Mr Love-Bug

 

A handsome senior!  (KN)

I don’t think there’s anyone who works in the Connor building who doesn’t love our sweet Vesper.

Vesper with his beloved Fable  (MW)

This handsome tuxedo gentleman – now about 15 years old – came to us in 2017 in company with his “brother” Fable, a Siamese.  The two of them were surrendered to us for “inappropriate urination”, but we never had any clear evidence of it, and came to the conclusion that it was probably a stress-peeing situation in the home.  They were devoted to each other; both would do little solo outings into the Front Courtyard but they always returned to cuddle together.

Vesper solo  (MW)

Fable suddenly passed in March of 2021, and poor Vesper was alone.

Kiwi with Vesper  (DW)

In 2019 we had taken in a group of cats from an Alberta shelter that was closing. Among them was a trio of sweet semi-feral calicos – two of them (Melon and Honeydew) with classic white-fur and calico markings, and one (Kiwi) with much more black in her calico colouring.  The three were wary of human contact – something that improved over their years with us – but they enjoyed the company of other cats. 

Did someone say chicken?  (JS)

After Fable passed, Kiwi became Vesper’s comforter, and they could often be found curled up together on a shelf in the Connor building, or flirting from one shelf to another.  But Kiwi passed suddenly from FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis) in December 2023 – she was only 6 – and Vesper was alone again.

Can I room with you?   (BC)

This time, however, it wasn’t a long transition.  Tabby Dominique had obviously been keeping her eyes on the handsome man, and she was quick to move in and fill the space in his bed. Dominique had come to us through a local trapping operation in the summer of 2021; she was found to be pregnant and went into fosterage to have her kittens. The kittens were socialized and taken for adoption, but Dominique’s feral roots were a little too strong, and it was decided the Sanctuary was the best place for her. She seemed largely to ignore her fellow-trappees – Chai, Speckle and Kahlua – and made herself comfortable in the Connor, where she encountered Vesper and Kiwi. The two of them were well-bonded, but occasionally we would find them snuggled up together, with Dominique keeping a careful eye on them.

He's all mine!   (BC)

Vesper & Dominique enjoying the winter sunshine  (MS)

With Kiwi’s sudden passing, Dominique was there to comfort and do her own snuggling with the widower. Cats do grieve when they have close bonds that are cut off by death – it’s obvious that Celine is still missing her beloved Hope – and Vesper was certainly in need of comfort. What nobody had expected was the involvement of a “younger woman”.  

Butterfinger  (AG)

Butterfinger had arrived in the summer of 2023, originally with the name of Butterflower – she was another of our transfers from Sammy’s Forgotten Felines in Kamloops. Like Kiwi, she was a dark calico, almost a tortie; unlike the dainty Kiwi, she was, quite frankly, a bit of a mess, soiling her bedding (she's a manx), kicking her litter around (hence the name change), and being very wary with us.  She is still pretty young – not much more than 2 years old.  

Butterfinger and Vesper  (BC)

Once out of her cage, she relaxed and became more comfortable with her surroundings, establishing herself as a champion at wand-play with the other three calicos.  When Kiwi passed and Dominique moved in, Butterfinger kept an eye open, and established herself in the same complex of shelves with the other two. Any time Dominique wasn’t around, Butterfinger would move in; Vesper was obviously flattered by the attention of another pretty girl, and before long, it was anybody’s guess who would be snuggled with him.

The ménage à trois:
Dominique, Vesper & Butterfinger   (BC)

The three of them have a fairly well-established ménage à trois now – it’s rare that you will find all three together, but usually one of them will be with Vesper and the other will be close by. There are no cat-fights;  warmth and snuggles are the important thing. The only thing perhaps a little more important to Vesper is chicken; he will edge out of the snuggle, stand on the edge of the shelf and shout until the tidbit is delivered.  We think that he’s a bit deaf and can’t hear how loud he is. It doesn’t seem to bother “his” girls – the attention of a dashing older gentleman in a tuxedo is worth the odd inconvenience to them!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Akira Graham, Karen Nicholson,
Justin Saint, Molly Sjerdal, Michele Wright

Front Courtyard Tabbies

Speckle   (MW)

Last November, I introduced shy lynx-point Chai on the blog, and mentioned that she came in to us with other cats from a local trapping operation. All of them went to the Adoption Centre, but were not ready for taming, and were transferred to us at the Sanctuary. Tabby & white Speckle is the most easily identified by her markings, but I’ve struggled to sort out the other two from all our other front-courtyard "plain" tabbies. Some of them have already had their blog moments in the sun; here they are again, with our newcomers.

Freya (BC) & Cricket (KN)

Freya and Cricket are well-known to us all – affectionate and confident girls. Freya, who was initially surrendered for aggression, is likely to be the greeter and leg-rubber at the gate (and occasionally a gate-buster); she likes to sleep on top of the 6’ broom closet.  Cricket endears herself by jumping up to meet the petting hand; we keep a careful eye on her because she occasionally shows a limp, though it never seems to last long. Floofy Autumn with her highlighted ruff usually hangs out on the top level of the climbing frame. Cookie Hill has mostly moved her location from the Hill House to the Yellow Shed, but is anxious for pets when someone comes to visit. In the Connor we have the more torby girls: Carly Simon, Celine Dion and Christina Aguilera and of course, pretty dilute Chirpy

Lorelei & Libby (BC)

Libby was introduced as part of a feral group that came to us from VOKRA. Her brother, grey Solar, has settled well, and particularly loves Carol Porteus, who comes to feed twice a week – he knows she’s always good for particularly tasty offerings. Libby, though, is not comfortable with humans and hovers between the feral Old Rabbit Area and the Hill House. The draw in the Hill House is tubby little torby Lorelei, who Libby loves, but even loving Lorelei is not enough to tempt Libby into human contact. She looks on disapprovingly as other cats accept attention.

Kahlua (LBF) when she first came to us

Libby has the same identifying chest dot as Kahlua, who arrived last April with Chai and Speckle – but Libby’s fur has more of the classic-tabby whorls, whereas Kahlua shows the tabby stripes. Kahlua began in the Old Rabbit Area with the ferals, but has graduated to the Hill House, where she knows she can flirt with visiting humans. 

Kahlua today (KN) - confident and happy

From her beginnings with us as a feral, she has gained immensely in confidence, both on the table or shelves, and at floor level – some cats are ready to be petted in one place but not the other; at waist-height they can be fussed, but on the floor they are daunted by our size unless we get down to their level.  Kahlua just enjoys the attention, wherever it happens. She and Libby look alike, but their behaviour is very different!

Goose (KN)

Another tabby who is easily confused with Kahlua is Goose. She came to us more than a year ago from a local rescue; I believe she was originally from Manitoba. At about 8-10 months old, she was in the teenager space where she was past her best-by date for taming. Cage time was longer than usual, because she was so timid; many hours of Kitty Comforter attention  were spent just sitting and talking with her to accustom her to our presence. And, typically, once released, she still believed we were big scary monsters, and avoided being noticed.  And because she’s a very ordinary little tabby in appearance, it was easy to miss her.

Goose (LBF) in her favourite place

She loves to play, even if she still isn't sure of humans. Laser pointer, ping-pong balls, feather toys.. you name it, she'll probably play with it – in fact, she’ll wake out of a deep sleep to come play. She also LOVES cardboard boxes. She can mostly be found in the Gazebo in the centre of the front courtyard, where she hangs out with the boys – Mozart, Benny, Caleb (she is particularly attached to Caleb!) and enjoys the comfort of the heat lamp.

Dominique (MW)

The last little tabby came to us a little later than her buddies Speckle, Chai and Kahlua, because it turned out that she was pregnant, and she went into fosterage to have her kittens. They tamed and were adopted, but she remained wary, and was brought to join the others. She had originally been named Domino, but since we’ve had two Dominos (one adopted) and currently have another Domino (male) in New Aids, she was renamed as Dominique.  Rather than joining the other ferals, she stayed near Chai in the Connor area, and can often be found near the gate.

Dominique (KN)

Though clearly tabby-marked, her fur is more agouti-patterned, with torbie hints of orange in it. Dominique is very food-motivated, and the offer of treats is a major incentive to hang around certain humans!

Most of us struggle to identify all our black cats correctly. The tabbies, too, tended to get lumped into “the tabbies” group – but there are enough differences in appearance that a little detective work has helped ID them, and allow their personalities to shine through!

Blog by Brigid Coult

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

Shy Chai

Chai  (MW)

Some of our Sanctuary cats come directly to us – either by arrangement with a former owner, or through another shelter.  Cats that are adoptable go, if there is room, to the Adoption Centre. This summer and fall it has been very full of youngsters who were fostered by the many wonderful people who take on pregnant moms and see them through their last litters.  However, we still have cats coming in as local strays.  A group of these, this past summer, included pretty Chai and her buddies Dominique and Kahlua;  all spent a bit of time in the Adoption Centre but were obviously ferals, rather than just scared, shy cats, and were eventually transferred to us at the Sanctuary.

Chai (LBF)

They had an initial cooling-off period in cages before they were let out.  Many of our visitors know about the feral cat pens in the back, but what is not so obvious is that there are a lot of ferals in the front courtyard as well. Visitors rarely see them – there are a lot of places to hide – but those of us who volunteer know that most ferals prefer dawn and dusk to emerge and explore.  I need to spend some more front courtyard time to try and sort out who’s who – there’s a trio of little tabbies (Kahlua and Dominique are two of them) that I’m still trying to tell apart, and there are a whole lot more black cats – and nobody can hide like a black cat!

a favourite spot for watching through the fence... (KN)

The three of them split up;  Kahlua hangs out between the Hill House and the feral area known as the Old Rabbit Area;  Dominique can be found around the gazebo – and wherever chicken is on offer!  Chai preferred to stay in the vicinity of the Connor House. Dominique likes the Connor too, but she and Chai don't seem particularly close. As you can see, it’s very hard for Chai to be anonymous; we rarely have such a pretty girl as this and she stands out (when she’s not hiding).

on guard at the Connor  (KN)

My first instinct was to label her as a silver tabby – she has the clear tabby M on her head, and her darker markings are characteristic tabby.  But those blue eyes say something else, and she’s defined in our records as a lynx-point Siamese – a tabby/Siamese combination. Female cats can give birth to kittens sired by more than one male, so we don’t know whether Chai has her looks from the genetics of her ancestry, or whether a local Siamese male got lucky at the right time.

what iz?...

ewww....

do I have to?...  (KN)

She will go into the Connor building – especially if the door remains open and there is food on offer – but she’s wary about being confined, and her favourite places to hang out are on the various shelves on the porch. She likes to sit by the fence and watch for birds and rodents; she's obviously a would-be hunter!  I’ve not managed to pet her yet, but I’m told that when she is backed into a corner, she will (reluctantly) accept touch. She’s not as food-motivated as Dominique, and watching her eat, you get the feeling she’s a little picky, so finding her tame-the-feral button may not be easy.  But we have a lot of patient people – staff and volunteers – who will spend time to coax her out of hiding, and teach her that life at the Sanctuary is pretty good.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Karen Nicholson & Michele Wright