Winter Kitties

Darius is making a snow-angel-kitty  -  KN

The Wet Coast has for this week become The White Coast, and as usual, coastal BC reels under what is normal weather for much of the rest of the country!

Snow piled high in the front courtyard - BC

Having a cat sanctuary in BC is normally no big deal – many of the cats spend their time outside, and dedicated volunteers come from as far away as 50k to scoop or sweep or snuggle their feline friends. But when the snow hits, most of the cats vanish inside, the roads become skating rinks, and staff and volunteers struggle to get in to do their shifts.

Thanks goodness for shovelled walks - DW

It’s all very pretty-looking – till you have to slog along in it. Working in the trailers is cosy enough, but feeding the back pen cats on a snowy evening takes real determination. Thank goodness for Ken, who shovelled paths everywhere – and then had to go back and shovel them again.

Cagney and Petunia are staying out of the white stuff! - BC

 Most of the cats take the sensible path and snuggle up with some buddies;  leave it to the humans to get through all that white stuff.  Other cats seem to like the contrast.  I was greeted at the gate by Kiwi, who has come to us from Alberta – obviously snow holds no fear for her!

Kiwi enjoys the snow - BC

Figaro wasn’t quite sure if he liked it, but he was ready to chase a snowball or two.

Throw another one, please!  -  BC

Some of our kitties have Norwegian Forest Cat genes – lots of fur, big paws, and no fear of snow.  Little Autumn, in the front courtyard, was having a wonderful time; her big floofy coat was coated with snow crystals, but she didn’t care!

Autumn likes her snow bathing  - BC

Leonardo diCatprio was just enjoying lying there all by himself in the snow. Leo often enjoys his own company, but I didn’t know he was a snow lover.

Sometimes I sits and thinks....    BC

Pretty Sprocket, too, has a coat that will hold off the snow.

Sprocket - BC

Once Skittles saw I was out for a walk-about, he followed me.  This boy definitely has some “weegie” in him, and snow holds no fears.  He was, however, a bit annoyed by the fact that I wouldn’t cuddle him!

Skittles  -  BC

Ploughing through snow almost at his own height, he was getting pretty well coated!

Wylee is not a snow cat and looks on all this white stuff with a certain disapproval.  He likes to be out, but he has no desire to get any wetter and colder than he has to!

Wylee wants it to go away - BC

Just like people - some like the change in the weather and are active in snow-play; others cuddle up in their beds until it's gone again.  And this is the Lower Mainland - it won't last long, and we'll soon be back to the usual wet stuff!

Cadbury and Yma have cold paws!  -  LBF

Blog by Brigid Coult

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

Darius

Darius is a cat with whom everyone falls in love!

MW

We think he has some British Shorthair in him – obviously, we have no idea of his breeding, but he has many of those characteristics: the broad face and stocky body, and a plushy dense coat. British Shorthairs come in a full range of colouring, though the Blue is the desired standard for showing. Darius has classic tabby markings, with the characteristic whorl pattern on his sides.

BC

He came to the City Shelter in early summer, picked up as a stray, but he was so aggressive and angry that it was thought he might actually be feral; in any case, he was obviously not a candidate for adoption, and was transferred to the Sanctuary.  As with many trapped cats, cage life was a bit overwhelming for him – until he discovered that the visits he had from staff, Kitty Comforters and other volunteers, were not in fact so scary, and often resulted in play and treats. Darius became less and less inclined to hide in his box, and more ready to interact with us.

Looking down at us, from a back deck shelf - BC

The initial few weeks in a cage is intended to give cats a chance to assimilate their surroundings, as well as getting used to the humans who will care for them. When the cage is opened, some cats (like Ruff and Sprocket) resolutely stay in their familiar corner until they feel much more confident, while others make a bee-line for the cage-tops or the back deck to put some distance between them and us. Darius was cautious, but it wasn’t long before he watched more confident cats using the door to the laundry room and then out via the cat-door, and he too made his way outside.

KN

Now he felt he had the best of both worlds – the freedom he remembered, but also the human attention with which he had become familiar.  He explored every inch of the back courtyard area, poking his way into open pens, finding toys to play with, and other cats to get to know. He’s a pretty sociable guy – not bonding with anyone else, but not afraid to interact with them. He is often one of the “on the table” cats at coffee time, migrating his way from one person to another and enjoying the attention.

Darius being a lap-cat - KN

As he settles with us, it becomes obvious that he is a stray – a cat who once knew a human home – rather than a feral – born wild and not comfortable with handling. However, we will probably only adopt him under the semi-feral principle of bonding with a prospective owner. Our experience has taught us that unless a semi-feral or very wary cat really bonds with a human, then moving from a place where it is comfortable to a new home is a stressful experience - which is why Darius was as as angry and aggressive as he was when he arrived.

MW

Most of the successful adoptions in this situation take place when a staff member or a volunteer takes the cat – sweet, shy Mischa bonded with med-staff Jess, and has settled well in his new home.  But Mischa saw Jess almost every day; for a  cat like Darius to have a relative stranger take him would be very difficult.

The look of love (or begging for goodies!) - KN

So for now, Darius is a happy cat, with places to explore and other cats with which to interact, and we’ll see if there is a volunteer or a regular visitor to whom he is drawn, and with whom he might find a home, and safety for the rest of his days.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright