Adopting a Feral

More than half of our Sanctuary cats have come in as ferals.

Smithy's first reaction always used to be a hiss;
 recently he's become more curious than aggressive - BC

Feral cats are those born wild, or living wild from a very early age. They run the range from the cats that take one look at you and turn to hide (or to hiss angrily at a human interloper) to the cats who have decided that there is no better life than sitting in a human’s lap. Ferals and strays are not the same thing; a stray knows what human contact is, and though scared, may more easily revert to tame behaviour.

Our beloved Dell came in as a terrifyingly aggressive cat;
we are sure he was a stray because of how quickly he settled with us.  - MD

For many years the Sanctuary has been a refuge for ferals, as well as for owner-surrenders and health-problem cats. When we’ve had a particularly friendly cat, we have sometimes transferred it to the Shelter at 5 Road, so that it can have its chance at finding a new home.  And because for many of those years, the Sanctuary was Richmond’s best-kept secret, that was very often the only way those cats might make a new start, if they weren’t adopted by one of our volunteers.

Sandy (L) and Pebble (R) are feral sisters;  Sandy still has the horrified
feral stare and is wary of humans; Pebble loves to be petted.  - KN

What we call the semi-ferals are those cats who have adapted well to life with humans at the Sanctuary; they are often among the welcoming committee at the gate, and come looking for petting and attention. But just because they seek attention doesn’t always mean that they are adoptable – experiences with cats like Esme and Jenny led to a general no-feral-adoptions rule. A cat that appears happy to be handled at the Sanctuary may freak out when taken out of its familiar turf and put into a new home.

Sweet Jenny is entirely at home in the Single-Wide - MW

Many of us, of course, have ferals or former ferals at home. My own little Kissa, who passed last year, would hide when anyone except me or her favourite cat-sitter entered the house.  It took her more than two years of living with me before she allowed herself to lap-sit.  I have friends who care for neighbourhood ferals, who have adopted them as their humans, and who come and go from their home with great comfort.

Watson was very scared when he came in to our care;
he now lives happily with one of our volunteers.  MW

But at RAPS we feel a strong responsibility to the cats who we allow to leave in someone’s care. A cat that escapes from a new home may never return if it’s on unfamiliar territory. When you adopt a cat from the RAPS City Shelter, you will complete a questionnaire intended to ensure that you will provide a safe home for your new friend. If you adopt from the Sanctuary, you can expect, in addition, to be grilled by our Manager and/or med staff. Will this be an only cat? What is the potential access to outdoors? Do you have a room that can be a sanctuary for its first days or weeks? What’s your experience with ferals?

Peony - now called Twinkles - was a half-grown feral kitten from a composting
centre when she came to us; she's another cat who has found a home with a volunteer.  MW

Some of our former ferals we will never adopt out – cats like Simone and Latte have lived with us for years, and we would not want to have a relocation make them unhappy. For them, the compromise is sponsorship – the knowledge that you are contributing to their welfare and to a continued happy life with us. But others have become contented outgoing members of the welcoming committee, and when the right person comes along an adoption may be possible. The impetus has to come from the cat; when a visitor appears weekly and the cat makes a bee-line for them every time, discussions can take place. Sadly, many of those bonds happen with people whose situation may not allow for an adoption, and they become among our most faithful visitors in order to have time with “their” cat.

Pretty Cher is mostly a one-man cat,
and her guy comes to visit with her every Sunday - MW

The majority of adoptions from the Sanctuary are actually owner-surrender cats who may have been too stressed at the Shelter to show well, but who blossom in our hands.  Tiger, Terra, Suki (now Cassie - first blogged here by her new owner), Mookie and several others are doing very well in new homes – but the Sanctuary was never really home for them. Cats like Cricket or Silky in the front courtyard, and Willow or Hillie in the back are all a very different affair – they are all cats who have known the wild life as youngsters, and they are all used to a life without boundaries (other than the Sanctuary walls). We would need to be very sure that they had bonded with a human they had chosen, and that the potential owner understood that giving a home to a feral may be a much longer process than with a tame cat. Cricket, in particular, is outgoing and sociable with visitors (as both Jenny and Esme were), but that is no guarantee that she would be a good candidate for adoption.

Cricket loves attention - but she loves her relative freedom still more - MW

We do have feral adoption success stories – especially from among our volunteers, who establish a relationship of trust with one cat or another. But even with a feral-savvy adopter, it can take much patience, waiting for the cat to decide that it can trust again after relocation - Watson's human tells me that it took more than three months for him to come out of hiding.
Many of our ferals, friendly and shy alike, will need to live out their lives in our care, confident that with us they are in a place of safety.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Melanie Draper, Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright

Cattitude!

HoneyBear is known for his wonderful eyes and his neurological problems
- but he has social problems too, with other cats - MW

Most of our Sanctuary cats are ferals, semi-ferals, owner-surrenders and health problems.
The third category – the owner-surrenders – are often surrendered for their bad bathroom habits (which are sometimes a result of human-caused stress), but we also have several cats who have come to us with an “aggressive” label on them. In fact it’s rare to find a truly aggressive cat – we see it more as “cattitude”, resulting from the owner’s unwillingness to let the cat set the pace in being handled - and many of these quirky felines are very truly loved at the Sanctuary.

Bentley looks cute - but is not entirely to be trusted! - LP

We probably all know a person who shies away from much in the way of physical contact, who pulls away from hugs. Cats can be like that – though unfortunately many people tend to expect them to conform to “cute and cuddly” norms of behaviour.

Licorice's "cattitude" is mostly with other cats - CF

Once a cat has been returned to the Shelter for “aggression”, it is not easily re-adoptable. It comes to the Sanctuary where the staff and voluteers around it know that we need to allow it to move at its own speed in interacting, and where, if there is to be any hope of a final home, we can take our time to make sure that a potential owner is truly cat-savvy and understands the quirks of the cat they’re choosing.
When an "aggressive" cat comes to the Sanctuary, we will give it the time it needs to feel safe – fear is often the primary cause of a cat lashing out.  We allow the cat to choose its time to come for petting or to jump up in a lap – and we warn Sunday visitors that picking up a cat is never a good idea.

Jobie can appear very suspicious of a visitor! - MW

Jobie is our resident Grouchy cat – she never got the memo about how cats should (theoretically) be cute and cuddly, and her initial time with us was punctuated with growls and swats.  We let Jobie know that she could have time alone, or she could be near humans, as she pleased; she has discovered that she has favourite people who let her sit with them, and let her go with no pressure; when she’s in a good mood she will reach out for petting, and when she isn’t, she’ll go and hide somewhere until she's ready to cuddle again.

What IS it about cross-eyed cats?  - MW

Eli was surrendered for aggression – like Jobie, he is very beautiful, and it’s easy to see that people might have reached out to pet him or pick him up when he wasn’t ready for it. He lounges around elegantly, with a “you will worship me” attitude, and he’s not afraid to let other cats know that he’s boss.  We’ve actually seen very little real aggression from him.

Puffin is king! - MD

Puffin is a cat that we always have to warn Sunday visitors about. In fact, in the right mood, he can be very affectionate (especially if the cat-fan is a female teen!) but when he hasn’t asked for petting, he’s not slow to say “Stop! Now!” He is exactly the sort of cat that is behind our closing the gates to under-six children and requiring careful supervision of older ones – he’s not nasty, but he’s quick to react when he’s not ready for contact. Like many of our reactive cats, he actually has quite a fan-club!

Cher - KN

The same is true for pretty Cher, who loves attention, and then gets overwhelmed by it. Cher’s favourite people know that to allow her to sit on a lap, with moderate touch, also requires an awareness of her body language, so that you know when she’s about to be overcome by sensation and has to react.

Sophie - MW

In recognition of her extreme cattitude, Sophie wears a collar. She is another girl who will be affectionate with her chosen people, but can suddenly feel she’s had too much. Gentle petting around the head and ears is often appreciated, and she will leap into laps when she’s in the mood, but you will also sometimes encounter Sophie in serious grumble mode.

Gizmo in ambush - MD

Grey Gizmo has kept the attack aspects of his feral origins.  We tend to think about Gizmo as a brattish teen, because he’s so small, but he is actually a mature adult, and just likes acting the brat – both with humans and with other cats. He has recently come up against another cat as sparky as he is – Jasper has been moved from the front courtyard into the back, where he has more room to roam, and more cats that will stand up to his bullying ways. He’s discovering that he is no longer the big fish in a small pool.  Jasper likes human attention and has his fan-club – but we all know that teeth and claws are only a whisker away.

Jasper - looking for trouble - KN

These are all cats who would not show well at the Shelter, and who would need someone who was very cat-savvy, and ready to make them The Only Cat. Sadly, most of our experienced adopters have established cat-families already, and these furry over-reacters just have to learn to make their own space at the Sanctuary. Most of them are so full of purrr-sonality that their cattitude only endears them to us even more!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Melanie Draper, Chelzea Freeman, 

Karen Nicholson, Lisa Parker, Michele Wright, 

Love you.. love you... HATE you...

Many of the cats at the Sanctuary are here for behavioural reasons.  For the most part, that means that they have been surrendered because they pee and poop in the wrong places; the third common behavioural category is aggression.

Smithy warns us off - BC

I’m not including ferals in this category; ferals are by nature fearful, and frequently believe that attack is the best defence. For the most part their “attack” consists of hissing, and trying to look as fearsome as they can. You can’t walk into Pen 8 without a display of teeth from Smithy – but it’s interesting that he hangs around while I scoop the back litter-box, and listens while I talk to him. As long as I don’t make eye contact and don’t make obvious moves towards him, he’s ready to listen (though not to be touched).

When I think of aggressive cats, I’m thinking more of the ones who have been surrendered to us because their aggression has been unmanageable in a home. And it’s interesting that very often those same aggressive cats calm down at the Sanctuary and show little sign of the reason they were surrendered.

A relaxed and happy Eli - MD

Handsome Eli was apparently adopted out twice, and returned because of his behaviour. With us, he appears pretty calm – he’s not always friendly with other cats, but with humans he shows no signs of aggression (other than assertively wanting to get into the med cage!). I think it’s likely that he was mis-handled in some way;  as cat-people know, some cats just don’t like being picked up, or are over-sensitive to petting, and it becomes very important to read their body-language.

Cole - MW

Big black Cole was very aggressive in his home, and when he first came to us, his cage was labelled “med staff only” because he was an angry boy.  Since being released, he has calmly made himself at home in the front courtyard, and solicits attention from people. Like Leland and Tigger, he will occasionally ask to be picked up, and his only fault is that he really wants to be on the other side of every door.

Puffin has great presence - MW

For a good while we’ve had Puffin labelled as a dangerous cat for visitors; he asks for petting and then suddenly changes his mind – probably when the petting over-stimulates him. Though we still warn new visitors, Puffin has his fan-club; he is particularly fond of attention from young women, and absolutely adores Anne’s daughter Selena, who lets him cuddle with no sign of aggression.  Selena’s a very calm person, and Puffin obviously relaxes and feels at ease with her.

Grey Gizmo would rather be exploring - MW

But on the flip side, we have our share of cats who have not settled in like this.  Gray Gizmo persists in being erratically aggressive with both cats and humans; for the most part, he’s The Cat Who Walks By Himself, but occasionally he will allow a little petting. It’s rather like living with some teenagers – a perfectly nice person suddenly has a mood swing, and Dr Jekyll becomes Mr Hyde.  Gizmo is young, so hormones may still be at play.  That’s also true of his lookalike in the SingleWide – gray Jax (Jackie) will sit quietly with Marty for ten minutes of petting, and then suddenly attack.  I suspect that with both Jax and Gizmo, the sensation of petting builds up to the point where it is no longer calming; we all need to be really aware of tensions and twitches.

Deceptively elegant - that's Lumi - MW

Age and hormones are no longer a factor for Lumi – this pretty girl has her mood swings just for the sake of it. For a while she wore a red collar as a warning for people around; she’s a little calmer these days, but we all have to be aware that she may not be in a petting space.

Sophie looking innocent - MW

Tubby Sophie is one of the cats that has come out of Pen 2.  While the pen was closed, Sophie was often the greeter at the gate, and visitors quickly discovered that it was necessary to restrict petting to Sophie’s head, and not touch her back at all.  Now that she’s out and about we’ve found it necessary to put a collar on her to distinguish her from all the other tabbies. She has become even more sensitive about being touched – and yet she’s often the first to leap onto someone’s lap in the tea-room.  And with Sophie, it’s not just claws, it’s also teeth.  The collar alone may not be enough – she may need a warning bell as well!

Cher on guard - BC

The cat who wins the prize for mood swings is pretty Cher in the front courtyard. She is anxious for attention, weaving around legs and quick to jump into laps. With male visitors in particular she is very affectionate – until with no warning, she suddenly swats. The presence of other cats doesn’t help, but anything can set Cher off!

These are all cats that under other circumstances would probably be “euthanised” (a term I object to, in this context). I am so thankful that here at the Sanctuary they are allowed to have their mood swings, just like humans sometimes do, and that, other than the occasional “time out for bad behaviour”, they can just get on with the business of living with a bunch of other cats.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Melanie Draper, Michele Wright

Moody, but Cute - CHER

Cher - guard-cat at the gate - BC

Visitors to the Sanctuary are quickly accosted in the front courtyard by a very pretty little grey tabby. Cher came to the City Shelter a few months ago, stuffed in a bag with her friend, and surrendered by someone who said they’d been hanging around his home.  Both Cher and Christina were transferred to us when it was obvious that they were not socialized, and they lived in adjacent cages in the Connor building.

Cher loves to play - MD

For the first while there were warning signs over both cages, and a fair amount of growling and swatting.  In Cher’s case, the growling eased off as the curiosity increased, and she spent more and more time at the front of the cage.  Christina still prefers the safety of her cage, even though it’s open now; Cher took very little time to venture out and explore the big wide world.

A first encounter with bubbles - MW

Cher’s mood swings are pretty marked – she’s obviously prone to over-stimulation, and she transitions from cuddle-kitty to killer without much warning. We’re used to warning visitors about Puffin, who also has mood swings – now we need alarm bells for Cher!

Where did it go? - MW

Puffin typically sidles up to people and demand petting – he is particularly susceptible to young women! But you have to watch his body language carefully – he’s nice till suddenly he isn’t, and the twitching tail doesn’t give much warning.  Similarly with Cher – she will launch herself at a male visitor and demand attention, and then suddenly turn on him.

Who's the next victim? - BC

Part of it may just be her age and upbringing (or lack thereof) – we see similar behaviour from grey Gizmo in the back, who can be a very brattish teenager when he chooses.  Part of it may just be that she has never learned how to interact with humans – when Chimo came to us it was because his usual mode of interaction was attack - especially when human hands and feet were within reach. With a lot of patience from the Kitty Comforters, he's now a pretty mellow fellow.

Chimo at his most cute! - MW

But I suspect that it’s a bit more than that with Cher; she’s more in the Lumi mode. For a long time we had white Lumi wear a collar as a warning that this cat was cute but would bite. And as with Cher and Puffin, there’s little or no warning.  Orange Buster-Baby, who we lost a couple of years ago, used to have to be caged when visitors were around because something in his brain just made him attack for no reason.

Such a pretty face - but not to be trusted! - MW

Visitors very often forget that cats are carnivores who are hardwired to hunt, and moving fingers are irresistible. It’s up to us to provide cats like Cher and Gizmo with interactive toys to exercise their hunting instincts, and not offer them fingers to practice on.  And we hope that as they mature, they do so, not into the Baby/Lumi mode, but into the Chimo one of being lovable and loved.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Melanie Draper, Michele Wright