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| Butternut (KN) |
Back in December I introduced
a pair of Siamese who had, separately, come into our
care. The female, Jasmine, was from the same Manitoba rescue where
Picasso originated; the male, Strike, was a more local boy, and came
to us with two other cats - we think, all around 4 years old.
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| Strike (BC) |
We understand that the three of them had lived at a home in Surrey
and that their caregiver had passed, leaving them homeless. They
were lucky enough to find a rescuer who feeds ferals in her back
garden, and she recognized that these three boys were friendly and
not your regular touch-me-not ferals. They might well be adoptable,
but the Adoption Centre is full of kittens right now, and they’re
better with us than in cages.
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| Puddin' (BC) |
On release from their initial cage stay with us, Strike decided that
he was going to stay comfy, and he settled down to base himself in
the Double-Wide. Puddin’, on the other hand, took himself as far
away from the building as he could, and settled himself in Pen 3, at
the east end of the Sanctuary.
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| Puddin' out on a snowy day (KN) |
Pen 3 is the one with all the Alberta
cats, and they’re all pretty friendly; without plunging into a new
social life, Puddin’ made himself at home there. He can usually be
found by himself, but it’s less a “stay away from me”
alone-ness, than just a tendency to be solo.
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| Puddin' (BC) |
Of course, another black cat to identify initially presents problems
– but it doesn’t take long to see how different he is from most
of the other blacks. In appearance he’s most like
Odin, in Pen 1 –
solid without being a chonk, with little grey flecks in his fur. His
head is larger than Odin’s; the latter has a more pointed face. And
like Odin, he has proved to be very friendly, anxious to jump up and
lap-sit, and to give and receive attention.
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| Cage visit with Butternut (BC) |
The third cat of the trio is Butternut – a wonderful name for an
orange boy. He also proved to be willing to be petted and fussed over
while in a cage, but once released he got into a few too many fights with
Jasper and Gizmo, and we ended up moving him to the front courtyard.
Of course, there, it then put him face to face with orange
Mango, so
there was a bit more aggression to smooth over.
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| Butternut & Mango ignoring each other (BC) |
I can tell who is who when I see them together – Mango is a bit
larger and a bit younger; he has a lighter face and a lighter tail
tip. But they’re almost identical in colouring, and now that Mango
has calmed down, their behaviour is similar – meaning that they
seem to like people but not other cats! Butternut seems to swat most
when provoked – who can blame him? - whereas Mango is more inclined
to go hunting for someone to swat. The big difference between them
is that Butternut often seems to have really round eyes, unlike
Mango, whose eyes are regular cat-shape.
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| Butternut playing at the tunnel (BC) |
Sadly, the affectionate Butternut of the initial cage days is no
more; he’s friendly enough but not yet willing to come and solicit
attention in the way that Puddin’ does. Some of that may just be caution, with Mango around. But all three boys have
known what it is to have a home and are quite adoptable; we can only
hope that as they settle, they may bond with a summer visitor in the
coming months. Till then, they can take their time and let
themselves be comfortable with us at the Sanctuary.
Blog by Brigid Coult
Photos by Brigid Coult & Karen Nicholson
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