Spring sun at last

Finally the sanctuary cats (and their minders) are getting to enjoy some warm, spring-like weather in the afternoon and early evening. And the cats waste no time in making the most of it. Here are a few photos from this evening.

Lana & Whiskey

Quinn (?)

May & Adam

Shelley

yawn~*

Chatter 

Josie

Dusty

Even the cats who stayed indoors managed to soak up the sun coming through the windows!

Lincoln

Birdie and Creamsicle

Rio

photo by Phaedra 

I first heard of Rio when people mentioned similarities in markings between her and fellow torby girl Saffron. I heard of her again in connection with her orange & white brothers Tang and Creamsicle. Phaedra was telling me a bit about the formerly wild trio and spoke fondly of her "litter lap buddy" Rio.

Rio playing Queen of the Castle, cat style

photo by Phaedra

I asked Phaedra to tell me a bit more about her. Here's what she had to say:

I guess she's just always stood out for me because she's so much more in the background than her brothers. She's sweet but shy and takes her time getting to know you. She started off playing with my laces while I was scooping and has progressed to joining me at least once on my single wide days for lap scooping time.

She's really affectionate but hasn't learned her manners yet and doesn't understand when it's over and will sometimes lash out when you think it's time to do something else. She will play with my laces or kneepads still, but if I try to play with her with my hands she gets very frightened and pretends to be fierce. This can make me laugh out loud for real but then I feel bad because she's a silly timid kitten and coax her back.

This made me want to meet Rio for myself, so I asked Leslie to point her out to me. This she did, but we must have caught Rio when she was settling down for her after dinner nap, as she simply refused to be coaxed out of her comfy bed on the top of the cages to interact with us in any way.

Disappointed, I eventually had to admit defeat and left to go and photograph the much more amenable Tang. This done, I happened to look up to where Rio had been sitting and found the place empty. I looked around a bit and found she'd ventured down to floor level, apparently now ready to visit with me.

As you can see from the photos she let me take while I patted and played with her, Rio is very much as Phaedra described her: playful, a little shy, occasionally a little swatty, but always very sweet.

Tang

It can be difficult to tell orange & white brothers Creamsicle and Tang apart from a distance. Fortunately, their facial markings are distinct enough (quite symmetrical for Tang, while Creamsicle has when Debbie describes as a popsicle-shaped marking on his nose) to reveal who's who.

Like his brother and sister, Tang came in as a kitten so wild it was hard to imagine he could ever be tamed.

Rio, Creamsicle and Tang

photo provided by Debbie

These days, he's the most generally people friendly of the three and will quite happily visit with you whether or not he's had the pleasure of meeting you before.

Creamsicle

Leslie remembers Creamsicle and his sibings Tang and Rio as "3 of the wildest kittens we've ever had."

"... hard to imagine now." she adds. 

Indeed, when I introduced myself to Creamsicle last month, he certainly didn't act wild. He was still cautious at first, though, taking his time staring at me from a safe, just out of reach distance before rushing into any decisions regarding my friendship potential. I let him take his time, and my patience was rewarded with a willingness to try out a few pats followed by a cat dance of approval.

Phaedra describes Creamsicle as the least outgoing of his siblings when it comes to humans (he's quite happy hanging out with his kitty friends), but recognizes he's come a long way from being thought a hopeless feral who'd never learn to trust us. He may not come running for cuddles when she arrives in the mornings, but he's overcome his shyness enough to allow some pets... particularly when there are treats to be had, which I hear he loves.