Darla

Darla came from the same group as Leslie's cat Clooney. Darla and Clooney were trapped in 2006 along with more than a dozen other cats when the houses they'd been living around were due to be torn down by a developer.

While elusive Clooney was the last to be trapped, Darla was the first. From what Gaye says, it sounds like Darla made RAPS staff work for it, though, seemingly teasing them by appearing near the cage they were watching from a distance but never quite going in.

These days Darla is comfortable enough in her life at the sanctuary, although Leslie says that not enough people notice her, and so they're not aware she's friendly and would really like to have some attention.

You may have to seek Darla out, since she's not one to take the initiative herself (at least not with people she doesn't know well, not yet), but it's well worth it. As you can see from the photos below, she really does enjoy a little human interaction.

RAPS Alumni: Clooney

Written by guest blogger Leslie Landa

Back in 2006, a developer purchased a block of houses on No. 4 Road in Richmond to be torn down and replaced with townhomes. One of those houses belonged to an elderly man who liked feeding cats, and RAPS was called out to capture about 16 of them. Most were wild brown tabbies or black and white beauties, but there was one elusive creature that Carol called "the Himalayan" who defied capture until the bitter end.

When this handsome fellow finally had his turn to be neutered, our vet suggested we call him "George Clooney" and the name stuck. Clooney was taken to the sanctuary, where he attempted to hide his large self on the top shelf of his cage. He turned out to be a ragdoll cross and with just one look at his face, and Leslie was in love. She climbed into the cage to see if he was tame and the minute she got her hands on him he became a total mush. Clooney climbed down and onto Leslie's lap and began to kneed with great vigor. Leslie was toast!

"He has to live with us!" she told her husband, who didn't object too strongly as they only had 2 other cats at home. Clooney turned out to be the most affectionate cat the family had ever had, and completely devoted to Leslie, following her everywhere and sleeping on or beside her. His years on the street taught him to be wary, though, so he would run away if approached too quickly or with nail clippers in hand.

Later that year, the Landa family found themselves bottlefeeding a 3-week-old orphaned kitten, and Clooney was smitten. The gentle giant turned out to have strong "maternal" instincts and he bathed the infant as if it were his own. Named Ziggy, the 4th addition to the household grew to be almost as large and has taken great pleasure in chasing poor Clooney, who doesn't understand that it's just for fun. It took 5 years for Clooney to convince the family's oldest cats that they should lick his lowered head rather than swat him, but Clooney finally got his way. He has been totally accepted and can even snuggle with 15-year-old Mocha on a bed or shared lap.