Visiting the Shut-Ins

Plum - caged for bath-time   (MW)

One of the things that so many of our visitors adore is the freedom that the Sanctuary cats have to roam. There are limits, of course – leukemia and FIV cats have separate areas, the Single-Wide cats never go out of their building, and some of the back pens are kept closed to give the cats inside a better sense of their own territory.  But people often come, expecting cages, and are surprised to find that they are the exception rather than the rule.

Rico, when he first came to us; now he roams the back pens freely   (BC)

So why do we have cages at all? Well, any new cat needs an acclimatization period, during which they become aware of other cats around, with whom they don’t yet have to interact.  They may have vaccinations due, or be recovering from spay/neuter surgery. And they need to get to know the people who will be working with them.  Perhaps they’re a cat that someone has identified as “off colour” and they are caged so that the med staff can assess if they’re eating/drinking enough, if they’re using the litter-box – perhaps a visit from the vet or a trip to the hospital is in the cards.  We’ve recently had a group of cats from one pen, with upset stomachs – they’ve been on a special diet, and it’s taken having the whole colony of that pen on dietary restriction to get it under control (they’re all back together now, and very happy about it).  

Poor Taylor has dental problems, and many teeth pulled;
hence the tongue-tip showing   (KN)

Perhaps a cat has been diagnosed with a condition like diabetes or hyperthyroidism, and they need to have cage time to get used to being medicated – and to allow the staff to assess how that medication will be most effectively administered. Or perhaps (and this is very common) they’ve had dental surgery, and are on a no-kibble restriction (which means extra wet-food treats!)

Winston getting cage-time snuggles  (MRJ)

A cat who is caged may only see the med staff when being medicated, or a volunteer when food is being offered or the cage cleaned.  The work of the Kitty Comforters is very important with these cats, encouraging contact with the shy ones, and making sure that the social ones don’t feel abandoned.  Many of the volunteers will spend extra time with the caged cats once a shift is “finished” – because for many of us, it’s not finished until we’ve shared cuddle time with our charges.

Quinn is not happy about being caged  (BC)

My Saturday evening place is with the Double-Wide cats, and last week, having fed everyone and checked on water and kibble, I went back to spend more quality time than just simply putting a plate down.  Two of our shyest cats were tucked away in different corners:  all I got from black Michonne (pen 4) was an unfriendly hiss, but handsome tabby Quinn, though hiding in a corner, gave me his best owlish stare.  Quinn is a buddy of my sponsor cat, grey Sylar, and is usually very keen on the prospect of chicken tidbits; he rarely allows himself to be touched and I was not about to force it on him, but with this visit he was not much in a mood for eating, either.   He will be watched carefully, and force-fed if necessary.

Oscar has to be tempted to eat a little of his special food   (BC)

Our Haida Gwaii teddy-bear-cat, Oscar, liked the cage he first came to so much that he has refused to vacate it. Right now he is confined so we can see just why he’s a bit off-colour, and just what he’s eating.  The med-staff are finding little tasty plates for him, and he will sometimes eat while there is someone there to admire, and talk with him. Sadly, he is not fond of the company of other cats, so a closed cage suits him well. 

Hillie enjoying visiting time  (BC)

Cow-cat Hillie has been caged for a while with a cold;  when a cat gets congested, not only is the breathing impaired but sometimes so is the appetite, because they may not be able to smell the food. Hillie seems to be doing well, but she’s less active than usual. She was very pleased to have a visitor, and emerged from behind her drape to sniff me over and accept attention. 

KeKe is not happy about necessary medical attention  (BC)

A temporary resident in the cage opposite is cranky KeKe. She is one of our diabetic cats, and more importantly, she’s one whose blood sugar fluctuates a lot, so she needs regular glucose checks. She is not happy about this – not because it’s particularly painful (the prick of a glucometer or of an insulin needle is negligible) but because she resents being handled on someone else’s agenda. She makes her feelings known very vocally, and by changing her mind frequently about what she will eat. The med-staff offer her a regular buffet of gourmet cat-food, and she will often make it quite clear that none of it is good enough.  It can become a real battle of wills to get her to eat before she gets her insulin and is released from the cage for the rest of the evening.

Rodan is happy to be caged and fussed; the more visitors, the better!  (BC)

In the cage backing on to hers there are two cats from the same pen – sometimes the presence of another cat that is known can be a comfort to a stressed animal.  In this case, grey Odie couldn’t care less; he has established himself at floor level and does not want to be bothered, letting me know by his hissing that he does not appreciate the visit. Rodan, on the other hand, is delighted by the presence of a friend. This sweet one-eyed boy is the only cat in pen 7 who is really comfortable with humans – a good thing, because he gets recurring colds and ear infections, and is a regular user of med-staff attention. He ignores Odie, and rolls happily at shelf level, begging for petting and treats.

Luke would rather mooch for treats than eat what's on his plate  (BC)

His next-door neighbour perks up and also begs at the mesh for chicken bits. Luke, normally a back deck member of the Tuxedo Club, is our newest diabetic, and is caged to accustom him to treatment and help us get a base-line on his glucose levels. He’s not likely to be a problem to medicate – most of the diabetics are pretty easy-going about the whole process. The biggest problem is convincing them that because they demanded tuna yesterday, it’ll be equally tasty today – it seems like the moment diabetes is diagnosed, they become pickier about what they will eat than Jamie Oliver!

JackieO hasn't let the loss of her tail affect her climbing skills;
she REALLY wants to be back out again  (KN)

The last cage belongs to a sweet girl – but a visit requires a towel. JackieO came to us in 2020 as a cat made incontinent by a tail-pull injury; we had her tail amputated (it was effectively paralysed) which meant that it was easier to keep her clean. The amputation has not slowed her down one bit – she climbs and jumps and plays as much as ever, and her polydactyl paws are always busy. She’s got a messy gut problem right now, and visiting requires the visitor to be well protected; we check and change all her bedding on a regular basis, and hope her medication will sort her out quickly so she can go back out to play – at the moment it’s rather like telling a child that they have to stay in their bedroom.

Nobody likes to think of the cats being caged; at least, in the DoubleWide, they’re big cages, so human visitors can sit fairly comfortably, and let the patients know that they’re not forgotten, and that the big wide world awaits them if they’ll just hurry up and get better!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Marla Rae Jenkins, Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright

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

Adopting a Feral

More than half of our Sanctuary cats have come in as ferals.

Smithy's first reaction always used to be a hiss;
 recently he's become more curious than aggressive - BC

Feral cats are those born wild, or living wild from a very early age. They run the range from the cats that take one look at you and turn to hide (or to hiss angrily at a human interloper) to the cats who have decided that there is no better life than sitting in a human’s lap. Ferals and strays are not the same thing; a stray knows what human contact is, and though scared, may more easily revert to tame behaviour.

Our beloved Dell came in as a terrifyingly aggressive cat;
we are sure he was a stray because of how quickly he settled with us.  - MD

For many years the Sanctuary has been a refuge for ferals, as well as for owner-surrenders and health-problem cats. When we’ve had a particularly friendly cat, we have sometimes transferred it to the Shelter at 5 Road, so that it can have its chance at finding a new home.  And because for many of those years, the Sanctuary was Richmond’s best-kept secret, that was very often the only way those cats might make a new start, if they weren’t adopted by one of our volunteers.

Sandy (L) and Pebble (R) are feral sisters;  Sandy still has the horrified
feral stare and is wary of humans; Pebble loves to be petted.  - KN

What we call the semi-ferals are those cats who have adapted well to life with humans at the Sanctuary; they are often among the welcoming committee at the gate, and come looking for petting and attention. But just because they seek attention doesn’t always mean that they are adoptable – experiences with cats like Esme and Jenny led to a general no-feral-adoptions rule. A cat that appears happy to be handled at the Sanctuary may freak out when taken out of its familiar turf and put into a new home.

Sweet Jenny is entirely at home in the Single-Wide - MW

Many of us, of course, have ferals or former ferals at home. My own little Kissa, who passed last year, would hide when anyone except me or her favourite cat-sitter entered the house.  It took her more than two years of living with me before she allowed herself to lap-sit.  I have friends who care for neighbourhood ferals, who have adopted them as their humans, and who come and go from their home with great comfort.

Watson was very scared when he came in to our care;
he now lives happily with one of our volunteers.  MW

But at RAPS we feel a strong responsibility to the cats who we allow to leave in someone’s care. A cat that escapes from a new home may never return if it’s on unfamiliar territory. When you adopt a cat from the RAPS City Shelter, you will complete a questionnaire intended to ensure that you will provide a safe home for your new friend. If you adopt from the Sanctuary, you can expect, in addition, to be grilled by our Manager and/or med staff. Will this be an only cat? What is the potential access to outdoors? Do you have a room that can be a sanctuary for its first days or weeks? What’s your experience with ferals?

Peony - now called Twinkles - was a half-grown feral kitten from a composting
centre when she came to us; she's another cat who has found a home with a volunteer.  MW

Some of our former ferals we will never adopt out – cats like Simone and Latte have lived with us for years, and we would not want to have a relocation make them unhappy. For them, the compromise is sponsorship – the knowledge that you are contributing to their welfare and to a continued happy life with us. But others have become contented outgoing members of the welcoming committee, and when the right person comes along an adoption may be possible. The impetus has to come from the cat; when a visitor appears weekly and the cat makes a bee-line for them every time, discussions can take place. Sadly, many of those bonds happen with people whose situation may not allow for an adoption, and they become among our most faithful visitors in order to have time with “their” cat.

Pretty Cher is mostly a one-man cat,
and her guy comes to visit with her every Sunday - MW

The majority of adoptions from the Sanctuary are actually owner-surrender cats who may have been too stressed at the Shelter to show well, but who blossom in our hands.  Tiger, Terra, Suki (now Cassie - first blogged here by her new owner), Mookie and several others are doing very well in new homes – but the Sanctuary was never really home for them. Cats like Cricket or Silky in the front courtyard, and Willow or Hillie in the back are all a very different affair – they are all cats who have known the wild life as youngsters, and they are all used to a life without boundaries (other than the Sanctuary walls). We would need to be very sure that they had bonded with a human they had chosen, and that the potential owner understood that giving a home to a feral may be a much longer process than with a tame cat. Cricket, in particular, is outgoing and sociable with visitors (as both Jenny and Esme were), but that is no guarantee that she would be a good candidate for adoption.

Cricket loves attention - but she loves her relative freedom still more - MW

We do have feral adoption success stories – especially from among our volunteers, who establish a relationship of trust with one cat or another. But even with a feral-savvy adopter, it can take much patience, waiting for the cat to decide that it can trust again after relocation - Watson's human tells me that it took more than three months for him to come out of hiding.
Many of our ferals, friendly and shy alike, will need to live out their lives in our care, confident that with us they are in a place of safety.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Melanie Draper, Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright

Tyson

I have written before about Black Cat Syndrome, and how it doesn’t play out at the Sanctuary.

MW

Sure, there are a lot of black cats, but they all have personality, and it only takes a little individual attention to establish how that personality fits into the community.  And I think many of those black cats have at least one human who knows that cat really well, and to whom the cat responds.

MW

Tyson has been with us for the last couple of years. Rumour has it that he was an illegal immigrant – caught in a truck that had arrived from the USA.  He was brought in to the City Shelter, and his fear-aggression led them to send him over to the Sanctuary as a likely feral.   With us he continued aggressive for a while, until he realised that nobody was out to harm him. Since then he has relaxed into be a big loveable cuddle-boy, who gets along with practically everyone.

In the suspicious early days - PH

Mostly he hangs around the Tea-Room area – which means that there are a few other black cats with whom he can be confused. I have to confess that I don’t always ID him correctly in photos, but when I see him move, or with other cats, he’s easy to distinguish.  Cole is taller (Cole is taller than all the other black cats!). Jay-Z is tubbier (ditto) and has green eyes. Ninja is closest in body type, but a quick ear-sniff tells us that Ninja is the one getting medical care for his ear. Steele has longer fur, and won’t allow himself to be touched. Celia is smaller and swatty.

Tyson loves his toys - KN

Tyson’s a sort of in-between boy. He loves attention, allowing himself to be picked up and cuddled; he will happily follow around with whoever is cleaning the back pens.  Unlike Ninja, who likes to sneak through gates, Tyson is happy to go off and do his own thing, and then return when the human is free to pay attention again. He likes to play – a ball or a wand toy will keep him occupied for a while, and in the recent snowfall, he enjoyed chasing after snowballs, and destroying them by grabbing and kicking.  He is one of the few cats who seems to enjoy being held on his back, and it’s often the best way to clip his nails.

Tyson gets a pawdicure - BC

Tyson illustrates the clear difference between a stray and a feral. A stray usually knows that humans are a source of food and comfort; a feral only knows that they are to be feared. A stray may exhibit feral fear/aggression, but will often revert, like Tyson or like our big boy Dell in Pen 3, to the behaviour of a domestic cat; a feral may tame down to the point of being petted, but is rarely relaxed and comfortable with many people. Ferals Hillie and Merran have learned that humans are a Good Thing – but they remain wary with the people that they don’t really know. For Tyson, everyone is a friend; life is a party for him, and with us, he’s truly landed on his feet.

MW

Blog: Brigid Coult

Photos: Brigid Coult, Phaedra Hardman, Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright

Feral to flirty

Hillie enjoys watching the activity around - MW

One of the important differences between RAPS and many other shelters across the country is that we have the Sanctuary, and are able to walk the talk about being a no-kill organization.  Most shelters are set up to take in stray animals and to try to adopt them out – and many do an excellent job of it. But when it comes to cats, and especially cats born in the wild, it’s very difficult for the average shelter to find homes for them.  In a rural setting, it may be possible to create cat colonies on a farm, to help with rodent control, and there are an increasing number of municipal experiments on the same principle, where feral cats are being used in warehouse facilities to restrict a rat problem. But it’s a sad fact that there are still many shelters where they look at a feral cat, name it untameable, and euthanize it.

These feral cats prefer to live at the back of the pen.  MD

When feral cats come to RAPS, we are able to find them a home at the Sanctuary. They may end up being incorporated into one of the feral pens, or they may be allowed to find their way into the general population, and hide or not, as they please. Their initial period spent in a cage gives our Kitty Comforters a chance to see if any progress can be made, but we know that you can’t force-tame a cat, and some will never become comfortable around humans.

Autumn likes to flirt for attention - MW

That being said, we have had our share of successes. Pretty Autumn, in the front courtyard, has made the transition all by herself – even if it has taken her six years to do so.

Cricket is now totally at ease with us - MW

Cricket’s transition was faster – she came in as a half-grown kitten, just past the usual tameable window. We worked very hard with her, and her brother Beetle, and she resisted all our efforts. But when released into the front courtyard, she made a quick about-turn, and has become one of the friendliest cats in the place (though Beetle is still very shy).

Horatio is waiting for someone's lap - JC

Orange Horatio spent a year being untouchable, and then decided that he was in love with the med staff.  Bossanova, Gilbert and many others are now irrepressible cuddle-bugs.

Hillie is a nature girl - PH

Two arrivals within the last couple of years came from the same source; one of the places our trappers have kept an eye on for some time was a composting facility. A clowder of cats made their home there – some obviously feral, some possibly dumped. The group we call the “cow cats” came from there, and the black and white markings were common to many of them. Hillie  and Yma look very similar, but actually came to us some two years apart. The most recent arrival was a little tabby who looked nothing like the other cow-cats; his name is Merran, and he was put into the SingleWide.

Merran within reach of a hiding place - MW

For some time he was a ghost cat – mostly spending time out on the deck. Working there, you would become aware, at the edge of your vision, of a little cat watching every move but reluctant to come much closer. Gradually and with much patience, with grooming and toys (and not with treats!), Merran discovered that humans weren’t so scary.

Merran has now become an established member of the SingleWide family. He still loves his original tamer best, but he will accept play and petting quite happily from other volunteers.

Hillie allowing us closer and closer - MD

Hillie has been a familiar figure in the back courtyard for the last couple of years, but wary of contact. She is frequently found lurking in the flower-beds, or in one of the open pens; she’s not quite such an enthusiastic tree-climber as is Yma.

Yma would rather be out of reach - MW

One of our volunteers has been watching her for some time and encouraging her with play. Quite suddenly something in Hillie’s brain clicked, and she became very enthusiastic about touch, rolling and flirting and generally making it clear that she thought this was a Good Idea!

Other staff and volunteers are now reporting that Hillie is coming to them looking for attention.
Now who’s the next cat to decide to forsake the feral way?

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Jackie Chappell, Melanie Draper, Phaedra Hardman, Karen Nicholson (videos), Michele Wright

Hillie - and Yma

MW

Hillie was featured in a blog a couple of years ago, but her circumstances have changed, and I decided it was worth reintroducing her, since she’s now a very familiar figure to those of us working in the back courtyard

PH

Hillie shows her heritage clearly – she is one of the “cow cats”, rescued from a perilous life as a feral hanging round a nearby composting facility.  She is probably related to Mya  and Kirstie, in the SingleWide, and to relative newcomer Yma in the Double.

"Cow cats" - Mya, Kirstie, Hillie & Yma

For some time Hillie lived mainly in the DoubleWide deck area – an area popular with our shyer cats, like Ringo, Dazzle and several others. She and her buddy Brighton, also from the same source, hung out together, though Brighton became more social and enjoyed human interaction, whereas Hillie remained reserved, disdaining petting, though she allowed some interactive play. Sadly, we lost Brighton suddenly, to a stroke. Hillie made her way out of the DoubleWide, and has taken the whole back courtyard as her terrain.

MD

DW

She’s still not keen on much in the way of contact with humans, but she is more relaxed as she encounters us in her travels; she will sit in her characteristic tail-over-the-toes pose and listen to you talk, though she doesn’t really care to be petted.  She also doesn’t appear to interact much with other cats, although there’s no aggression there – she just prefers to be alone.

Yma - BC

Yma is one of the last cats we trapped from that same facility. She was named to belong to a “Y” litter before we knew just how unadoptable she would be. It’s likely she was sired by Pavarotti, the older male we never managed to trap, and the only “Y” singer I could think of was the extraordinary 1950s soprano Yma Sumac. Feline Yma came to us just over two years ago, and quickly joined the ferals on the DW deck – spending most of her time inside the big armchair, which is the preferred hiding place for scared cats.  Occasionally she would venture across the room to survey the area from under the shelf covering the cat-litter storage; perching on the jugs could hardly be comfortable, but she felt safer out of sight.

KN

BC

In appearance she is very like Hillie – slender, white, with black markings – so much so that you have to check markings (particularly the black nose) to see who you’re looking at.  She’s much less relaxed around us than Hillie, though, and most of the photos taken of her have to be done very surreptitiously.  At least while she’s this wary, she’s unlikely to make her way through the rest of the DW to the main door, and out into the courtyard; she’d rather stay in the area where she feels safe.

KN

An adult feral cat, born and brought up in the wild, is unlikely to become truly tame. We have a number of cats we refer to as “former ferals”, but in fact, there’s sometimes no way of knowing if you’re dealing with a feral or a stray. But cats like Autumn or Jamie, who have finally allowed themselves to be handled, are unlikely to relax to petting in the way that is possible for cats like Dell, who lives in a feral pen, but was in all likelihood a stray.  Both Hillie and Yma are a long way from allowing that contact. But at least they both have a place of safety to live, and time to decide if they might eventually allow humans into their lives.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Melanie Draper, Phaedra Hardman, Karen Nicholson, 

Debbie Wolanski, Michele Wright

July 1 update: In just the last week Yma has discovered the back courtyard, and has joined Hillie in explorations. Her latest hiding place: up the tree!

KN