What's In A Name?

One of the questions often asked by Sunday visitors is “Who chooses the cats’ names?”  Usually the answer to that is that the med-staff do it – sometimes to a theme, sometimes focusing on an alphabetical series, sometimes because it just suits the cat.

Chatter - MW

Occasionally the vets get in on it – when Gaye took a spunky orange boy to the vet for the first time and introduced him as “Cheddar”, the vet heard “Chatter” and that’s what he’s remained.

Cagney

The cats that manage to find their way here by themselves are all named for TV detectives – we had Magnum and Colombo in the back pens, and Kojak in Old Aids and there’s Cagney in the front courtyard and Watson in the back.

Dell

One fairly new girl was named for where she was trapped: she’s Keira Knightstreet.  When she came in, her next-door neighbor, a fighter of the spit-and-lunge variety, was Xena, to give us an “X” in the alphabetical series. Our handsome Dell is also named for his source – he was found on Blundell Road.

Nasty Sandra - CP

Rarely, a name will get changed – we had a cat brought in and given the name of Loco, and I protested:  I felt he was too shy and old-fashioned to be labelled like that. I was allowed to change his name to Dickens and loved him dearly till we lost him a couple of years ago.  Sometimes the name is a behaviour descriptor; Nasty Sandra (above) lives up to her label.

Mocha- MW

Some cats seem to have more than one name: Mocha, in the Val Jones pen, is also known as Brownie to some of her fans. Mocha came in with her brother Pekoe (orange, of course) and her sister Cappucino (both passed on).

MW

In the Single-Wide we have Jarrod, also known as Yap and Charlie, also known as Tuna.

Two Lucy-cats - MW

Sometimes there are duplications – usually because a cat has come in as an owner-surrender with a name.  We have two Lucy cats, affectionately known as fat-Lucy – both are ladies of size, though Laundry Room Lucy probably outweighs Tea-Room Lucy.  There are two Hannahs – the delightful little orange-and-white girl and the leggy tabby who like to leap on people from behind. Orange Lucky in the front yard will never come face-to-face with Bengal Lucky in the back.

Chip 'n' Dale - CF & PH

And there are family pairs: Chip (in the Val Jones) is brother of Dale (in the Double-Wide); Cinder and Ella were our back courtyard greys (till we lost Ella recently); and a pair of front-courtyard orange cats just begged to be named Henrick and Daniel, for the Canuck Sedin twins.

Front-courtyard Bobby - MW

Who would think that Bobby would be a popular name for a cat? Bobby in the front courtyard is also known as Belly-Rub Bobby, for his favourite occupation; there was a double-wide cat known as Snotty Bobby, for his permanent cold; we used to have Orange Bobby (for his bob-tail) in Old Aids, and let’s not forget Wobbly-Bob in the back – he has some sort of neurological disorder and can’t always keep his legs under control, especially when startled.

Lincoln (MW) and Cinnamon Bun Lincoln (PH)

And then there are our two Lincolns in the double-wide – beautiful tawny Lincoln, so regal and affectionate to people (though not really a cat-loving boy), and Cinnamon Bun Lincoln, named for his tail formation.

But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover--
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.
When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.                                         

             T.S. Eliot – The Naming of Cats

 

Blog by Brigid Coult
Photos by Claire Fossey, Phaedra Hardman, Chris Peters, Michele Wright

Favourite corners: the Val Jones cats

The small group of cats who live in the Val Jones area are favourites with a number of the volunteers. I know that I’m not the only one who visits on a regular basis to make a fuss of them.

Jerry - PH

The dominant cat in this area is Jerry. He’s always been something of a hair-trigger personality – for a while there was a semi-joke about whether or not one was member of a “Jerry Victims Support Group”. To be fair, it was not usually that Jerry attacked people, but if you got between Jerry and a cat he disliked, you usually came off the worse for wear!  . Most recently it was gauged that Breezer needed to be transferred out of the VJ and into the Old Aids next door; we are wary of having another dominant personality in this group – Jerry needs to be top cat! For a while he was not in good condition – what appeared to be a reaction to flea meds left him balding and uncomfortable. But his fur has regrown to its usual luxuriant length, and Jerry is enjoying being admired again.

Henrik - MW

In spite of his size, our sweet Henrik is actually quite shy, and no competition for Jerry.  Henrik is the brother of Daniel, out in the front courtyard (what else would you name a pair of red-heads who came in together?) but one of the side-effects of his FeLV is mouth ulcers, and the medication to ease that causes him to put on weight. Since he is also one of the larger cats in the area the effect is pretty startling.

And the side-effect of that is that he can’t groom himself effectively, so that a complete haircut is occasionally necessary.

Chip - CF

Chip is the brother of Dale, in the Double-wide. He’s the nearest thing Jerry has to competition, and tends to be very wary of him; mostly you’ll find Jerry in the left-hand cabin (VJ 1), and Chip in the smaller right-hand one (VJ 2).  Chip is a chicken-lover, and always emerges when there are offerings. He's a friendly boy, and likes human company.

Foxy - MW

This little boy came from the Newcomers area when blood-tests showed that what was obviously latent FeLV had become full-blown. He’s another chick-aholic, and we worry about his health when he’s not ready to chow down on chicken tidbits. Still very shy, you’ll usually find Foxy hiding on one of the lower shelves. He’s not ready to be petted, but humans bearing gifts are tolerated.

Mocha - MW

Cross-eyed Mocha is the last of a family of three cats who came in together. We recently lost her sister Cappuccino – a little torbie who looked nothing like her littermate. Her brother Pekoe (Orange Pekoe, of course) was one of my favourites when I first came to the Sanctuary, and other than colouring, looked very like Mocha – including the stubby tail. His sister is a little wary about being petted, but is very food-motivated.

Suga - PH

Sweet Suga came into the Val Jones about 18 months ago, and immediately settled down with her friends. She’s a snuggler – there’s often a cuddle-puddle in the Val Jones house, and Suga is inevitably part of it.

GusGus - MW

This sweet boy has been part of the VJ family for some time. He’s the brother of pretty grey Hope in the front courtyard, and Domino (now passed), and we cared for both his mother Joanie, and the cat we think was his father, Hudson. GusGus is one of my own sponsor cats, and I try to spend a little time with him whenever I visit. FeLV leaves him very susceptible to feline colds, and I’m always anxious when he’s off his food – it’s usually that he’s become congested and food loses its tastiness for him.  This is always an anxious time for us – with Feline Leukemia, the compromised immune system has a harder time throwing off any infection.

The VJ cuddle-puddle - GusGus, Mocha & Suga - BC

I know I’m not the only volunteer who loves to spend time with these lovely cats. The usual protocols apply – we are careful to wash before and after visits, not because FeLV is infectious, but because we need to protect them from the germs more easily tolerated by other cats.

Come and visit them on a Sunday afternoon, and get to know them better!

 

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Claire Fossey, Phaedra Hardman, Michele Wright

Graceless kitties of June

It's been brought to my attention that we're long overdue for a "graceless kitties" post. The cats must have heard about this too, as they've generally been refusing to be silly for my camera.

Here are a few shots I did manage to get with, as always, a little help from some friends.

Booster

Chip

Greyson

Grubby
photo by Phaedra

Val and Harry
photo by Ed

Chip

Chip and his brother Dale arrived at the sanctuary as feral kittens some years ago, around the same time we got Bobby. They all started off in one of the back pens and the brothers got along fine, but it seems that Chip became fascinated with the out of bounds (to him) front courtyard and campaigned to be allowed through the gate into that part of the sanctuary. He eventually got his wish and now can often be found lounging at the top of the steps to the singlewide.

Chip is friendly and comfortable with people. He does take his grooming very seriously, though, so it can be a little difficult to get and hold his attention if you come across him, as I did, while he's in the middle of it.