Two Beloved FIV Boys

Sweet Taz  (SM)

There’s a steady trickle of FIV+ cats who arrive to our care from rescues all over the province.  Where there are people doing TNR (Trap-Neuter-Release), you can be pretty sure that some of the cats trapped will be FIV+ because it’s almost exclusively a virus passed by unneutered tom-cats. Once the cats are neutered, the testosterone that drives the fight-and-bite instincts is gone, and like the rest of the Sanctuary cats, they usually learn to get on well enough with each other.

Dust Bunny  (BC)

Our FIV+ boys are either ferals or strays. The ones who have come in as ferals may or may not tame up, and if they do, it may take awhile. Cypress was an aggressive, angry boy when he arrived in 2018 and now he wants in on laptime and treats. Obelix was very shy when he came a year later, and now looks for petting and love. A feral cat may appear settled, but the stress of a relocation, if we were to consider adoption for either, would probably drive them back into a place of fear. A stray, on the other hand, has known a home and human touch. The strays often appear very scared initially, and then blossom under touch and attention.

DB  (BC)

In the last six months we’ve had two new boys come to us, and settle so easily that it’s pretty obvious that they are strays rather than ferals. They began in different areas of the Sanctuary; Taz was in the Val Jones pen, and Dust Bunny in the larger New Aids. Dust Bunny arrived in March, from Foster Critters rescue in Duncan. His rescuer tells us that he was an occasional visitor at a small colony where they were doing TNR, and it was supposed that he was a barn-cat from a nearby farm. It soon became obvious that he was probably more than just a barn-cat; though initially very scared, it only took a few approaches from the Kitty Comforters to have him asking for petting and love.

Summer lounging in the back pen  (BC)

Our guess was that he has been stray for some time; he had earmites and bad skin and broken teeth. Skin and teeth are a common FIV+ problem, and it didn’t take long for the vets to whisk him in for urgent dental care. He’s not lost all his teeth, but they’re greatly reduced. Cage time was hard for him – he SO wanted human attention, and now he’s out and about he’s loving petting and laptime from volunteers and visitors.

May I come up?  (BC)

Unfortunately, as the new kid in the schoolyard, he was something of a target for Angus, who in turn was out of sorts that his favourite bed had been taken over by Kicks. Angus started taking out his frustrations on Dust Bunny, and we made the decision to move DB across to the Val Jones area.  At time of writing, he’s in a cage (short term), going for a vet check, and then he’ll be out and about with the Val Jones cats.

Taz loves his humans  (SM)

He’ll soon get to know Taz, who came to us in early summer, and who has proved to be a real love-bug. When Taz first came to us, it was hard to visit him in a cage, because a visit was never long enough, and he would cry when left. He had been in fosterage, and his foster-mother loved him, but had other FIV- cats, and her vet recommended not mixing them. In fact, we know that FIV+ and FIV- cats can live together safely, but as we saw with Angus, personalities do come into play, and territorial issues in a multiple-cat situation led her to the cautious decision.

Whatever the weather, Taz loves the heat-lamp! (BC)

In fact, Taz is loving with humans, and even more so, with other cats. Jim is delighted; he has been the resident Val Jones love-bug and his love has not always been reciprocated (not that it put him off much!); Taz and Jim can often be found playing or snuggled together.
Taz may have some vision problems; he’s slightly squinty, and possibly had entropion surgery for in-turned eyelashes. I’ve found that he doesn’t always see just where treats are, though he is aware of movement. But he moves with confidence and doesn’t feel his way around like a blind cat.

Enjoying the sunbathing....   (SM)

Both Dust Bunny and Taz are entirely adoptable. The fact that they’re in the Val Jones area and therefore living with the bladder-crystal cats doesn’t mean that they have that problem, though they’re living with that diet for now – it just means we wanted them near the front courtyard and more accessible to visitors.
We are so pleased when visitors fall in love with the FIV+ cats. In the last couple of years, first Biggie and then his brother Simon found homes, as did handsome Goose, Hank the hunk, and brave tripod Trooper; this summer sweet Kicks has gone to a foster-home where they hope to get his skin itchies under control. They may carry the FIV retrovirus, but it doesn’t mean they’re sick; it just means we need  to take a bit more care in keeping them healthy – and thereby benefit from all the love that a cat like Dust Bunny or Taz is ready to share with the right person.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult & Selena Marchetti

Captain Jack

Captain Jack - "CJ"   (BC)

In the spring of 2023 we took in a group of cats from Foster Critters in Duncan who were all FIV+. We thought it was likely that they were, in fact, all related: one-eyed mama-cat Marble, Simon and Smalls, and Biggie, who might have been son or sire. Smalls was black; all the others were orange tabbies. About a year later we added two more orange boys from the same rescue; it’s likely there were family genetics there. Junior went to join his cousins/siblings in New Aids;  Captain Jack went to the Val Jones pen.

Courtyard snoozing  (BC)

So why split them up? Sadly, Captain Jack (or CJ, as he is commonly known) is one of those cats who has been discovered to have bladder crystals. This is predominantly a male-cat thing; the feline urethra is so narrow that any obstruction can totally block the bladder, and unless it’s spotted in time, the cat dies in great pain. Surgery is expensive; luckily the typical crystals that make the blockage can be dissolved with the right diet. So the Val Jones has become the Urinary corner even though some of the cats pre-date that designation; Jim has lived there since 2019; Minuet and Virginia, as females, are not as likely as the boys to have bladder blockages,  but everyone eats the special food that will keep a few of them safer. Merran was moved over from the SingleWide when his problem was diagnosed; the Val Jones is an FIV+ pen, but FIV+ and FIV- cats can cohabit easily enough. We separate the FIV+ ones so we can keep an extra careful eye on their health, not because we need to protect the other cats from them.

Life is serious...   (BC)

Unlike the other felines in the Sanctuary, the Val Jones cats don’t get all excited when visitors arrive because the red cups containing treats have to be left in between the gates. There are some special treats allowed for bladder-crystal diets, but in fact the cats are quite happy to have petting/grooming attention with no extra food.

CJ, when he first came to us  (KN)

Captain Jack was about three years old when he came to us in April 2024. Initially he was a bit of a bully with the other cats – he’s the biggest of the VJ residents, and maintained the dominance. We will sometimes see this in the early years – teenagers pushing boundaries, which includes bugging the people/cats around them. If the calculations about CJ’s age are correct, that would make him late 20s in human years – and we all know that some young men like to maintain that macho attitude.  We know that he’s not had an easy time;  the life of a feral cat is rarely a long one, especially for the un-neutered males who are driven by their hormones. CJ’s records from the previous rescue noted that while cleaning up a facial abscess, they had to remove lead from his jaw and suspected that he had been shot in the face. 

Playing with his buddy Jim  (BC)

Now no longer at the mercy of his hormones, CJ has come to tolerate the cats around around him.  No small part of this is the work of Jim, who is a relentless lover.  Jim came to us with his beloved Frank (we called them FrankenJim), and when Frank passed, Jim mourned, but didn’t shut off his love. He was often found snuggling with Minuet in her early scared days with us; he befriended shy Merran: he cuddled with Magnus (now passed) even when it was the last thing Magnus wanted. And when CJ came along, Jim had a new target. The two of them play-wrestle, they snuggle under the lamp and they share a chronic cold which seems to pass from one to the other and back again. I think most of the cuddle-drive still comes from Jim, but CJ now enjoys it.

Loving laptime with Justin  (JS)

The Val Jones area remains a lovely quiet place to visit some favourite cats. CJ has his own favourite humans, and though he is not commonly a lap-cat, he is quick to claim time with Justin, the volunteer who has many of the other cats queueing up for comforting snuggles. After scary teenage years in a feral colony, with humans shooting at him, CJ is discovering that Sanctuary life is the best thing ever!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Karen Nicholson & Justin Saint

A Quiet Corner

Billy Ray enjoys the winter sunshine  (BC)

On visiting days at the Sanctuary there are some areas we block off because we don’t want scared cats to be under pressure, or where safety requires no contact for visitors (the Leukemia area). But there’s one quiet corner where we’d love to have visitors, but often have to keep closed because we don’t have enough volunteer Ambassadors to have someone posted there.

Virginia (KN)

The Val Jones pen is in the southwest corner of the Front Courtyard. I blogged about its creation here  – originally it was simply a quiet corner for cats and people to retreat; then it was closed off when we had an increase in numbers of our leukemia cats; some years later it was extensively scrubbed out and became an FIV cat enclosure. It was decided that the cats to be located here would be the more outgoing and friendly ones, so they would be more visible to visitors.

Merran  (KH)

The next change happened when friendly orange-and-white Dango from New AIDS was diagnosed with urinary issues – specifically the formation of crystals in his urine. When this happens for a cat, it is very painful for them to use the litter-box, and particularly for male cats, whose urethras are very narrow. Shy Merran from the SingleWide received a similar diagnosis and there were several other cats with risk factors. It was decided to keep the Val Jones area as primarily, but not exclusively, for FIV cats, but to keep them all on a diet that helps prevent the formation of crystals. The necessary prescription food is effective but also expensive, so can’t be fed to the general population.

Jim is the watcher at the door  (KH)

The Val Jones cats continue to be fed with the others from the main courtyard, but they only receive their special food, and when they have visitors, the treats offered to other cats have to be left between the gates. It’s particularly important that visitors here are supervised so that all these cats get is petting and grooming, and food is not part of the currency. I don’t think it bothers them too much – either they love the attention offered, or they prefer not to be part of it at all!

suspicious Virginia (BC)

Currently there are only six residents in the Val Jones area – a few were adopted, others have passed. We particularly miss sweet Jerry, whose mouth and skin problems never stopped him lapping up all the love we could offer. Virginia is the shyest; she’s cat-social, but hissy and scared around people. She used to hide away all the time, but she’s more likely now to be found sharing a bed with one of her boys, Merran or Jim. Minuet has come a long way;  she was another hider, but now likes to be out in the open, and will often appear at the gate when company comes. She likes to be petted in her bed – she rolls and wiggles and does happy bum-raises.

Minuet (BC)

Handsome Billy Ray is a little aloof; I find he’s ready to accept limited pets, and then just moves away without too much reaction. He’s not a cuddler with me, though he will come and sit beside me for a short while. He likes to be up on something – ideally, the shelf attached to the VJ external fence, where he poses, as if to say “Aren’t I beautiful?!” Indeed he is, but sadly, not adoptable – not because of his FIV+ condition, but because he’s a pee-er, as the med-staff have experienced!

BillyRay enjoys the cabin warmth
and watching the birds  (JS)

Merran was one of the cats that gave the VJ its urinary care status; he was shy in his old home in the SingleWide, and he’s shy here, though he’s become used to humans being around and is no longer quite so spooked. He’s as handsome in his floofy tabby way as Billy Ray is in his sleek blackness, and is very cat-social, often found cuddling with Virginia or Minuet.

Captain Jack aka CJ  (BC)

Captain Jack (CJ) is the newest and the youngest – he came to us from an Island rescue, and may in fact be part of the colony that brought us Marble and Biggie, Simon, Smalls and Junior. He came to us in spring of 2024, and initially showed himself to be something of a bully to the other cats, though I suspect that some of that was just being adolescent – teenagers of all species are inclined to push the limits!  Now he’s a little older and a little less inclined to throw his weight around.  He’s discovered that he quite likes people, and is one of the cats who happily enjoys lap-time with Justin.

Justin offers the BEST lap-sits
- and all the RAPS cats know it!  

I think a lot of his acceptance of life in the VJ has come from Jim, who is the oldest of the cats and the most loving – in fact, his loving gets a little carried away, because he thinks everyone wants it. Jim came to us as a lover, with his friend Frank (the two were known as FrankenJim) and when his buddy passed, Jim just picked himself up and went on loving. He was a big part of getting Minuet from being a terrified hideaway to being part of the greeting club, and when he cuddles with Virginia, it is possible to pet her as you pet him. It’s been funny watching him convince CJ that togetherness is good; he grooms CJ with enthusiasm, even when CJ pushes him away. You can practically see the resigned sigh as the younger boy says “Whatever....”  Sadly, both of them have chronic colds, so their germs are shared too.

CJ & Jim  (JS)

For volunteers and regular visitors – it’s worth washing up and going to spend some time in the Val Jones corner with this lovely group. You may not get anywhere with Virginia, but all the others respond to attention, and though they’d really like commercial treats (not allowed!), the SO kibble gives them the feeling of having something special from your hand.

Cuddle-puddle - Merran, Frank, Virginia  (BC)

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Kim Howe, Karen Nicholson, Justin Saint

Snoozing in the Rain (or out of it...)

Simon  (HM)

It may be almost summer, but here in BC we’ve had our share of wet days recently.  There are always the cats who like to be out and about, whatever the weather, and they vary from those who seem to shed the rain like ducks, to those who get soaked through.   But sensibly, most of the cats find somewhere cosy, and curl up, shutting out the weather.

With inspiration from Henrie Morgan, whose lovely photos from the New AIDS pen got me started, here are some of the not-so-soggy moggies!

Mozart likes to sprawl (AG)

Dahlia sleeps with one eye open  (HM)

Christina Aguilera face-plants to shut out the world   (AG)

The Kamloops colony prefers to sleep together  (BC)

Jerry, Magnus and Jim monopolize the Val Jones chair  (DW)

Ariel is a solo sleeper and prefers the shelf by the sink  (KN)

Jasper is not shy about his sleeping positions (KN)

Woodie is another upside-down boy   (KN)

Sharing breath   (KN)

Rocket prefers outside - but under cover   (HM)

Marble's favourite thing is sleeping - whatever the weather  (KC)

Blog (minimal) by Brigid Coult

Photos by Katy Cobb, Brigid Coult, Akira Graham,

Henrie Morgan, Karen Nicholson, Debbie Wolanski

KCs At Work

Raisin - a pen 4 feral girl   (KN)

Visitors who come to the Sanctuary at the weekend are often astonished and delighted by the number of cats who come to greet them.  What they will not see are the cats who are hidden away – either by their own choice as ferals, or because they are caged. Cages are not what the Sanctuary is about – but they are occasionally a tool to lead to something better for the cats. Most of our felines are here either because they are feral or because they have been surrendered. If they are immediately adoptable, then they will go to the Adoption Centre – but many of them are not ready for that when they come to us. 

When Creampuff came to us, she spent most
of her time hiding behind a drape   (BC)

Because a new cat needs to be assessed, and have all its vaccinations current before it is released into the general population, it will often spend 4-6 weeks in a cage. There is always a drape or a carrier or somewhere that they can hide.  Some cats are happy to be hidden away in a quiet dark place – but that doesn’t help them when they finally emerge. So there is a team of volunteers who will happily spend time sitting quietly in a cage, allowing the cats to learn that humans are not always scary.

Marianne & friends - by Selena Marchetti

The team of Kitty Comforters was the creation of the late Marianne Moore, a longtime Sanctuary volunteer, who passed in 2018. Six years before that, she established a group of “cat-whisperers”, volunteers who had proved themselves to be calm and patient and occasionally willing to be scratched or bitten by a scared cat. The team is still operating under the leadership of Anne Marchetti, and they appear faithfully each afternoon to spend time with cats who are receiving medical care, cats who are new to the Sanctuary, and some of our shyer inhabitants. 

Food bribery   (LBF)

Sometimes kitty-comforting time involves food bribery, or gentle grooming; sometimes it may be no more than a quiet voice. We learn which are the cats that are aggressive in their fear, and which are the ones who will only hide. Most of our time is spent with caged cats, but we also look for the shyer cats who live in the open pens, and connect with them as much as we can. Kitty Comforting is about much more than just having fun with your favourite cats; it’s about searching out the ones who need us, and establishing trust by whatever means we can.  Most of the KC’s have done their share of cleaning and feeding, and are known by Anne to be really patient and persistent in reaching out to scared cats.

Shy Tibby hid in her cage for weeks;
now she's out, and much more confident  (AA)

My recent KC session began with a visit to the Adoption Centre, where Benjamin and Olivia are still awaiting someone to offer them a home. Benjamin came out for a visit and some cuddling; Olivia has a bit of a cold, and stayed in her bed. From there, I paid a visit to the SingleWide offices, which are much quieter than usual, with a lot of the admin transferred to the Adoption Centre. Mojo and Licorice like the quiet, but they also need some stimulation and love. They have been joined recently by pretty Tibby, surrendered for inappropriate urination, and, like Oscar and Winston, on a diet to see if there is a physical basis to her problem. Licorice believes firmly that all visitors come to see him, and took exception to my paying attention to Tibby by backing up and peeing on my leg – sometimes a penalty of being around our cats!

Li'l Bit outside the DW deck   (KN)

A quick visit with Oscar and Winston and a check in to compare notes with fellow KC Catherine, on her own rounds, and then I moved to the back pens for a bit, checking in there with Lisa who is one of the “magic people” with ferals. She has been working with shy Raisin in Pen 4, who still hides away from everyone else.  We are watching for a gradual relocation of some of the Cranbrook College cats who base themselves on the high shelves on the DoubleWide deck, but who have also discovered the cat-door and the potential for visits to the back pens. We will occasionally see Li'l Bit and Foster exploring in Pen 3 – though their explorations tend to be around sunrise or sunset, when there are fewer humans around. 

Sweet Audi is beginning to be curious about us  (BC)

There are more caged cats in the DW because it’s closest to the med-staff. Some of the cages still bear “Staff Access Only” signs; in a few of those cases, Anne may let us know that the KCs do have access to start the familiarization process. Sometimes we’ll barely see the cats in question, who have places to hide and prefer to use them with strangers – sometimes the offer of a treat will be met with a well-placed claw, or with warning hisses. With these cats, little and often is the key; they need to discover that humans may feel scary, but don’t intend them any harm.

Sylar enjoying petting  (BC)

From visiting with shy Audi, I move next door to visit with an old friend. Sylar has been my sponsor cat for years. He’s a very wary feral who loves his chicken, and has progressed to occasionally accepting it from the hand, though he prefers to have it tossed to him. Currently he’s in for observation; he’s lost some weight and has become pretty matted, so I hope blood tests will show the problem. As always, there is fierce hissing as I enter his cage. Because I know that he knows me, I loop his drape back so that he has nowhere to hide; I offer his favourite chicken and he accepts it without biting my fingers. Very carefully I hold tidbits in my right hand and pet him with my left; he allows it without protest, and the bum comes up as I pet down his body. By the time I leave him, he’s allowing petting (but not grooming) without hissing. I suspect, though, that once he’s out, he’ll be back to not permitting touch!

Sometimes the best Kitty Comforter is another cat -
Denzel is being visited by his buddy Luke    (BC)

I visit with sweet Denzel, who’s had dental surgery and is caged so that he only eats wet catfood for a while, and with Mortimer, who’s just out of a cage; Mortimer came to us as an unneutered tomcat and was a little reactive while he waited for release. Now the hormones are under control and he has his freedom, he’s become one of the cuddle-bugs on the DW couch.

Espoir is listening, but doesn't want to interact  (BC)

One more scared cat to visit, and I return to the front courtyard to be with Espoir in the Hill House. She pretends I’m not there and hides behind her cat-tree; it’s too soon to push her for contact, so I just sit and talk with her for a bit. There’s a series of interested visitors at the door; many of the Hill House cats enjoy company, both human and feline, and Espoir will not be a total stranger to them by the time she’s finally allowed out.

Magnus (front) and Jim  (GA)

My shift is finally over as the evening feeders-and-scoopers start to appear – I stretch my time with a short visit to my buddies in the Val Jones pen. The porch chair is vacant, and as soon as I sit down, Magnus and Jim occupy my lap. These guys don’t need the work we put into the more scared cats, but they do need us to spend some time with them because the Val Jones is closed off as an FIV pen – they just need to know they’re not forgotten, and most of the regular volunteers will happily spend time with them as well.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Graham Akira, Alicia Almeida, Brigid Coult, Karen Nicholson

Minuet

 

Minuet  (LBF)

RAPS got its beginnings through the devoted volunteers who established Richmond’s Homeless Cats back in the late ‘80s in response to the increasing number of feral cats in the municipality. Through years of TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return) and of establishing the Sanctuary where urban development made releasing colonies an impossibility, numbers have gradually come under control.  But it only takes a little carelessness, and we can see how easily the population surges.

A common view of Minuet  (KN)

Before the pandemic, a well-meaning Richmond resident fed stray cats without realizing the implications. Suddenly, there were cats everywhere, and the family called on RAPS for help.  The staff took on a major trapping operation and brought them into the Sanctuary – adults, teens and kittens.  The latter were all adopted – cuteness has its uses! Two adult males, Pax and Zeus, tested positive for FIV and were moved into the Val Jones area, while most of the youngsters were put in Pen 6. Only Aphrodite eventually tamed enough to be adopted; the others are still living a semi-feral life around Pen One.  Minuet was not one of the initial colony trapped and brought in; she arrived a couple of weeks later, but it was obvious that she and Aphrodite were related, and initially she remained with her family.

Minuet's sister Aphrodite in her new home  (MD)

Given the FIV diagnosis, a careful eye was kept on the group and sadly, we discovered that Athena carried the FeLV virus, and Minuet the FIV virus, and both were transferred before the rest of the colony was released to the back courtyar – Athena into OldAids with the other leukemia cats, and Minuet into Val Jones. Unfortunately by then both Pax and Zeus had both been adopted, and poor Minuet found herself in a new area with a whole bunch of unfamiliar cats.  Like the rest of her family, she was very shy, and she took herself out of everyone’s view and found a hiding place.

Hunched on her shelf : "don't bug me!"  (KN)

Kitty Comforter Mel was not having any of this!  Mel had adopted Minuet’s sister Aphrodite, and was determined to have Minuet feeling more comfortable. She would sit beside the draped shelf where Minuet hid and offer toys and tidbits, or brush the shy girl without attempting to make eye contact. Minuet accepted this, but was not ready for more.

A floofy pile of Minuet and Jim  (MD)

And then Jim got in on the action...

Jim had come to us from Alberta with his buddy Frank, and was almost immediately comfortable with us all. He is a cuddler, a little pushy and a lot loving. He loved Frank most of all, but he had lots of love to go around, and he decided that Minuet needed it, so he moved in on her. Increasingly, we checked Minuet’s shelf to find her and Jim cuddled there. And since Jim loved being petted, Minuet learned to enjoy it as well. When Frank passed, the two became more and more an item, and Minuet began appearing in the courtyard more openly, accepting attention more from Mel and other volunteers.

Magnus and Minuet  (MS)

Now she is more relaxed and comfortable with regular visitors, joining the crowd looking for treats, pushing her way into the favoured spot under the heat lamp, and even sharing space with Magnus, who is not usually a fan of other cats. The Val Jones cats are the FIV+ cats who are most comfortable with humans, and the more likely to be adopted; Minuet would probably not handle that sort of change well unless it was to go with someone she trusted, but it is good to see her more relaxed and at home in her surroundings.

Catnip makes everything better  (KN)

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Melanie Draper, Karen Nicholson, Molly Sjerdal