Meowvember

MW

Traditionally November is a month in which many men grow a moustache as a part of raising funds for issues around men’s health (Movember).  There’s no ‘tache-growing going on around the Sanctuary, but an interesting variety of facial fur markings can be seen.

BC

Digby is one of our relative newcomers, and his moustache marking suits his personality, which is dominant, to say the least!  He’s not afraid to tell other cats where to get off, especially when they encroach into his space.  Digby came in at the same time as Magpie, who has a similar ‘tache, but in reverse – white on black fur. Magpie is a pretty hissy feral, and has not cooperated over having his picture taken.

MW

Smoochie’s little Hitler-moustache belies his gentle nature.  Very timid for a while when he lived in the Leukemia area, he has now a wide variety of human friends. He hangs out with his buddies Bear and Hendrik in the Val Jones area.

Mya - MW

Feline moustaches are not, of course, confined to males. Mya, one of the ferals from the composting facility, has a most impressive Chaplin-type moustache marking. Her late sister, Teagan, was one of the cats with a half-tache, and shy sister Kirstie’s marking covers her entire nose. It’s too erratic to be called a moustache, but she does have a little black chin that might double for a goatee!

Brighton - CP

There’s obviously something genetic here – Brighton and Hillie also came from the same venue. Hillie’s nose is mostly black; Brighton has a much more impressive spread of coloured fur over her upper lip.

Woody - MD

Woody is one of the relative newcomers to New Aids, and like Brighton, his ‘tache has a good spread. Many men who grow their facial hair find that it comes in quite dark; it’s pretty rare to find someone with dark hair and a fair moustache. We do have a few white moustaches in the Sanctuary. Magpie, mentioned above, is a prime example, 

Salish - MW

but so is shy Salish, whose pencil moustache is just visible in her long fur.

Honey Bear - ChrisP

Honey Bear’s ‘tache is as off-balance as he is, with more white on the right side than the left

Comet (MW) & Rocky Slippers (DW)

And these two look almost identical, though as far as we know, they’ve never met. Comet is an assertive lady who dominates the cage-tops in the DoubleWide; Rocky Slippers is a nervous and shy feral boy who hangs out mostly in Pen 1 area and won’t allow anyone to touch him.

This is not taking into account all the cats who have half-taches on one side or the other – Chester, Mischa, and many others

But I think one of my favourites is an implied rather than an explicit moustache – Emily’s dark markings in all her tortie fur always look to me as if she has a little pencil-thin handlebar moustache, though to be sure, it’s stronger on one side than the other!

Emily - PH

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Melanie Draper, Phaedra Hardman, Chris Peters, Carol Porteous, Debbie Wolanski, Michele Wright

Chimo has changed!

When we met Chimo  he was NOT a happy camper!  He arrived with us last August, and, as usual with new cats, spent a while in a cage to allow him to get used to the sights and smells of other cats around.  Many of the volunteers were very wary with him even when the “Med staff only” notice came off his door; Chimo was liable to dive at an intruder, and legs were fair game.

PH

Marianne wrote the blog about him in September; she heads up the team of Kitty Comforters, and she has endless patience with cats like this. As she said, it was obvious that though trapped outside, his was not feral-cat behaviour; he appeared to be eager to engage with humans, but just didn’t know how to do so in an acceptable way. She played with him gently, teaching him that feather toys and the like were fine for grabbing, but fingers were not!

MM

Towards the end of September the door of Chimo’s cage was opened. Many of the feral cats in the Double-Wide head for the back deck, and a quieter life among other similarly wary cats.  Chimo sat in his cage for a while and then made a break in the other direction, heading for the back courtyard. There was some consternation – the Sanctuary is as cat-proof as we can make it, but as little Amber taught us, a determined cat can sometimes find a way out.  It was soon clear that Chimo had gone to ground behind the building we call Waldie’s Hut, and was hanging out with ferals like Quinn and Maureen.

There were several evenings when Leslie could be seen hunting round in the corners with a flashlight, and eventually reporting that Chimo would occasionally show his nose. And then he started appearing of his own accord; usually at the end of the day when things got quieter, he would materialise and have a little visit and then vanish again.
I was away for a couple of weeks after Christmas. On my first Sanctuary shift I passed though the double gates to the back courtyard, expecting to be greeted by the usual committee – Hannah, Fat Lucy, Emily and so on.  My greeter was a little pale orange cat who weaved around my ankles, demanding attention. It wasn’t until I noticed his tail that I realised this was Chimo, totally comfortable with human contact.

Chimo has become a regular sight between the gate and the tea-room; he can be found holding court up on the table or doing his best deluxe cat-wriggle on the doormat.  He’s occasionally a little pushy with other cats, but we have to remember that he’s still quite young and full of energy; he’s ready to play physical games, while the older guys prefer to be couch potatoes. With humans he still prefers the ankle-rub technique, though careful stroking is permitted.

There are few things as rewarding as watching a formerly wary cat relax into being a comfortable part of life at the Sanctuary!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Phaedra Hardman, Marianne Moore & Michele Wright

A Touch of Tortitude

With more than 400 cats around the Sanctuary, there’s an immense variety of types and colours. Tabbies of various kinds predominate, but there are many other coats to be seen. The majority of our orange cats are male, but we do have half a dozen orange females. The orange coat is a genetic trait that occurs through the male X chromosome, and a female cat with orange fur has to have been sired by a male orange, through the mother may be of any colour. This is also true for tortoiseshells and calicos, both of which are almost exclusively female. In both cases the gene for the orange colouring is modified by the gene for black or for white fur.

Alyssa - Lulu - Vienna - PengPeng - Sophie

We probably have more than a dozen torties, a few of whom are shown above.  Anyone who has ever been owned by a tortie will tell you that they have tons of personality – we call it “tortietude”. They tend to be assertive about their rights, possessive of their territory, feisty and somewhat unpredictable.

Treacle - BC

Nobody at the Sanctuary sums that up better than Treacle. A little stiff-legged girl (probably a little arthritic), Treacle has claimed the Hill House as her space, and once she’s found her bed, she does NOT want to be bothered by other cats!  She loves humans – she’s one of the cats you can pick up and snuggle, and she adores it – but when there are front courtyard spats, it’s usually because Treacle is laying down the law. 

Treacle - MW

She’s what’s known as a chocolate tortie, with a lot of black in her fur colouring. Treacle carries her “my space” bubble around with her, and woe betide the cat that ventures into it.

In a totally different vein is Nelly, a dilute tortie, found in the DoubleWide. She was the long-term girlfriend of our dearly loved Mario, and has never really recovered from his death – one gets the feeling she’s still looking for him. Nelly’s territory is the top of the cages, from which she stares down with the slightly horrified expression of the typical feral.

Nelly - MW

But progress is being made – though she still won’t allow herself to be touched, she will now accept treats, and occasionally comes down to join the crowd outside the med-cage.

Nelly - BC

As you leave the DoubleWide, you will encounter a tortie who exemplifies tortietude.

 

Emily - MW

Emily takes territory to an extreme. For months she hung out on a cat-tree just outside the tea-room. Then she was slated for some dental work and caged while she recovered. Once the cage was open and Emily was free to go, she decided that this was her new territory, and refused to leave. It took months before she decided that there were too many cats encroaching on her territory, and she needed to claim something more her own. Now she’s moved to the shelf just outside the DoubleWide, where she demands attention as we come and go.

Emily - PH

Now that the weather is warming a bit, Emily can once more be found outside the tea-room – especially if there’s chicken on offer – but she’s back on her shelf for the evening, and waiting to have her own special dinner delivered.

Daisy - MW

We can’t leave the torties without mentioning Daisy. She also has personality to an extreme degree – like, 180 degrees away from Treacle. Daisy has never met someone who isn’t her friend. She probably has a chromosomal disorder something like Down Syndrome (cats only have 38 chromasomes, so true Down Syndrome, which is a disorder of the 21st chromosomal pair, is not possible). We regularly have Sunday visitors who arrive asking, “Where’s Daisy?” and both cat and human enjoy snuggles; Daisy is one of the few Sanctuary cats who is relaxed when cradled like a baby.  As a feral cat, Daisy’s chances would have been poor. We feel that she’s a poster girl for the Sanctuary.

Daisy - MW

 

Blog by Brigid Coult

Pictures by Brigid Coult, Phaedra Hardman, Michele Wright

Letting Sleeping Cats Lie

When Sunday guests arrive for the first time, almost inevitably they will ask “Can I take pictures?” and the cell phones come out and start clicking away.  Staff and volunteers also have cell-phones to hand – sometimes to try and verify the identity of yet another black cat, sometimes to catch an exchange between cat and human – and always to watch for that moment where, even in sleep, the cat’s personality shines through.

This week’s blog is a sampling of sleeping cats from Michele, Phaedra and Moira – and undoubtedly there will be more to come…

The Stretch
Elliott loves this position on the front steps on a sunny day. (ML)

Emily has recently taken to being an indoors-only cat  (MW)

The Ball
Cheetah is long and lanky, but loves to sleep all curled up  (MW)

Mikey is our blind cat who still manages to find his way to the med cage for treats.
His curl-up sleeping position tells other cats "Don't bug me!"   (MW)

The Sprawl
We all have pictures of Fred in one or another of his inelegant sleeping positions (PH)

 

The Sun-Seeker
Though usually a bathroom cat, Baby enjoys the chance to catch a few rays (PH)

The Box
Baloo is not a fan of other cats - and is never happier than when she can curl up in a box alone (MW)

 

The Face-Plant
Sadie has obviously had an exhausting day exercising her claws on everybody's pants legs (MW)

 

 

  

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Phaedra Hardman, Moira Langley & Michele Wright



That little pink tip...

We tend to think of cats as serene, elegant creatures – and for the most part, they are. At the Cat Sanctuary, we do have our raggedy, battered-looking favourites, and we know that when a cat starts looking unkempt it’s usually a sign of ill-health, and a quick trip to the vet follows. But for the most part, the cats do their own grooming, and lounge around looking picturesque.
Until you look closer...

Star
Yes, that’s a tongue sticking out. Sometimes it’s deliberate

Cappuccino - BIG yawn

Or a sign of concentration

Sara Lee - waiting to sample the first can of food

But for the most part it’s a signal to us that this is a cat that has had more than a few visits to the dentist, and has lost the front teeth that keep the tongue in place – so when the cat is relaxed, that cute little pink tip peeps out.

Chickadee sleeping (by Phaedra)

As humans, we’re aware that we have to look after our teeth – and sometimes that necessitates a dentist visit. But many non-cat people (and some cat-owners as well) don’t always realise that the same is true for their feline friends. And just like humans, some cats have naturally good teeth that never seem to need attention, others require a little care from time to time, and a few always have trouble with their teeth.
So we watch for a cat that is drooling a bit, or shows signs of being uncomfortable eating, and a vet visit quickly follows. There are several cats in the Sanctuary with no teeth at all. Surprisingly, it doesn’t seem to make any difference to their liking for crunchy treats!

Chatter - "Treats, please!"

There are vets that recommend brushing your cat’s teeth. The thought of trying to do this with some of our feral cats is more than a little frightening – we rely mainly on good food and daily attention. It is noticeable that with our aging cat population, the dental bills have increased – but that’s just part of what goes with running the Sanctuary. 

Emily (by Phaedra)
But some cats just stick their tongues out because they like to!  Most of them have the ability to curl them way forward to get every tasty bit off the nose

Dusty
And like humans, some have the ability to curl them inwards

Minky
But for most of them, they do it just because it’s a sign of contentment, or that’s what’s most comfortable!

Rob Zombie

 

Marmalade

And the prize for the best tongue must go to a cat who is much shyer than he looks…

Dino

 

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Michele Wright and Phaedra Hardman

Flat Cats

Once again the Cat Sanctuary is basking in the best of BC summer weather – and most of the cats have decided that activity is OUT.

Latte

Wherever you go, little patches of shade each hold a cat. The front courtyard has been rigged out with an awning, the new trees (thank you to Purina and Evergreen) are giving green respite and the gazebo is popular.

Puffin
In each building the fans are going, and cats have plastered themselves on shelves, so that often only the toes can be seen.

unknown toes

The barn cats find a convenient umbrella and stay out of the sun

And everywhere there are sleeping furry bodies...

Ash

Emily

Harry

Leland

Tommy

Thanks to Michele Wright and Moira Langley for the pictures