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

The Feline Sedins are not retiring from the Sanctuary!

Back in 2006, RAPS founder Carol Reichert trapped two handsome ginger boys under an east Richmond shed, and brought them to the Sanctuary.  And what else can you do with a pair like this other than name them for the Canucks' most famous redheads!

Henrik

Daniel and Henrik (feline version) were a pretty feral pair, and joined the rest of the front courtyard crowd of cats who prefer to steer clear of humans. The majority of those cats hang out in what’s known as the old Rabbit Area, where the shelves are all covered, giving lots of secure hiding spaces for the wary inhabitants.

Henrik hiding

In the years around their arrival the Sanctuary was particularly busy;  there was a big influx of cats who were displaced by construction around the city, and more and more places where feral cats had been hiding out were either no longer available to them, or the human caretakers felt that cats would be safer elsewhere.  Photos from round 2006-2008 make it clear that we were swamped with feline residents, and it was very easy for cats like these two to vanish into anonymity.

Daniel 

By the beginning of the second decade the tide was turning, prompted mainly by an ageing population. Cats who had arrived in the early years of the Sanctuary as mature adults were beginning to fail, and many were lost to the inevitable onset of kidney disease, cancer and other conditions.  Sad as this was, it meant that many cats who had previously managed to stay invisible were now being tracked, both for their health and for possible socializing. A blood test during a vet check showed that Henrik had tested positive for feline leukemia.

Henrik

This was the period in which the Val Jones corner of the courtyard was cordoned off and attached to the Old Aids area, housing the leukemia cats. Henrik was settled there, and made himself at home with friends like Esme, Mocha, Savannah and GusGus.  All have now passed, but Henrik is still in good condition – the virus has affected his immune system in the form of mouth ulcers, and they can be treated with medication, though that in turn causes him to put on weight (and he is NOT a small cat!)

Daniel & Cloverleaf

Classic Daniel cuddle-puddle

His brother Daniel has continued living with the other ferals.  He is more sociable than Henrik, and usually has a buddy or two (or three) following him around, head-butting and snuggling happily.  Cloverleaf is usually the favoured friend, but Sarah, Jamie, or newcomer Figaro also like to be in on the action, either out in the courtyard or in the Hill House.  In the last while Daniel has also become more sociable with people;  Henrik continues shy, though he will accept attention when offered – especially when treats are part of the package.

Daniel & Sarah

Our two ginger brothers are beloved inhabitants of the front area of the Sanctuary; Henrik’s life is a little quieter these days, but Daniel shows no sign of retiring from action.

Blog by Brigid Coult

All photos by Michele Wright

 

 

October 2018: Sadly, we lost Daniel to acute anaemia quite suddenly. His friends - human and feline - miss him!

Jamie

There are certain areas where you can usually meet certain cats.  Jamie is a boundary cat!

MW

The Hill House is something of a cat co-op, with lots of beds and plenty of shared space. Often you can go straight to a specific bed when you want to find Faline, for instance, and Treacle always had her own little corner. Other cats will migrate from bed to bed, and there is often a puddle of mutual adoration on the top of the trolley that divides the room.

MD

The trolley also abuts the window into what we call the Old Rabbit Area (it’s a long time since there were any rabbits there!) which is usually the home for the feral cats. In contrast to the open beds in the Hill House, this area has all its shelves draped with sheets in the summer and with blankets in the winter, so that timid or shy cats can find a space to hide.

MW

Jamie can’t quite make up his mind where he belongs. Sometimes he’s tucked in a basket with the other ferals, other times he’s rubbing and bunting and purring with the other cats in the Hill House – especially when food is in the offing.  For some time he’s been a very shy cat, but the last year or so has seen great progress, and Jamie has some devoted human fans who always spend time with him.

MW

Leslie tells me that he came to the Sanctuary in 2008 when Carol Reichert trapped a mama cat, who was named Caroline, and her three babies. Mama-cat disapproved of the whole thing, and excavated her way out via a vent in the Hill House (which has since been securely blocked). Two of the three kittens were recovered, but Caroline and baby III made a clean getaway.

MW

Jamie was named for Leslie’s daughter Jaime, and initially it was thought he was a she, but the inevitable vet-check straightened that out and the spelling was adjusted.  Jamie’s sister is the pretty little grey and white Janine, who was featured in the 2015 calendar.

Janine - MW

The love-puddle in the Hill House is usually led by ginger boy Daniel, who seems to be very popular. A variety of other cats get into it – tabby Cloverleaf, black Shady, grey Sarah. But Jamie is always there in the middle of the action, and accepts caresses from cats and humans alike with great enthusiasm.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Melanie Draper and Michele Wright; video by Carol Porteous