Licorice - the loner

Licorice came to us more than a year ago, having been picked up as a stray street cat in Richmond. 

Happiest in the sunshine, on his own....

He arrived about the same time as Digby, though the two were not trapped in the same area. Licorice and Digby are part of the reason that RAPS still needs to operate animal control in the city.  We may no longer have a serious feral cat problem, as we did when Richmond Homeless Cats was created, but we still have a problem with cat owners who choose not to spay or neuter their pets, and allow them to roam, creating the next generation of ferals.  Unfortunately, it’s the cats that pay the price – living feral is a risky business, between dealing with coyotes and raccoons, dodging (or failing to dodge) traffic, scrounging for food – and coping with those many perils usually make an outdoor cat’s life a shorter one.

BC

Both Licorice and Digby were unaltered males when they came to us, with the characteristic blocky muscular build of feral toms.  After neutering they were kept caged for a while to allow some of the smells of a tomcat to dissipate, as well as to get used to the smells of other cats around them.  Both emerged from their cages still full of tomcat-in-charge attitude, and many of the other cats learned to stay out of their way. In the ensuing months, Digby has relaxed into his surroundings. He’s not exactly sociable with other cats, but he enjoys finding places to relax, and he likes human attention.

Licorice's "smoke" colouring leaves him looking a bit tattered...

Licorice, on the other hand, is a troublemaker.  He continues to be something of a loner, both around cats and humans, and the proximity of other cats easily gets him stirred up. Many cats have learned to avoid him, and scuttle past, giving him a wide berth. Disabled Terry is sometimes a victim – probably because of his incontinence and therefore his pee aroma.  There is usually a spray bottle or two of water around the Double-Wide, ready for cat-fight control, and sometimes the nearest waterbowl has to be emptied over the fighters.

On the prowl...

This week, Licorice picked a fight with sweet Ollie, who just happened to be in the wrong place. Ollie's a big guy, but he's a pussycat in all senses.  He extricated himself and fled to the top of the can-storage cupboard, but by that time Licorice was all stirred up and looking for someone else to beat up. Just as in a schoolyard fight, the other cats are drawn to the sound of a disturbance, and onlookers can quickly become victims.  The beginnings of a battle with Leo were swiftly quashed with a couple of bowls of water, and Licorice disappeared into hiding.  Med-staff Leslie shut up the Newcomers area, and popped him into a cage for time-out and cooling down.  We already have several crabby girls living in the Office area, and another couple of battlers (Jasper and Spades) sequestered in the room off the Moore House; it’s difficult to know what’s going to be best for Licorice and for the other cats.  He really needs to be an only cat in a home; at the very least he needs to be part of a barn-cat program, living somewhere where he is able to roam and hunt, but where he will be checked on and supervised to some degree.

Safely on his own...

In the meantime, we’ll be watching him carefully, and keeping a spare cage handy for when life (and the presence of other cats) just gets a bit too much for poor Licorice.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Michele Wright

Digby

Digby headed up a blog entry last fall titled Meowvember – mostly due to his prominent ‘tache!

PH

This handsome tuxedo gentleman came to us in the spring, almost a year ago, having been picked up as a stray Richmond street cat. He came to us in company with Licorice, though the two were not trapped together.  An unaltered male, Digby bore the scars of life on the streets – bites and scratches, a bloody ear, a bad case of fleas. He spent the first few weeks at the City Shelter, but having proved himself to be a pee-er, he was transferred to the Sanctuary.

BC

In common with all our new cats, he was popped into a cage to give him time to acclimate to new surroundings.  He was to be a back courtyard cat – having been a wanderer, it’s often better to allow such cats to have space to roam a bit – so his cage was in the Double-Wide. Early visitors reported a generally good attitude from him, though he was easily over-stimulated and could only take so much handling before swatting or biting. Many of our Kitty Comforters are prepared to spend a good chunk of time sitting in a cage and just talking to a cat like this;  touch can always wait till the cat is truly comfortable.

DW

By the time Digby was released, he was more than ready to take in the surroundings. His neutering hadn’t done a lot to change his tom-cat-in-charge attitude; he was quite ready to throw his weight around if he felt he could get away with it, and on more than one attention he was caught beating up on some unlucky victim who happened to get in his way – earning a time-out period for himself.

With the sunny weather Digby discovered the gardens and obviously felt less surrounded by other challenging cats; he was more ready to laze around and enjoy himself, and other cats felt able to give him a wide berth.  Human visitors were more attractive to him, and his whole attitude relaxed. 

MW

Though the colder days of fall and winter have kept him and the other cats mostly indoors, the return of springlike weather has found Digby basking in the sunshine, and enjoying life at the Sanctuary – infinitely preferable to his former life on the street.

MD

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Melanie Draper, Phaedra Hardman, 

Debbie Wolanski, Michele Wright