Fabian

Fabian, hiding in the gardens  (KN)

Shy Fabian came to us last year. Many of our cats come through other shelters, but this boy was a feral who we helped to trap after he was found marking someone's front porch. He was terrified when he came in - so much so that the med-staff couldn't easily do an assessment, and it had to wait till the hospital had time for him, and it could be done under sedation. He was an intact male with many small wounds, presumably from fighting; he was lucky not to have FIV or FeLV. The hospital cleaned him up, neutered him (which helped with some of the aggression), treated his injuries and de-flea'd him before he came back to us.

KN

In common with most of our new cats, he had a period in a cage, offering the Kitty Comforters a chance to see if he could be socialised. He remained scared, was not to be tempted by food or petting, and on release from his cage, he joined the other timid cats on the back deck of the Double-Wide trailer.  There he was able to find the inaccessible (to humans) perches high up on the walls, and stare down on us with a carefully blank “I am not interested in anything you can offer” expression on his face.

Watching from above  (BC)

For years the cats on the deck had accessed the great outdoors by going through the main building and the laundry room – for many of them that was a scary prospect, only to be executed when minimal humans were around. Last summer handyman Ken installed a cat door in the emergency exit on the deck – and many of the residents took the opportunity for The Great Escape.

The DW deck heatseekers  (KN)

For many of them that amounted to lolling around in the sun close to the exit. A few, like Hickory, ventured further a bit too quickly and then panicked when they couldn’t immediately find their way home; he now happily ventures all over the place. But because cats tend to be territorial, they almost all continued to return to the DW Deck in the evenings for dinner and together-time.

Fabian snoozing  (KN)

Not Fabian...

Fabian ventured out with the others, but he recovered his sense of self as a feral cat who lived outdoors, and he decided that the deck was no longer home. He took up residence with the McLeod cats at the back of Pen 1, and they seemed to accept him easily enough.  

And he discovered Mercury.

Mercury was the shyest of that colony, and he welcomed Fabian as a fellow scaredy-cat. The two of them generally share quarters in one of the straw-filled dog-houses at the back, and can sometimes be seen enjoying the sun and their solitude.

Good to cuddle with a buddy on a cold day  (LBF)

Interestingly, Mercury has started to show his courage, and comes to hover on the edge of the chicken-treat crowd. He hears when I call and saunters towards the others as if it really doesn’t matter – but he’s quick to pounce when a treat comes his way, and sometimes he stands his ground when approached, and accepts the treat by hand.  Fabian has not joined his buddy. I came face to face with Fabian while scooping a box at the back of Pen 1 last week; he froze while I worked, and I tried not to make eye contact, but as soon as he felt I was a little too close for his comfort, he was up and out of there. Convincing this feral boy that we only wish him well will take much time and patience!

Hiding away  (KN)

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Brigid Coult and Karen Nicholson

Update: Very sad to report that less than a month after this blog, we lost Fabian to cancer. One of the problems with feral cats is that they hide their discomfort, and by the time it was discovered, it was too late.  Rest well, Fabian 😿

Mercury

Mercury (LBF)

Mercury is one of the group we sometimes refer to as the McLeod cats, trapped during the summer of 2019 in a big operation that brought in around 60 adults and kittens. The young kittens were tamed and adopted out, the older adults remembered what it was like to be tame, and found homes – and what we were left with was a group of “teens” who only knew how to be feral.  Kitty Comforters spent hours with them, but in the end, only brave Aphrodite proved to be tame enough to be adopted out, and the others are just Sanctuary-tame – willing to appear, if there’s food motivation, but not ready for much in the way of contact with humans.

Mercury  (LBF)

The genes of this family are strongly set for black and orange colouring – no tabbies here!  The group has largely relocated to Pen 1 – initially to the perimeter kennels and undergrowth, and more recently (encouraged by cold winter days) to the Pen 1 cabin. All except Mercury – the archetypal “fraidy-cat” prefers to rely on his own warm coat, and on finding a snuggle-buddy, and prefers not to feel trapped inside a building.  

Juno, Nyx, Mercury, Fabian (LBF)
hiding behind the kennels

In the last while he has met up with another timid cat; Fabian was one of the DoubleWide deck ferals who discovered the new cat door last summer, and has never returned indoors. Fabian and Mercury spend a lot of time together, and are much more relaxed – unless there’s a human around, in which case there are identical expressions of horror on their faces. 

Mercury and Fabian  (LBF)

Mercury is practically a twin to Sprocket, another back courtyard cat. Sprocket came to us about a year before, but from the same area, so they’re likely related – cousins, at the least!  Sprocket is also a feral, but a more relaxed one than Mercury – you can generally tell from the expression on the face which cat it is that you’re seeing.

L: Sprocket (KN) - R: Mercury (LBF)

The McLeod sibs have discovered that some humans bring tasty offerings, and they will often join the enthusiastic group waiting for the next tidbit; black Nyx, in particular, is very keen on food and will hover hopefully. But increasingly, Mercury has become part of the group, though he prefers to stay in peripheral vision so that he can pretend you’re not looking at him. He is easily daunted by other more assertive cats, but having backed off, he sneaks back into range, hoping for another handout. If other cats move out of the way, he will occasionally brave the peril of accepting food directly from a hand.

A little ecstatic wriggling!  (LBF)

The "ready to run" posture occasionally gives way to relaxation;  it's good to see that he can play - though cat-toys don't seem to appeal. However, with some things he does not lack assertiveness!  You would think that a Cat Sanctuary would be high on the avoidance list for most rats, but there are obviously some stupid ones who think they’ll never be noticed.  Anyone doing the morning shift in the back pens needs to be aware of the odd dead body, but it’s not often that we see the hunt in action!  

The mighty hunter  (KN)

We love it when a formerly feral cat decides to allow touch, or even to become a lap-cat. But there are many cats here, like Mercury, who are likely to remain feral all their lives, and it’s important to us that we respect their comfort level, and allow them uncaged space. We are grateful to all the donors and sponsors whose support makes this possible.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen & Karen Nicholson

Gardens and Gattos

Mercury (LBF)

Many of our cats have come to the Sanctuary as untamed ferals, and the experience of being caged is very uncomfortable for them – necessary, initially, because we need to take time to assess them and have the Kitty Comforters work with them – but often not something that can be sustained.

Fabian  (KN)

These are the cats who, in other circumstances, would be deemed unadoptable, and euthanized;  they don’t want anything to do with us, and in the buildings, they try to stay high up and out of the way, or hidden behind a drape. In the gardens they can find hiding places in the greenery.

Chirpy supervising planting  (KN)

Lindor helping with choices   (KN)

The Sanctuary is truly a sanctuary for them, because there are so many places they can hide, especially if they are back-courtyard cats. We have several volunteers who are gardeners, and much work has gone into filling flower beds, so that they can also be safe cat-beds. 

Leonardo diCatprio  (KN)

Preparing the garden to do some new planting always brings a few feline helpers, and planting needs to be done quickly to avoid too many deposits in the fresh soil. 

Hillie  (KN)

Some plants, like lilies, are not good for cats to be around, and they have been carefully eradicated; roses rather than lilies have gone into the beds, as well as splashes of colour with red runner beans (tasty for humans) and nasturtiums.  Summer interns have seen to the regular watering of both front and back gardens, and emptied water-bowls keep things moist.

Rico  (LBF)

Charlotte staying out of reach  (KN)

There is netting all around the Sanctuary to keep the cats in and the coyotes out – but the mesh is hidden for the most part by shrubbery, which offers shy cats all kinds of place to hide. Japanese knotweed springs up very quickly around the edges, and needs constant cutting back – but the cats in the north pens like it for shade and sleeping places.

Kramer   (LBF)

Some of the pens are grassed, and it’s often allowed to grow to give comfy corners for snoozing; maintaining it is hard, though, since the little feline “gifts” in the grass make a standard mower impractical, and the weed-whacker is pretty noisy.

Racks  (MRJ)

Potted Holland  (KN)

In the pens that are largely paved, greenery is provided with potted plants, and climbing plants. And if the pots are large enough, they provide another comfy place for resting.

Chaga  (MW)

Pen 6 has both real and artificial grass – but many of the inhabitants like to be up on the waist-level walkway where they can have shade and hiding places in overhanging plants, or sitting on the window-ledge of their play-hut.

Sandy goes climbing (KN)

Trees have their place too – both to provide leafy hiding places, and to allow for some height. We were all concerned when feral Sandy needed a back leg amputation to rid her of a cancer; it’s good to see that it hasn’t slowed her down much, and she’s even trying a little tree-climbing.

Ollie  (LBF)

Even Ollie will abandon his bed on the clean laundry to go out and enjoy a little sunshine and smell the flowers - and Alfred will take time out from bugging other cats to enjoy the garden world.

Alfred  (LBF)

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Marla Rae Jenkins, 

Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright