A Cat Who Walks By Herself

Yma  (KN)

Yma came into our care almost nine years ago – one of a colony of cats Stephanie trapped at a nearby composting facility. Some of them may have been dumped cats;  others were born wild.  Life for ferals is often short and terrifying – this site was also a hunting ground for hawks, eagles and coyotes (there were a LOT of rats!) - and we tried to rescue as many as possible.  Many of the cats we brought in were dubbed “the cow cats” for their black-and-white Friesian patterns, though there were also tabbies like pretty Merran.

In her favourite place, alone, in the gardens  (BC)

Stephanie and her helpers made regular visits, setting traps and waiting patiently. We knew that it was not possible to rescue them all, and she had identified at least one big tomcat, who she named Pavarotti, who was too wily to venture into a trap, even with the tastiest food to bait it.  But over the course of months, cats made the protesting journey from the feral life to life with RAPS. I was with Stephanie when one of the last of these was trapped, and was given the privilege of naming her: since Pavarotti was likely her sire, I named her for Yma Sumac, the extraordinary soprano of the ‘50s

Early days: Yma in hiding  (KN)

The youngest cats trapped, of course, went to fosterage and eventual adoption. Stephanie still has one of those cats: Hammy (Hamish) - one of Hillie's kittens - still has the former feral’s wariness, and is a one-woman cat, trusting Stephanie alone. The cats that came to live at the Sanctuary were split between the SingleWide and the Back Courtyard. Mya and Kirstie settled to the comfy life in the SingleWide – so comfortable that they both became roly-poly cats, with all the snacking that was available. Luckily, they had also tamed to the point where they were both able to go to the homes of experienced cat-people who could put them on a measured diet, and they’re both doing well. 

Kirstie & Mya remain happy indoor cats (LBF)

In the Back Courtyard Hillie and Yma ignored one another – their similarity meant that there was probably a strong genetic link, but they were trapped at different times, and there was no mutual recognition. Hillie made a breakthrough with us, and realized that people were not so bad! - Yma relocated herself from the DW deck to the outdoor life, and settled in Pen 2, preferring to keep her distance.  In all the time she has been with us, she has elected to avoid humans at all costs. She was one of the cats who preferred to climb the tree in the back courtyard, and continued that habit until we finally extended the netting to prevent access to the branches and a possible escape route. 

When she first discovered the gardens,
Yma liked best to hide up in the tree  (MW)

Through much of the year she would base herself in one of the straw-lined kennels around the perimeter, actually going into the cabin only when the weather made it really necessary;  nowadays she usually sleeps in the cabin, but a sudden human visitor will make her explode out through the cat-door. I try to remember to speak as I approach, to give her some warning.  

You can look, but not touch!   (KN)

Unfortunately she has that curse of white cats – ears that are sensitive to sunshine, and that develop skin cancers. We have had several cats like her who have had cancerous ear-tips nipped off to prevent further growth. But going in for even minor surgery means netting and caging her, and is stressful – two steps back, behaviourally, in order to be one step forward, health-wise.

Ears now rounded, rather than pointed  (KN)

So, so slowly, she is adjusting to us. When she is sitting quietly, it is sometimes possible to approach her, even to sit with her; a gentle voice is accepted, but any sudden movement, and she’s gone.  She will occasionally hover at the cabin door when I’m cleaning, but she shows no inclination to come closer or to accept tidbits. She has some favourite perches around the edges of Pen 2, and is ready to sit there peacefully even when visitors are around; she obviously knows that the ropes marking access limits are there to protect her.  She’s not a cat-social girl, like Tofino, in last week’s blog; mostly, when you see Yma, she will be alone. Behind the cabin doors, who knows? – but in the gardens, she’s a lonely figure – the other cats don’t bother her, and she rarely approaches them.

Watching the visitors from a safe distance  (MW)

I sometimes label our loners as Garbo cats – but in many cases, their alone-ness comes from their active dislike of other cats, and we need to encourage that separation in order to keep the peace.  Yma simply chooses to be alone.  Greta Garbo would approve of her.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Brigid Coult,
Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright

Room for Teens

One regular visiting-day question is “where are the kittens?”

Kittens always look SO cute!  - JS

Visitors are always disappointed to learn that any kittens in RAPS care are usually to be found at the City Shelter, waiting for adoption – and some of them go rushing off to visit there.
In fact, to get kittens to that point, there’s a great deal more RAPS care by the invisible (to the public) team of fosterers.  Any time a pregnant cat, or a mom and kittens arrives in our care, someone from the fostering team leaps into action.  Many of them reserve a room in their home just as a kitten-nursery; if that space is taken, stand-alone cages are erected on the dining-room table, and all formal entertaining is postponed.

Mama Carly Simon is now settled with us;
her kittens were all adopted from the City Shelter - MW/KD

Fosterers are used to the anxiety of waiting for a litter to be born, of tube- and syringe-feeding when necessary, of dodging a protective mom in order to clean a cage. They handle young kittens as soon as possible, to familiarize them with people – the weaning stage between four and eight weeks is usually seen as the best time – and when the kittens are old enough, they are taken to the City Shelter for adoption - while mama is spayed, to prevent another litter, and moved to Shelter or Sanctuary, depending on her temperament.

Four wary teenagers: Perry, Peony, Perkins & Della - MM

The problem comes when we receive older kittens, who are past that optimal window for easy handling. Socializing them when they are four months old or more can take a great deal of patience to overcome the feral instincts instilled by a feral mama. We will sometimes receive these ones at the Sanctuary. At the age of 4 months to a year, they are not yet fully adult – we would probably say that a 1-year old kitten is developmentally equivalent to a 15-year old human.  And though 15-year old humans can be delightful creatures, they are not as adult as they think they are! We don’t need any feline teen pregnancies, so all of them will be “speutered” (spayed/neutered) before they come to us.

Baby Beetle is all grown up now - but still shy  - MW

You may hear the Sanctuary’s Hill House sometimes referred to as “The Teens”, from its early function. These days we have fewer teens, and they usually go to a room off the quiet senior-focused Moore House.  At one stage it housed Sage and Silky, Cricket, Beetle and Frisky, it was a home for the young cow-cats, Mya and Kirstie, when they first came to us, for Perry, Perkins and Peony (all adopted) and now it’s the base for six youngsters.

Blond Leo relies on his braver friend Benny - BC

Leo and Benny came to us from a hoarding situation. They are less than a year old, and were initially very nervous about being handled. Benny rapidly settled; Leo was less ready to be touched. They were sited in the DoubleWide, and got a lot of attention, but large as our cages are, they really didn’t give this pair space to be as active as they would like. Kitty Comforters spent a lot of time and love on them, and it was obvious that it would just take a bit of time. The two of them are a younger echo of Lindor and Parker who came to us earlier this year – and with similar colouring and initial characteristics. Both Lindor and Benny are fuzzy and black, fairly outgoing and not afraid to engage; both Parker and Leo are slighter and blond, much more shy and in need of coaxing.

Mason loves having space to play - AM

In the cage facing them was a little black panther: young Mason; very hissy and swatty in his first weeks with us, but with the Kitty Comforters working with him, he became very keen on human company – going in to feed or clean his cage meant entertainment time!

It's a hard life, being a kitten, says Mozart - MW

In the meantime, there was another group of teens in one of the Single-Wide’s big cages, tended only by the med staff until we were sure that they were all healthy. This trio had come to us from the Interior, offspring of a feral mama, and about 8 months old. They were named Pistachio, Caleb and Mozart – Pistachio with a little moustache marking; Caleb with more black markings, and Mozart more grey.

Mozart & Caleb - KN

Now there’s been a general reshuffle and the two groups have been put together in the Moore House kitten room, where there’s more room for them to run and play, and for the Kitty Comforters to do the work of socializing them as much as possible.  We hope that they will eventually go to the City Shelter for adoption, but it may be that their feral beginnings are too ingrained to overcome, and they will end up staying with us like the other youngsters. Sadly for visitors, the Moore House is off-limits – they may be seen out on the deck if they choose; they can be admired but not handled.

Pistachio - MW

The Kitty Comforters, of course, are having a wonderful time – but they all know that how they play with these delightful fuzzballs will be vital in establishing patterns that will help Benny and Leo, Mason, Pistachio, Caleb & Mozart eventually to find new homes and grow to be confident cats.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Kati DeGraff, Anne Marchetti, the late Marianne Moore, 

Karen Nicholson, Jocelyn Schonekess, Michele Wright

Nicknames

My “new” (recently adopted) old girl rejoices in the name of Madame Hooch (the flying instructor at Hogwarts); it was a name given by her late family, and I wasn’t about to change it.

This is Madame Hooch's "begging" face - MD

But I find myself also calling her Madame Mooch (for her begging habits), Mrs Mumbles (for her tortie grumbling) and Pixie-Cat (for her cute little face) – and it left me thinking about our other Sanctuary cats, and which ones have also acquired nicknames to suit their personalities or situations.

Ollie likes to be up high - LP

Many of them are affectionate diminuitives – I hear JayZ being referred to as BabyJay – or extensions – Ollie is often OllieOllieOllie.  Sometimes they’re particular to one person; Mel calls Skittles in Pen 6  “Forest” - he reminds her of a Norwegian forest cat.

Big and fluffy - that's our Skittles - KN

I call him Mr Big, after the candy bar, because for a long time, the Candy Cats didn’t have individual names, but he was definitely the biggest boy in there. Anne calls one of our little Manxes “Plum Pudding”

Miss Kitty is a suspicious old lady....  TV

Our Sanctuary Manager shares her office with three senior girls who have problems getting along with other cats (they also have problems getting along with each other, but they’ve mostly been able to work out some sort of territorial agreement). Their names are Tammy, Kitty and Mindy, but they’re collectively known as The Cranky Old Ladies (though I call them the Weird Sisters)

Celia looking for someone to slap    MW

One of the little black cats in the Tea-Room is Celia. She is one of several who dislikes the company of other cats, and rejoices in the nickname of “Slappy” for her bad habit of batting other cats out of her vicinity.

If Louise is not around, Horatio's next best thing is sleeping - MW

Tubby orange Horatio worships Med Staff Louise. Mostly, it’s reciprocated, except when he’s being a brat, slipping into cages where he’s not welcome, or mountaineering up people’s legs instead of jumping into  a lap. Then, he becomes Horror Show!

MW

Everybody knows Honey Bear of the beautiful blue eyes.  Now that it’s colder outside, he’s spending more time visiting in the DoubleWide.  Anyone sitting on the couch quickly discovers why Louise refers to him as The Scarf.

Emery says "Protect me!" - ML

The Hug-Bug, of course, is Emery – he hides away from the other cats, but when he sees one of “his” humans, he quickly positions himself to climb up and be held;  eyes closed, (so he can’t see any other felines), he butts his head under your chin, and if he’s feeling particularly needy, his paws go round your neck.
The quirkiest nickname I've come across belongs to black-and-white Kirstie in the SingleWide - our handyman Doug calls her FIFA, because he says her back looks like a soccer ball!

Most of my Kirstie pictures are of her on her back, being cute.
This was the nearest I could find to her fabled ball-pose.   -  MW

CB Lincoln is so named for his Cinnamon Bun-shaped tail, and to distinguish him from Handsome Lincoln. Shadrack is Mister Chickoholic for his favourite food. I'm sure there are others out there....
If you're a Sanctuary volunteer or visitor, do you have a descriptive nickname for a favourite cat?

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Melanie Draper, Moira Langley, Karen Nicholson, Lisa Parker, 

Tanisha Vincent, 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

An evening in the Single-Wide

When Richmond Homeless Cats first established the Sanctuary in 1999, the first structure there was a single-wide trailer. First located near the road, it was subsequently moved to its current position on the east side of what would become the main courtyard.

Irene and her fanclub outside the Single-Wide - BC

Before renovations - DW

Trailers like this are not really expected to have a long life – especially when exposed not just to standard problems like damp and ants, but also to cat-pee and busily digging claws. This past summer the single-wide trailer was closed for renovations.  That in itself was a major operation, made possible only by the deck on the east side; all of the furniture was relocated, a barrier was built across the main room, and finally the cats were ejected into the south side and the deck.

Building the barrier - DW

Ask any of the staff or single-wide volunteers about the renovations and eyes will roll. The loss of a washer-dryer and sink was a pretty significant difficulty, given the amount of laundry we get through. Handy-man Doug could be found working at all hours – the boiler was replaced, the wiring re-done, the piping moved, new cabinets and sink installed, new windows, repaired walls and ceiling, and finally the washing machine and dryer replaced and finally the divider was removed.

The new look of the Single-wide - BC

Quickly the cats moved back in, taking over the space with great delight. The crowded back deck suddenly became vacant (especially when we were hit with a cold snap) and furry bodies claimed any warm spot they could find.  The following video comes from long-time RAPS supporter Ed Ng, who sponsors several of these cats.

The cold snap just mentioned produced a number of vacancies in volunteer slots, as people found it impossible to get to their shifts. Recently I covered someone else’s feeding shift in the single-wide. I’m rarely in there unless I’m subbing for someone, and what I find frustrating then is that there’s nobody I can ask about identifying individuals in a roomful of cats!

Feeding time - MW

It was nice to work in the single-wide again, with counter-space and storage all well-organised, Counter-space, of course, is rapidly taken over by the cats, hoping for advance tasting.  I usually get the first four plates of food down to the floor quickly, and get them distracted, while I dish out the other platefuls for the cage-tops, the deck, and the porch and Newcomers area. Once the cans are washed out for recycling, it’s time to be changing water-bowls and checking dry food.

A post-dinner nap, now...    BC

This is time I enjoy – feeling less rushed, and able to interact with cats, and make some new acquaintances, which I will blog about in future weeks. We have three youngsters who have tested positive for FeLV, and they’re making their home in the office at the back; all three are still very nervous and the kitty comforters are working on getting them more relaxed with people. Three of the cats who had a temporary home in that room when they were relocated from the Shelter are now with us permanently in the main room and are still acclimatizing; Spooky in particular does NOT like other cats, and wants to get back into the Leukemia Room! Big Debo has just been moved in from the Moore House, and needed a little extra fussing. Chrissy has had chronic diarrhea, which we finally have under control, but it will probably mean that she will need to live caged or separate in order that we can monitor her diet.

Meet Debo - DW

With everything checked and tidy, I went to see who was out on the deck. Though it was cold, there were a couple of cuddle-puddles up on the shelf, and the three cow-cats – Mya, Teagan and Kirsty – were all out and about.

Kirstie, Mya & Teagan - PH

Teagan is very snuggly – she immediately demanded a lap and my attention. Kirsty was already settled on the couch by us and didn’t want to move, but was ready to accept petting. Mya was not certain – she hovered anxiously and then finally came up onto the back of the couch. Part of her nervousness was because big Bossanova was also hovering and wanting to come in on the cuddle. He has made such progress – from the angry feral who first came to us, to the shy boy who wouldn’t come down off the shelf, to this cat who wants attention, to the extent of coming up on a lap. He’s also going through into the main room at last – something most of the cow-cats aren’t quite willing to do just yet.

Bossanova - BC

The evening ended with treats – I usually bring a baggie of chicken bits, and there is much competition over who gets what. Then lights out, and time for cats to sleep...

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Phaedra Hardman, Debbie Wolanski, Michele Wright

Brighton and Hillie

These two sweet girls have made the back deck of the Double-wide their home.

Hillie (L) & Brighton (R) - PH

Like Mya, Teagan and Kirstie, they are cats who have come from the nearby composting complex. We fear that someone may be dumping cats nearby, but there are certainly a few tough cats that seem to be able to survive the battle with machinery, predators and so on, and manage to reproduce. Stephanie and her team of helpers are working there pretty regularly; in the last little while they’ve brought in four kittens and two pregnant females – all now in fosterage. 

Hillie trapped with baby (?Havana) - PH

Brighton was trapped almost a year ago, Hillie just a little later. Phaedra was in on Hillie’s trapping, and says: “The night we caught Hillie and her three kittens was a special one. We've never got so many cats at the same time from Harvest and we don't usually trap in the area we got them from. I had to walk over this field covered in white powdery stuff to where I wanted to put the trap. We got two kittens midway through the evening but something told me there was more to come so another trap was laid and set in the same spot. On our last round Hillie and another kitten were in the trap. I had an awful feeling we had missed one and worried all week until I was able to go again. We almost immediately got another kitten of the same age”. The three kittens were Hamish, Harlow and Havana – all three were eventually adopted, but Hamish and Harlow were returned to the 5 Road Shelter recently and are awaiting their forever home.

Haemish & Harlow's formal RAPS portrait

Brighton was pregnant and went into fosterage.  Phaedra said she had a really rough time delivering and ended up with a c-section that managed to save one kitten (Rocky), who was later adopted. She would almost certainly have died trying to deliver if Stephanie and Cheryl hadn't trapped her first.

Once their kittens were healthy and ready for adoption, the two feral mamas came to us at the Sanctuary. They were both in the Moore house originally with the three cow girls. They would both get themselves as out of reach as possible and were given the nickname The Two Gargoyles.

Staying out of reach - PH

Phaedra says “I could pet both of them but Hillie was more receptive and Brighton just seemed angry. When they were transferred to the Double-wide they seemed to switch personalities:  Hillie was very upset and Brighton seemed much easier to handle. Hillie did NOT like the new environment, and was not at all averse to slashing out at Kitty Comforters. We found that she was calmer and easier to tend in a cage when she had her buddy Brighton with her, so, rather than releasing Brighton to join the other cats, we kept the two of them caged together. However, they had to be separated for a while when Brighton got a cold, and it was impossible to perform medical procedures on her with Hillie attacking the med staff.  But gradually Hillie came to accept (if not always happily) that humans were now a part of her life."

Hillie a little nervous - MW

But there’s a limit to how long you can keep cats caged, and it was more than time to let the two brave the open areas. Once their cage was opened, they made their way to the back deck – something of a relief to all of us, because it was easier to monitor their progress. Neither has made any move to make a run for the outside area. There’s no urgency to have them move – the deck of the double-wide is favoured by the shyer cats, and many of them rarely venture outside, even in the best weather. Hillie has lots of places to hide, and we mostly keep shelves draped so that she can feel that security.

"You took away my curtain!" - MW

Brighton enjoys visitors, and likes to be up on one of the cat-trees with a good view of proceedings. She’s a general favourite of the Kitty Comforters. She is very approachable so long as you move slowly. She loves her tummy rubs and pets, and adores being to be brushed. She can even be picked up but doesn't really seem to enjoy it.

Brighton keeping a wary eye on visitors - MW

..but deciding they're pretty boring... - MW

Hillie’s “thing” seems to be play. She can often be heard banging a ball around the deck. Phaedra puts ping pong balls out there for her, and she's starting to come inside looking for a ball or two. One day Phaedra opened a whole packet of them and chucked them for Hillie. What a treat! 

"I'm gonna get you, ball..." - PH

Both of these girls will still head for high ground if there is too much noise or fast movement so we try to move gently around them. Phaedra says “I believe they will keep getting better about accepting us and becoming our friends - though not through food. With Brighton it will be love and cuddles. Hillie is starting to associate us with play and I believe that's her key to socialization.”

Blog by Brigid Coult & Phaedra Hardmon
Pictures by Phaedra Hardman and Michele Wright