VJ Jerry

Jerry (KN)

Sweet Jerry, in the Val Jones area, is one of our FIV+ cats – and he couldn’t be less like the Jerry that preceded him. Jerry I was small, fluffy, beautiful – and extremely erratic in aggressiveness, both to cats and humans.  Jerry II is a solid grey, not-very-beautiful boy, about 8 years old, who is very loving and anxious for attention. There’s not an ounce of nastiness in him;  he gets on well with the other cats, and he’s often one of the first greeters at the gate.

Jerry  (MW)

Jerry came to us in 2018 as one of a group of cats arriving from midway up Vancouver Island thanks to Catspan Ferals. As with Woody, in last week’s blog, when a rescue like this discovers they have FIV+ feral cats on their hands, it is often to RAPS that they turn; FIV+ cats should not be released into the general population of ferals. Healthy cats can be colony-supervised; kittens can be tamed and adopted out, but cats carrying the FIV or FeLV (feline leukemia) virus need more care.

Jerry (MW)

The three cats that arrived five years ago were all feral males, and two of them quickly disappeared into whatever hiding places they could find. Beautiful Francis and his buddy, black Drake, stayed out of our sight as much as they could manage. Jerry decided he’d landed on his feet, and acclimated himself to the New Aids pen very quickly. He is cat-social, non-aggressive, and when the friendliest cats were being selected for the new FIV pen in the Val Jones corner, Jerry was high on the list!

VJ snuggle buddies: Jerry, Magnus & Jim  (DW)

Many FIV+ cats show no sign of the virus they carry and may appear asymptomatic throughout their lives. Most problems are not in fact from the virus itself, but from secondary infections, or weakness of the immune system. Respiratory issues, skin problems, and dental diseases like stomatitis are common, and are a large reason why staff and volunteers are careful to sanitize when we move from one area to another.  Jerry has all the common secondaries.  He’s had mouth problems which have resulted in extractions, so the tip of his tongue often sticks out a bit; he’s not a good candidate for surgery so most of his dental issues are being treated with medication.

Jerry  (BC)

Once cleaning or feeding in the Val Jones is done, Jerry is anxious for lap-time. Most of the VJ cats are affectionate, but currently Jerry’s the pushiest in seeking cuddles. If he’s really drooly, a paper towel can sometimes be useful – but mostly I just make a point of having a good wash when we’re done. Jerry’s love is sometimes a little damp – but very heart-felt.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Karen Nicholson, Debbie Wolanski, Michele Wright

Favourite corners: the Val Jones cats

The small group of cats who live in the Val Jones area are favourites with a number of the volunteers. I know that I’m not the only one who visits on a regular basis to make a fuss of them.

Jerry - PH

The dominant cat in this area is Jerry. He’s always been something of a hair-trigger personality – for a while there was a semi-joke about whether or not one was member of a “Jerry Victims Support Group”. To be fair, it was not usually that Jerry attacked people, but if you got between Jerry and a cat he disliked, you usually came off the worse for wear!  . Most recently it was gauged that Breezer needed to be transferred out of the VJ and into the Old Aids next door; we are wary of having another dominant personality in this group – Jerry needs to be top cat! For a while he was not in good condition – what appeared to be a reaction to flea meds left him balding and uncomfortable. But his fur has regrown to its usual luxuriant length, and Jerry is enjoying being admired again.

Henrik - MW

In spite of his size, our sweet Henrik is actually quite shy, and no competition for Jerry.  Henrik is the brother of Daniel, out in the front courtyard (what else would you name a pair of red-heads who came in together?) but one of the side-effects of his FeLV is mouth ulcers, and the medication to ease that causes him to put on weight. Since he is also one of the larger cats in the area the effect is pretty startling.

And the side-effect of that is that he can’t groom himself effectively, so that a complete haircut is occasionally necessary.

Chip - CF

Chip is the brother of Dale, in the Double-wide. He’s the nearest thing Jerry has to competition, and tends to be very wary of him; mostly you’ll find Jerry in the left-hand cabin (VJ 1), and Chip in the smaller right-hand one (VJ 2).  Chip is a chicken-lover, and always emerges when there are offerings. He's a friendly boy, and likes human company.

Foxy - MW

This little boy came from the Newcomers area when blood-tests showed that what was obviously latent FeLV had become full-blown. He’s another chick-aholic, and we worry about his health when he’s not ready to chow down on chicken tidbits. Still very shy, you’ll usually find Foxy hiding on one of the lower shelves. He’s not ready to be petted, but humans bearing gifts are tolerated.

Mocha - MW

Cross-eyed Mocha is the last of a family of three cats who came in together. We recently lost her sister Cappuccino – a little torbie who looked nothing like her littermate. Her brother Pekoe (Orange Pekoe, of course) was one of my favourites when I first came to the Sanctuary, and other than colouring, looked very like Mocha – including the stubby tail. His sister is a little wary about being petted, but is very food-motivated.

Suga - PH

Sweet Suga came into the Val Jones about 18 months ago, and immediately settled down with her friends. She’s a snuggler – there’s often a cuddle-puddle in the Val Jones house, and Suga is inevitably part of it.

GusGus - MW

This sweet boy has been part of the VJ family for some time. He’s the brother of pretty grey Hope in the front courtyard, and Domino (now passed), and we cared for both his mother Joanie, and the cat we think was his father, Hudson. GusGus is one of my own sponsor cats, and I try to spend a little time with him whenever I visit. FeLV leaves him very susceptible to feline colds, and I’m always anxious when he’s off his food – it’s usually that he’s become congested and food loses its tastiness for him.  This is always an anxious time for us – with Feline Leukemia, the compromised immune system has a harder time throwing off any infection.

The VJ cuddle-puddle - GusGus, Mocha & Suga - BC

I know I’m not the only volunteer who loves to spend time with these lovely cats. The usual protocols apply – we are careful to wash before and after visits, not because FeLV is infectious, but because we need to protect them from the germs more easily tolerated by other cats.

Come and visit them on a Sunday afternoon, and get to know them better!

 

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Claire Fossey, Phaedra Hardman, Michele Wright

Jerry - update

The front courtyard has been dominated for several years by this tabby-and-white bundle of fluff.

Ruler of all he surveys

Jerry is one of those cats that is pointed out to visitors not just for his beauty (and he is very beautiful) but because you really need to know where Jerry is at all times.

Jerry - with a little photo-bombing by Dino

Mostly he’s happy simply to lounge around and be admired – but when Jerry’s on the prowl, you have to be super-aware.  He will suddenly decide that another cat has invaded his personal space, and attack – and woe betide the human that gets in his way (the cats can usually look after themselves).

I may look like I'm sleeping, but I'm watching you...

Jerry has had a lifetime history of allergic reactions (when we got him, we had to treat the skin on his tail and hind end, and he had many subsequent flea allergies). Because his immune system is compromised by leukemia, he recently had a hypersensitivity to a parasite treatment applied to the back of his neck. Veterinarians call it "necro-ulcerative dermatitis," and it was confirmed by a skin biopsy. Jerry suffered major fur loss and developed hot, itchy skin and ulcerated sores that wouldn't heal because of his scratching. For some time he looked miserable – as if he were becoming a Sphynx cat. In deference to his feelings we won’t post a picture of him at his worst, but it was looking something like this:

The condition was eventually healed with steroids and antibiotics, plus little vests that were sewn by our wonderful volunteer, Cheryl, which protected Jerry's skin from his scratching. For some time he had to wear both the vest and a soft collar, to protect him from himself.

How long do I have to wear this thing?

Thankfully, Jerry is recovering well. He's out and about, indulging in his favourite pastime of drinking water raccoon-style - he stirs it up with his paws and then licks it off.

 

His fur is growing back – not yet as luxuriant as it once was, but it’s looking promising – and he’s feeling well enough to be back to protecting his personal space once more.

Admire me - but don't touch...

Blogger: Brigid Coult (with input from Leslie Landa)
Photos: Michele Wright & Debbie Wolanski

Tom Cat

Tom cat is one of ten cats that lived together with their adoring owner who unfortunately had to give them up to RAPS due to health reasons. All ten cats arrived at the sanctuary in April and were given private time in the Val Jones house to acclimatize to their new home.

Two weeks ago I was fortunate to arrive at the shelter in time for their grand release into the general population. It wasn't so much as a release as an opening of the door. As I peered into the door of Val Jones house I saw nine sets of cat eyes peering cautiously back at me clearly not ready to come out of their safe place.

The exception was Tom Cat who was out and about nearly as soon as the door opened strutting around like he owned the place. He is a big, black, almost demonic looking cat who can be distinguished by his ragged left ear which seems to add an image of thuggery to this tough looking cat.

There's no doubt Tom cat is the dominant cat of the group and will likely hold that position out in the general population. In less than an hour of his release he stalked over to our fierce Jerry and started little fracas to which Jerry, a cat who never backs down from a good fight, scuttled away in disgrace.

Towards me, Tom Cat seemed quite a congenial though he took his time. When I arrived a week later to see how Tom cat was doing, he was laying like a king on the cool cement ground outside of the Val Jones house and upon seeing me he raced over for some pets and to rub himself against me marking me as his own.

Sanctuary cats beat the heat

"Beat the heat" may not actually be the best expression here, seeing as any sort of beating would involve effort. And anyone who knows cats respond to the rather toasty temperatures we've had these past few days (ok, not just the cats) knows that effort is not something to be spent foolishly.

The impetus to expend effort in writing about this rather than succumbing to a pre-bedtime nap comes from one of the drawings Vincent and Ayako shared with me last year. It's just too cute not to share with everyone.

The cats are saying atsui, or "hot" in Japanese. You may recognize the cat on the left as PeeWee.

RAPS staff do various things to help keep the cats (and the humans) from overheating.

We have a fountain out the back,

A cool mist stick out the front,

Buckets of water here and there,

Pickle

And sanity-preserving fans inside the main buildings.

Other than that, there's a whole lot of sleeping going on.

Groucho

Lincoln

Jerry

July

Among all the confirmed cuddlers to be found among the tame cats at the sanctuary, there is the odd one that proves determined to be a bit of a challenge to deal with. Like Jerry and Baby, July has an interesting enough personality to have won herself a spot in the “Dr. Jeckyll and Mr (or Ms) Hyde Cats at the RAPS Cat Sanctuary” feature in the RAPS blog.

"July is definitely a cat with a split personality. She was surrendered to RAPS after she bit her owner’s grandchild. Perhaps the tot provoked the attack, but it was the last straw for July’s owner. July likes to sit on laps and pretend to be friendly, but after just a few pats, she begins to hiss and swat. She wears a collar so that visitors can recognize her and give her a wide berth. Volunteers who allow July on their laps know to watch for the twitching tail that signals that she’s had enough attention for now."

photo provided by RAPS

July is one of a few cats at the sanctuary sporting collars, our code for "Beware of Cat." It's not a scientific system by any means (we tried one on Jingles when she was still being particularly swatty, but she objected and took it off, while Baby insisted on a no-collar clause in his contract due to past collar trauma) but it does help to remind people, particularly visitors, that not all the tame cats will welcome affection all of the time.

Perhaps some cats just aren't suitable for beginners. When I lived with my parents, we had a Jeckyll & Hyde cat named Archie who'd suddenly switch from purring and enjoying lap time and softing to scratching and biting when he'd had enough - not bothering with so much as a tail twitch to give the humans a hint.

Compared to that, July may be on the moody side, but at least she'll tell you when she feels a mood coming on.

Updated March 7, 2012: July's health began to fail over the past couple of months. Staff did what they could to help her and keep her comfortable, and she even seemed to rally with some of her former feistiness a couple of times there, but we finally lost her this past weekend. Good-bye to a little girl with a big personality.

Jerry

Jerry is another cat featured in "Dr. Jeckyll and Mr (or Ms) Hyde Cats at the RAPS Cat Sanctuary."

"Jerry is usually a well-mannered, easy-going and playful cat, but don’t ever try to break up an argument between him and another cat! Several volunteers and a few well-meaning visitors who attempted to act as referees in one of Jerry’s 'disagreements' have become victims themselves. Being at the receiving end of one of Jerry’s attacks can be quite a shock, especially for those who previously saw only his nice side. Fortunately, Jerry doesn’t get into too many altercations, but there has been talk among sanctuary volunteers of forming a 'Jerry Victim Support Group'."

On one of my first visits to the sanctuary, I came across this nice looking cat napping on a cushion placed on a shelf at about eye level. Sensing my presence, the cat gave a little yawn, had a little stretch, then waited for me to come over and visit. A little pat, a little purr, a cuddle, more wriggles and purrs, all culminating in a nose rub.

As I was leaving the room, Debbie came in, having just then remembered to warn me about this cat named Jerry and his history of doing things to volunteers that leave scars...
"Which one's Jerry?" I wanted to know.
You can probably guess which one.

I considered this a narrow escape and made an effort to avoid him thereafter. Perhaps unfairly... He's only ever behaved like Dr. Jeckyll with me, after all, and sometimes even looks slightly confused when I turn down his invitation to come over and give him a nice soft.

Or is that all just a ploy...?

A question for other RAPS people:
Has Jerry ever given you trouble when he's not involved in some altercation with another cat?

Added Nov. 15 pm:

So far, the answer appears to be an emphatic YES!
In response to my question, Ann sent me this evidence that the Jerry-threat is never to be taken lightly-

photo provided by Ann