Muffin

Muffin (BC)

Muffin arrived with us through the Adoption Centre – she had been surrendered for aggression, and a short stay was enough to show that the description was warranted! The Adoption Centre, nice though it is, was not her preferred home.

Muffin caged  (LBF)

She was caged in the DoubleWide for her settling-down period, with a big notice to volunteers on her door, warning us of her explosive temperament. Screaming, slashing and being generally unpleasant were all in her behaviour vocabulary, and at least one volunteer came away with lacerations.  But many of us spent time in her cage, just talking to her, not attempting physical contact at all, but letting her hear gentle voices, and within weeks she was soliciting attention and touch – though we were always careful to leave her wanting more.

Muffin enjoying the great outdoors   (KN)

When her cage was opened, it became obvious that part of her tension was the presence of other cats. Often caged cats remain in their cages with open doors, by their own choice, but an open door meant that all the confident cats came visiting, and that was not an experience she approved of. A lot of bad language was exchanged with Eli, Jasper and Bentley, and Muffin decided she needed to be OUT.  

Gardens for Muffin  (LBF)

She can now be seen regularly around the back pens. She’s not found a particular hidey-hole, but nests up wherever she can avoid other cats.  Most frequently, I find her in Pen 3 – there’s a lot of feline company there, but they’re very easy-going and don’t bug her.  When it’s warm, she can be found sunning herself on the roof of the litter-station, and glaring at anyone who encroaches on her space. The cat who produces the most hissing is usually Princess, who doesn’t much like other cats, either, but likes to feel she can go anywhere.  She and Muffin share a mutual antipathy.

Resting in her favourite spot  (DW)

As far as humans go, Muffin’s mood swings like a pendulum. There are certain people that she will follow from pen to pen, watching curiously, not approaching too closely, but definitely interested.  In the right space, she will advance and accept a little petting – occasionally a little lap-time, though one needs to be careful not to over-stimulate her.  She’s well in advance of the other grumpy girls there – neither Princess nor Darla wants to be touched at all.  And when she’s had an encounter with a cat she doesn’t like, she doesn’t like anyone at that point, and all you can do is to leave her to cool off.

Watching for intruders   (BC)

She’s quite young – just two and a half years old – and we hear that for the first two years of her life, she was very loving, until something switched in her brain, producing this snarky persona. The fact that she has calmed down so much in the last few months is very hopeful; we'd like to think that giving her quiet surroundings and allowing her to pace herself will give her space to become more approachable once again. 

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill Friesen, Brigid Coult, Karen Nicholson

Darla

Darla's death-glare  (KN)

Some feral cats come to us and let us know that we are too terrifying for words – mostly they’re the ferals that end up in Pen 4, where disturbances are minimal.  In their early cage days with us, they find a corner to hide in; they remain behind the drape that is always in place for new cats, and you can sense their fear. Other feral cats are scared, but they deal with their fear by showing anger; the opening of the cage door is accompanied by hissing and spitting, and some really bad language. New volunteers learn that it’s rarely as bad as it sounds, but they also learn that it’s OK to go to staff and ask if someone experienced can clean that cage.

Ears so flat in anger, you can hardly see them!  (KN)

Darla was one of those cats!  She came to us from CATS Rescue, who in turn received her from another rescue who brought her in as part of dismantling a feral colony when the caretaker died. They hoped she might tame up, but were unable to keep her long-term when she showed no sign of socializing.  CATS had her for 6 months, and then passed her on to us, knowing that she could safely live as a feral in our care. If they had just released her, she probably wouldn’t have lived long without her own colony. We think she’s around 5 years old.

The ninja lurking in the laurel  (KN)

When she was released from her cage-stay, she managed a quick getaway into the back gardens, and as far away from us as was possible. This was generally the area between pens 3 and 4, where there’s plenty of shrubbery, and places to hide, and where the bushes offer enough low branches to encourage a scared cat to climb in order to be out of sight. There are a number of other little ferals who hang around there – plus the not-so-scared but endlessly curious cats from Alberta who base out of pen 3.

You can't see me...  (KN)

You can always tell Darla – if you can see her – she’s a good solid girl with a lot of floof, and a magnificent white collar/bib that is as good as a flashing light to ID her.  She obviously realized that staff would check the back gardens at least once a day, if not more, and if she wanted to be undisturbed, she needed to take her hiding place very seriously. So rather than hiding near the gate with the rest of the cats, she took herself up a laurel tree halfway down the courtyard.

Inspecting the escape route  (KN)

I don’t know how many other cats use that tree, but Darla has now claimed it for herself. At the right angle you will see her white ruff shining through the leaves;  if you get closer, all you will see is a glaring shadow; she does NOT want to be disturbed!  In her earlier tree-climbing days, she climbed to her usual perch and was obviously attracted by something, because she edged out along the ledge leading to the top of the pen 1 gate.  Bad mistake!  It was a little too narrow to be comfortable, so she backed up.  But oops! - she couldn’t turn, and she couldn’t go backwards all the way.  We watched as she debated the next step. Before we could get a nearby cat tree into position for a safe descent, she took a amazing flying-squirrel leap sideways to land on the trunk of the big tree in the centre, pulled herself out of sight on the other side and made her descent that way.

Suspicious stare  (LBF)

Darla is still not a fan of humans, and will take herself into hiding when approached. But increasingly, she will come down to ground level while people are sitting nearby, give us a quick disdainful glance, and vanish across into pen 5 where she can explore in the longer grass at the back. She’s not sociable with other cats, but ignores them, as if it’s beneath her dignity to acknowledge lesser beings. She obviously feels more secure in her favourite tree, and is welcome to it as her refuge within the Sanctuary.

She is not friendly - but much more relaxed (LBF)

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen &  Karen Nicholson