The pen 6 cats are from Kamloops and have undoubtedly survived winter cold. Their thick fur is good protection, and though they'd rather cuddle up and stay warm, some of them are willing to brave the cold to get a bit of fresh air.

Cheeto  (LBF)

For some reason, the tree is especially attractive in this weather, and there have been several little black climbers surveying the Sanctuary from above.

Jackie O is the chilly queen of all she surveys  (KN)

Not everyone is happy, though.

Jasper's paws are cold!  (KN)

In the evening, they all return to their cabins, and leave it to the volunteers to tramp through the snow to deliver dinner.

Sanctuary at night (JS)

It's beautiful - but it never lasts long.  And nobody - cats or humans - enjoys the rain that inevitably washes it all away. 

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Brigid Coult, 

Karen Nicholson, Justin Saint, Michele Wright