Sanctuary Salon

Lindor's shave-down helps him sleep cooler  (KN)

Cats are often characterized as being very clean – constantly attending to their own grooming, and occasionally sharing grooming with others. That being so, you’d think there wouldn’t be much for humans to do, to maintain that cleanliness. Let me tell you, it ain’t necessarily so!

Persimmon is a big girl - with or without floof!  (KN)

To start with, probably a third of the Sanctuary cats are long-haired. And as cat-owners will know, long-haired cats frequently need help with grooming. Those gorgeous floofy coats may look good, but run a hand over them, and you will find lumps and bumps of matted fur. Even the best-natured cats dislike having mats combed out, and when the cat in question is a feral who fears human attention, being brushed is not an option.  SweetPea (now adopted) loved petting, but her sister Curious still dislikes human contact, and when she got matted, a shave was the only possibility.

Curious still doesn't like humans  (BC)

Mats may be caused by a number of factors. The shed undercoat may become caught in the top coat. Dirt or natural oils may cause the hairs to mat. Urine or feces may create back-leg lumps. And all these factors may affect short-haired as well as long-haired ones.  Most dogs may be taken to a groomer, where they will stand while expert hands remove excess hair. This is not an option with the majority of cats, who take a dim view of being made to do anything!  So, what to do with all our matted moggies?

Jobie HATES being groomed and gets a lion cut each summer (MW)

As much as possible, prevention is a factor; most of the staff and the Kitty Comforters keep a comb or a deshedding tool tucked in a pocket, and grooming is one of the things that the KCs will offer to comfort a cat. But when there’s matting to deal with, it’s not comforting!  Scissors are not recommended; sometimes the matting goes right to the skin, and there is the risk of cutting the cat, and not just the fur. Occasionally the top part of a mat can be cut off and then the rest of it can be broken down – but that takes time and patience and a cooperative cat.

Higgins is a stray tomcat who came to us with
a number of injuries that needed shaving for treatment  (BC)

Occasionally a cat with mats is also scheduled for a dental procedure, or something that requires full sedation, and then the hospital staff can do an expert shave-job, producing a classic lion-cut.  But it’s not good practice when not essential, and the majority of the matted cats wait for a day when a couple of the Sanctuary med-staff can work together, and the cats in question are given an oral sedative that calms them somewhat without putting them out. Under these circumstances, the cut may not be totally elegant or complete – but at least the mats are out, and the cat is cool and comfortable.  

Perhaps Lindor's a little embarrassed
- but he's much cooler!   (BC)

Some of the trims are partial – most commonly the “sanitary” trims that leave the back legs free of  fur. This is especially necessary for some of the chonky cats who can’t always reach back there to clean.

Benny got a sanitary cut - no more dirty bloomers! (SL)

Other trims are minimal – Alfred is a short-haired boy, but had a couple of nasty mats on his rump just where he couldn’t reach them. For a while he was walking around with a bald patch, but the fur is growing in again.

Just one little matted patch needed a shave for Alfred  (BC)

There are a few cats that resist any attempt to make them feel comfortable. Feral Smithy has matted fur that becomes dreadlocks on a regular basis. He has been shaved before and was acutely embarrassed; mostly we leave him to cope unless we feel he’s suffering, and we’ll occasionally find what we call “Smithy’s beardy bits” in the back courtyard – as long as they’re not too tight to the skin, they will often work their way loose.

Smithy is not cooperative about grooming - or anything else  (KN)

When you find something like this lying around,
you know Smithy's shed a beardy bit!   (BC)

Now that summer weather has hit us, the staff are keeping a keen eye open for the ferals who are carrying extra fur weight around.  The Cranbrook College cats are now on the radar, but they are still not comfortable around humans, and the experience of being captured, dosed and shaved is not a pleasant one for them. Still, it’s better than carrying around lumps of fur that pull on their skin.

With a coat like this, Foster really needed a shave! (KN)

And she got it!  (KN)

The haircuts also have the added advantage of helping us identify previously identical-appearing cats. The Kamloops cats usually wander around together like a shoal of tubby goldfish – it’s really interesting to notice that some of them, like Kumquat, are really slim under all the fur that is now gone.

Kumquat is feeling much less lumpy  (KN)

Work with brushes and combs and deshedders will continue – but the shavers will continue to make summer life more bearable for the floofier cats.

An evening's cat-fluff!  (KN)

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Stacey Lambert, Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright

Lynx-point Lovelies

Curious & SweetPea  (LBF)

 A new clowder of cats came to us from the Kootenays last year, and were introduced to the blog in November.  This spring, the gate to Pen 8 was opened, and many of them emerged quite confidently.  One or two shy ones prefer to remain in known territory, but the others have made themselves at home in the back courtyard, and are frequently found exploring towards the eastern side of the Sanctuary.

Big Daddy (Percival) and SweetPea  (LBF)

The majority of the cats have the characteristic sealpoint colouring of the Himalayan breed, though there are no doubt other strains in their genetics. Blond Percival Snugglebut is also known as Big Daddy, and was likely responsible for some of the kittens who have now been adopted.  The two pregnant mamas who arrived were the two little lynx-point girls – very similar in appearance.  SweetPea is the more confident of the two and her eyes are blue, while Curious’s eyes are more yellow. 

Curious, aka "Furious"  (KN)

What would RAPS do without volunteer fosterer Kati? So many cats and kittens have passed through her loving care, and many would probably not have survived without her expertise. Whether the mama is feral or tame, Kati gives them a safe place for birthing and assists with extra feeding when needed. She has probably shed much blood in the process; feral mamas can get pretty annoyed when babies need to be removed for weighing and checking.  The kittens are always the priority for Kati; she is an important part of the socialization process before they go to the Adoption Centre.

SweetPea (LBF)

SweetPea and her five kittens arrived first, at the beginning of July but all the family were small and dehydrated - SweetPea ended up going back to the RAPS hospital for emergency surgery, while Kati bottle-fed the babies until they were weaned, and could finally go to the Adoption Centre. Curious had her kittens in Kati's care, and similarly, they struggled; only three of the five survived. Neither of our lynx-point girls was very keen about this fostering period, but of the two, SweetPea became the most reconciled to some degree of handling. Curious, Kati says, was “a horror show!”, being a very scared and feral girl.  I assume that more of Kati's blood was shed! When the kittens graduated to the Adoption Centre in September (SweetPea's litter was the "I" litter, and Curious had the "J" litter) the two young mamas were brought to the Sanctuary and obviously derived much comfort from being around their friends again.

(Seriously) Curious, and SweetPea  (LBF)

Fast forward to these late spring days, and both SweetPea and Curious are out and about, exploring, getting to know other cats, and finding that humans are, after all, not so bad as all that.  Curious remains reticent – she’s not aggressive, but she’d rather not be touched just now, thank you very much. SweetPea, on the other hand, is obviously remembering Kati’s care, and allowing other people to get close to her; she allows herself to be petted, to enjoy some lap-time, and with staff member Lisa, some real cuddles.

Sleepytime for SweetPea - LBF

The Kootenay cats are, like the Kamloops ones in Pen 6, a very cat-social bunch. For people who look at cats as being solitary and independent, watching the bonds among these clowders is heartwarming.  Yes, we have a number of cats at the Sanctuary who don’t like other felines – and quite often that dislike is a reason for them being here. But for this little family, it’s unlikely that we would ever split them up, and if that were ever to happen, potential adoptees would need to be adopted with one of the other family members to give them comfort.

Happy snuggles - Percival, Owen, Basil & SweetPea  (LBF)

Happy news!  SweetPea has been adopted!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen and Karen Nicholson

Finding Sanctuary

Percival & Owen  (LBF)

We are getting to know the Pen 8 newcomers, and vice versa – they are getting to know us in turn, and learning that life is not really as scary as they had thought when they arrived.

Cleo & SweetPea  (LBF)

This little clowder of 12 cats came to us all the way from the Kootenays.  They had lived semi-feral, and when their caretaker died, the local shelter knew that they would be too much to manage, and reached out to us. Some of them are touchable, but most still shy away from contact.

Owen & Bailey (LBF)

When they first came to us, they were caged in ones and twos to allow them to decompress after a stressful journey, and to give us time to make medical and behavioural assessments. We were told they were ragdolls, but they don’t have the characteristic inverted V on the face; there’s more Himalayan or Balinese in their appearance. 

Percival Snugglebutt   (KN)

Three males are at the heart of this little colony.  Handsome blond Percival Snugglebutt is also known as Big Daddy, and is responsible for some of the kittens that have gone to the Adoption Centre. He is tailless – not Manx breed, but one of those cats that just have the genetic mutation for no tail - in fact, some of his offspring are also tailless.

Owen  (BC)

Owen has settled well, and is starting to allow contact. He hangs out with Percival quite happily, but can mostly be found among all his darker girlfriends. He is easily distinguished by the little blaze on his face. He is playful and food-motivated.

Basil   (BC)

Basil is paler in colour and his blaze is more prominent. He’s a little warier than Owen and not as easily coaxed by food offerings.

Betsy   (BC)

Learning who’s who among the girls is almost as hard as distinguishing among the courtyard black cats.  Most of them have the characteristic dark face and dark stockings of a Himalayan. They tend to stay together by preference; a visitor entering the pen is often greeted by the scurrying of little sealpoint shapes.

Skye  (LBF)

Betsy, Cleo, Zoey and Skye have the classic sealpoint markings.

Bailey  (KN)

Bailey is both larger and paler – bluepoint rather than sealpoint.  She seems to prefer to hang out at the back with Basil. Myrtle is also bluepoint, but is currently under care for dental problems. The other cat missing from the photos is Kali, a very shy calico who is rarely seen.

Sweetpea & Curious  (LBF)

The smallest (and probably the youngest) two are both lynx-point – gold-eyed Curious and the longer-haired blue-eyed SweetPea.  Both arrived pregnant and had their babies in fosterage. At least some of the kittens were sired by Percival (we can tell from the missing tails), but there may be more than one father involved in creating a litter. These two have had home-care and are more comfortable with being handled than the others.

Owen, Zoey, Betsy (and Curious hiding at the back)  (KN)

The Kootenay rescuers did valiant work in keeping this colony together, and getting them to us, where they can be safe. It’s rare that “breed” cats like this come into our care, but having lived feral for so long, it is likely that the Sanctuary will be their home for the rest of their lives.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Brigid Coult, Karen Nicholson