Feline Weightwatchers

Cats, like humans, come in all shapes and sizes. We have our share of little cats (like Marilee, Shady, Emily…) all of whom are far from being kittens; they’re just small slim cats.  But we also have our share of the plus-size cats, and just like humans, we need to consider whether the plus-sizing is a health issue, or just the way the cat is.

Capilano & Chinook - MW

When we had Pen 5 closed, it was more noticeable how many of those cats were large-size varieties. Chinook, Adam, May, Capilano – none of them were shrimps. With some concern for their size, their food was changed to a higher-protein variety, but they liked it so much, they just ate more of it and seemed to gain more weight!  We soon reverted to the ordinary variety...  Now that Pen 5 is open, some of them are getting around a bit more, and with the constant stream of feline visitors, the concentration of large cats in there is no longer so obvious.

Sid - BC

Being overweight, in cats as in humans, can lay them open to a variety of health concerns. Both Sid and Marmalade are plus-size and are also diabetic; med-staff monitor them carefully to make sure their insulin levels are under control.

Carla & Cookie - BC

As with humans, there are two important parts to weight-control: diet and exercise. At the Sanctuary, there is always dry food out for the sake of the shyer cats who don't want to eat at mealtimes, or who don't like the wet food. So the only way to control intake is to cage the cat – and that obviously then cuts out the possibility of exercise. Newcomers Cookie and Carla are decidedly tubby – Carla can be a bit crabby with cats and sometimes with humans, but she likes to play, and volunteers are encouraged to get her moving as much as possible.

Deety - MW

Any visitor to the double-wide trailer knows Deety; this boy likes to stay on his shelf in the laundry-room, but it was noticed that his size increased and his ease of movement decreased. Med-staff Catherine would take him down to the back gate and encourage him to walk back; Deety now not only comes down by himself, but occasionally comes out and visits in the back courtyard (especially when he feels that the dinner service is a little late)

Eiffel - BC

Another newcomer is Eiffel – this 26-lb boy is not just tubby, he’s a LARGE cat (and a very sweet one); currently caged while he’s in the settle-in phase, he should be out in the general population soon.

Autumn & Lorelei - MW

Sometimes with the long-haired cats it’s hard to tell whether it’s fluff or pounds. Looking at Lorelei and Autumn in the front courtyard, you could be excused for thinking we have too many tubby tabbies; a little petting quickly establishes that a lot of Autumn is fluff and Lorelei is solid!

Buster: preparing for the Westminster Cat Show - ML

When volunteer Maureen blogged about her beloved Buster recently, she also wrote about Buster’s size issues.
Buster was contacted by his vet’s office with a proposal to join their “Biggest Loser” contest.  We of course accepted as he is weighing in at 10.85kg (24lbs) and he is not getting any younger.  I have had Buster on a grain-free diet for a year now but to no avail.  We have found this food makes him hungrier and of course I succumb to his demands when he is hungry!  Knowing that Buster was an unwilling participant and disliked trips to the vet he participated by Skype. I brought him in  to have all of his tests done (which of course he had to be sedated for) get his nails clipped and a nice little haircut for the summer. After the full stats were analyzed Buster’s goal was to lose 13lbs over a 37 week period. 

"I am lovin' my new haircut..." - ML

We started Buster on his new food – which contains more fibre to allow him to feel fuller longer and he seems to be okay with the transition. We do of course reach his quota by 2:00pm though…baby steps, baby steps...

A phone-call recently from the vets told us that Buster was their “Biggest Loser” for the July/August period, having lost an astonishing 12% of his body-fat (1.3kg/2.9lbs) and I went down to collect his prize.

(the next update will be Buster showing off his new Speedo)

Blog by Brigid Coult & Maureen Lahaise

Photos by Brigid Coult, Maureen Lahaise, & Michele Wright

A new look at some favourites



Ann, one of our Kitty Comforters, visits regularly on a Sunday afternoon with her two daughters, Ava and Selena. Both girls have a magic touch with cats.   Imagine my delight when some new pictures arrived in my inbox – Selena has a magic touch with a pencil too!

 





Deety - DW

Selena says:

“I can only come on Sundays because I work during the week but I wish I could come to the sanctuary more often. It's my favourite place to be besides my own home!! My absolute favourite cat there is Puffin, he's perfect and beautiful and I love him...and my other favourite is Dirky. I sponsor both of them!

Puffin - CC

 Other friends I love are Daisy, Yoda, Darwin, Renee, Peppercorn, and Dell!

 

Daisy - MW

I have two cats at home, Zoe and Oreo, and they are both great!! I've wanted to draw some of the cats for a while now but I wanted to practice a bit since I don't draw animals often. :)

Paolo - MW

The 6 cats that I drew are all favourites of my family!”

 

Belinda - MW

When these pictures started going the rounds there was instant interest in matching image with original – and it was surprisingly easy!  Selena’s pictures are so full of the personality of her models.

 

Bubba - MM

We’ll look forward to seeing what else will come from her talented fingers!

Blog by Brigid Coult & Selena Marchetti

Pictures by Selena Marchetti and Candy Chen, Marianne Moore, Debbie Wolinski & Michele Wright

Black cat syndrome - or not?



One of my favourite jobs around the Sanctuary is taking new Sunday visitors around and introducing them to some of my favourite cats.  Frankly, I’m sometimes better with cat names than I am with people names, but I often hear comments about “how do you remember all those cats?”. A big part of it for me was this blog – Claire began volunteering at the Sanctuary shortly before I did, and she made a project of blogging about three cats a week. I was a regular Neko blog reader, and an increasingly frequent volunteer, and the two habits introduced me to many feline friends.

Belinda - MW

But one thing that people find surprising is the ability to identify the many black cats. There is a thing called “black dog syndrome” which describes the way big black dogs are often passed over for adoption at shelters. To some extent that’s also true for black cats – people don't see past the black fur to the personality;  and then there’s the superstition angle (though in some cultures, black cats are actually lucky!).  But it certainly explains why we have a fair number of black cats around the Sanctuary.

Bear - MW

To a certain extent, where the cat is may tell you who it is.  Big furry Bear lives in the small Leukemia area, and he’s the only black cat there, so it’s easy to pick him out.  Belinda (photo above) is a regular member of the dryer cuddle-puddle in the Single-Wide.

Mikey - MW

Mikey is our only blind cat; he came to us with some degree of sight, but an infection left him without vision. He has taken the med-cage as his sanctuary, but regularly makes his way out into the back pens where he can curl up and ignore the other cats.

Deety - MW

Deety can hardly be missed by visitors to the double-wide; he has his own place on the shelf next to the refrigerator. For some years he rarely moved from it, but threatening arthritis made Catherine start him on an exercise program (taking him to the far end of the Sanctuary and making him walk back), and he can now be found out and about quite often (though he still needs to be lifted back to his perch.

Skouch - MW

Sid - BC

It’s in the back courtyard that our biggest concentration of black cats tends to gather, and one has to be observant of quirks in facial structure or fur quality to be able to tell them apart.  Skinny Skouch is an easy cat to ID, and so is tubby Sid, trundling between visits to his friend Pancake on the double-wide deck and life in the open air.  Sweet Kilmer, with his somewhat bewildered air, is identifiable as our black Manx; Kenya has recovered from vestibular disease, but has a permanent head-tilt. 

Kilmer - PH

Kenya - MW



But there are several cats who take careful examination to make sure you have the right name.  Colin, Luigi, Mistletoe, CIL (named for the paint facility where he was found), Poosie, Ninja – all look fairly similar at first sight, and need careful checking. But once you’ve identified the cat, all the little quirks of behaviour start showing themselves, and the personalities blossom.  

Colin - PH

Colin is a feeding-time boy, a leg-rubber and a prancer when cans are being opened. Look for the lynx-tips on his ears. Friendly CIL has the same broad face as wary Mistletoe, but you can feel the difference in their coats.

Luigi - MW

Luigi sports one white whisker, and a little coloured marking in his right iris. Poosie has amazing dark pupils to her eyes, rather like Deety – and an intense dislike of other cats. Sweet Ninja is also a cat who walks by himself, but in a nice way; he has the softest coat and the most luxuriant tail for a short-haired cat – and true to his name, he loves rapid movement and can sometimes be found sprinting up the back courtyard to the tree.

Ninja - PH

 

Ninja - MW

It’s sad when potential adopters at a shelter can’t look past the “black cat” label to discover the shades of personality that we are able to enjoy here at the Sanctuary.

 

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Phaedra Hardman & Michele Wright

 

 

Sanctuary cats in repose

"Yawn~*"
Ninja

With hundreds of cats living at the sanctuary, it's not surprising that they've come up with quite a variety of sleeping arrangements. Here are photos of just a few.

Many thanks to everyone who's donated beds and bedding to keep them all warm and comfy. And thanks to staff and volunteers for making sure that cats who associate comfy with what we'd consider uncomfy have a steady supply of smallish boxes to squeeze themselves into.

Tang

Bingo, Elaine & Co.

It can be hard to tell where one snugglepuss ends and the other begins

Pickle and Cheetah

Wait, that sleeping buddy's not even real!

Tugboat recycles, cat style

Roly thinks he fits just fine, thanks
photo by Phaedra

Lincoln

Logan dares you to mock his basket

Mario doesn't really care what you think of his basket
photo by Ann

Cha Cha doing the upside-down cha cha

Deety lounging in his car bed