KC Afternoon

Shy Vonda  (BC)

One of the joys of volunteering at the Sanctuary is that once the shift is done (sometimes, even while the shift is in progress) there is time to interact with feline friends, to pet and to play, to treat and to groom. Even the hard-working staff will take time out when cats ask for attention. But just to ensure that it’s not just the extroverts that get attention, Anne coordinates the team of Kitty Comforters, and we have a list of cats we need to watch for, as well as spending time with the caged ones.

Bricklyn - you may look, but not touch... (KN)

My usual Kitty Comforter shift is on Thursday afternoon. I tend to miss the Adoption Centre possibility when I know there are cats with whom I need to spend time – the kittens need socializing, but everyone that goes in there ends up playing with kittens!  Last Thursday I headed right for the Connor building;  I had done the feed-&-scoop shift the previous Monday, and there had been seven cats in cages there, mostly being very vocal about unfair imprisonment! By Thursday, things were quieter. 

Leo  (KN)

Blond Leo was one of the noisiest on Monday; caged for a gut problem, he's now out. He could probably do with being on a special diet, but for an outdoor cat at the Sanctuary, that’s impossible. Currently he's spending his time sitting outside his friend Caleb's cage. Caleb is caged for an asthmatic problem and the med staff are trying to see how his medication can be sorted so that he's more comfortable. New boy Maverick had left his cage and gone to hide somewhere – we’ll need to track him down and find where he’s gone to ground, so that we can coax him out.  

Autumn being noisy  (BC)

Pretty Autumn has been having mouth problems. She was very vocal from her cage, but dealing quite well with food as long as it was well watered down. She's now out., and still being very vocal!  Bricklyn is in for some TLC. She's an elderly lady and pretty fragile; she’s not actually very keen on the offered TLC unless it involves chicken – and that, preferably when we can’t be seen.

Frank  (BC)

Frank is our new one, a very pretty gray and white boy. He's very friendly and vocal and eager to get out; he's probably got another couple of weeks in the cage, so visiting with him has to be about climbing into the cage with him.  Big Celine was caged on Monday so we could check her litter box. She's very happy to be out now, but throwing her weight around with old Vesper. She leaves us in no doubt that she's the dominant female in the room.

Kia - regal and smacky!  (BC)

I moved on to the Hill House where I visited with Kia and Vonda. Kia is still fairly unfriendly. She allowed me to pat her very briefly and then the paw started coming up to smack me. Vonda is still caged. She's spending a lot of time in her cave underneath the chair and is very shy. However, she likes chicken, so that gives us a bargaining tool.   
I made a short visit to the Val Jones pen, where Jim, Magnus, Merrin and Minuet shared a patch of sunlight, and decided that they wanted its warmth more than attention from me!

Tubby boys Mojo & Licorice   (BC)

In the SingleWide there was no one caged in the main building, but in the office room in the back I spent some time, as I do regularly, with Mojo and Licorice. These two big boys are kept separate so that we can monitor their food intake. There is a cage in the office which is currently the home of newcomer, stubby-tailed Darjeeling. She is acutely allergic to many types of food and is on a restricted diet. She really needs a home where she can be a solo cat.

Darjeeling has a forbidding stare!  (BC)

It’s all too easy to spend time in the SingleWide, but the main room cats get a lot of attention, and despite constant begging for treats and laps, they’re not high on my regular Thursday priority list. I headed over to the DoubleWide, where we have the greatest number of caged cats, because of access to the med staff. Sierra has had dental surgery, and her neighbour Skye is waiting for it, so both needed little more than reassurance, and a little coaxing to eat some wet food. 

Skye's mouth hurts...  (BC)

Root Beer has been having a good time outside - 
as long as it lasted...   (KN)

Grumpy Root Beer is caged for some time out. Shortly after I wrote his blog, the med staff moved him from the Front Courtyard to the Back to give him more room to roam.  Though he has found a few quiet corners he likes, he does NOT like other cats, and he picks fights not only with the ones who can also be aggressive, but with some of the more timid cats. There is probably some discussion around medication, but nobody really wants that to be necessary. He was OK with my presence in the cage, and with the sound of a voice, but he let me know very clearly that he did not want physical contact, even at back-scratcher length, and when he got grumbly, I let him be.

Newcomer, Burt Reynolds  (BC)

Newbie Madonna does not want to be seen, nor black Keno, and Charlotte used some very rude language when I came to her cage, so I moved on to handsome tuxedo Burt Reynolds.  Burt came in labelled as a feral, but it didn’t take long before he was allowing petting, and even rolling over to show his tummy, so there may have been human contact in his past. He’s been on a wet-food only diet, with possible mouth problems, but gobbles his food at mealtimes, and is always ready for second helpings. Without knowing much about his background, I would say that he certainly has signs of food insecurity, and when I offered chicken without enough caution, I wasn’t prepared to be grabbed with sharp claws; not from nastiness or fear – just anxious to get at the food.

Guacamole getting braver  (BC)

Having mopped myself up, and band-aided as necessary, I took a little time in the back courtyard with “my” boys – shy grey Sylar and tabby Quinn, the increasingly approachable trio of Betsy, Zoey and Cleo, and the pushy ones: Pumpkin, Walker, Jasper, Lindor, & Cassidy. Both Sylar and Quinn will take food from my hand, but are easily deterred by the pushy crew.  Our new tripod Guacamole is getting braver and closer, but is not seriously food motivated – or if he is, I’ve not found the right bribe yet. Old Clementine in Pen 7 sees that the others are gathering for treats, and is vocal in claiming her share of the goodies at the gate. 

Clementine - "where's my share?"  (KN)

I know as I end my KC afternoon that the feeding team is arriving soon, and that nobody will waste away before dinner is served!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult  Karen Nicholson

Two BIG boys

Mojo  (BC)

Tucked away at the back of the SingleWide is the office area where our Sanctuary Manager and Assistant Manager work. There are a couple of cages for cats who need more isolated care, but the rooms are also well-equipped with cat-beds, litter-boxes and all the necessary paraphernalia needed for resident cats. Sometimes the cats in question are there because they’re unsocial with other cats, sometimes there are health issues.

Licorice having a little outing  (KN)

Currently the two residents in question are Mojo and Licorice – both of them solid chonks. When we have cats that are overweight, it’s hard to put them on a diet, because so many of the general population would rather free-feed with kibble in preference to eating the canned food. And caging them means that they get very little exercise, so that a restricted diet doesn’t actually help much.  Sweet chonky Mya was adopted from the SingleWide by one of the volunteers and we hear that she has actually lost quite a bit of weight because she has to run up and down stairs to get her treats. 

Licorice  (KN)

Licorice has been with us for seven years, having been brought in as an unneutered stray. The testosterone might no longer be a factor, once his surgery was done, but cattitude remained part of his personality, and he picked fights with other cats and was often put in TimeOut to calm down. In recent years, Licorice has become arthritic, and no longer moves so well – and of course his lack of movement has contributed to increased weight.

Mojo, considering a lap-leap  (BC)

Mojo came to us in 2021 as a surrender; he was huge, and matted, and diabetic, and it was immediately obvious that he would need a lot of care. Since he arrived, he’s dropped from 30lbs to 17lbs, and his diabetes is now in remission. Because he is such a big boy, he’s not that enthusiastic about the concept of exercise; his idea of making an effort is to jump from the floor into an office chair and make himself comfortable there. Luckily Licorice is prepared to tolerate the company of his roommate – or perhaps it’s just that having a battle is too strenuous these days!

Both begging to come up  (BC)

So Mojo and Licorice have the use of the offices, which allows them to move freely, but they have a carefully measured restricted diet. Unfortunately, a lot of the administration in the last month or so has been happening out of the Adoption Centre, and nobody has been in the SW office, so the boys have less incentive to get up and move around. The Kitty Comforters have been making a point of visiting them, and if they’re in the right mood, getting them to play a little;  unfortunately, both would rather lounge around rather than play (Mojo likes feather toys when interactive play is offered). They are willing to make the effort to come up in a lap (both need a stool to make a halfway jump), but any amount of running is not on their agenda. 

Grass stems make a good exercise toy!  (KN)

We’d love to have them out in the courtyard – Licorice occasionally goes out for a short visit – but for now, KCs and feeding/scooping volunteers do as much as they can to keep these two stimulated and active to some degree, and we hope that the drop of a few more pounds might allow them to enjoy a bit more freedom when the weather is warmer.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult & Karen Nicholson

Two Alpha Cats

Alfie - MW

For a while, the Sanctuary office was known as the home of the Grumpy Old Ladies, and Kitty, Mindy and Tammy (who were all much beloved by the Shelter Manager) took pains to ignore each other at all costs. There were rarely any real battles, but there was a certain amount of bad language.

Kitty-Mindy-Tammy - RIP

We also have our share of grumpy male cats, but putting them together in a room to grump with each other is rarely a good move. The grumpy guys tend to be much more aggressive than the grumpy gals, and we try to encourage them to locate in different areas, and hope they won’t encounter each other too often.

Alfie - KN

The particular grumpy pair I have in mind, are both called Alfred. To be precise, the front courtyard boy is named Alfie, which sort of sounds friendlier than Alfred – but his usual mood belies the name. Alfie came to us last year, a late-neutered tomcat; you can generally tell the males that miss an early neutering because they tend to bulk up, and the head and jowls are often blocky. He was initially brought in as a stray with an abscess (probably from fighting) and adopted last spring, but returned because of peeing issues. We think he is around 10 years old.

Alfie - LBF

Alfie is blond and beautiful, like Leo – but he doesn’t live up to his appearance, preferring to be the courtyard bully. Cheryl tells me that a little while ago he had a thing for Mozart, and followed him everywhere, stalking him and picking fights. For a while we relocated him to the back courtyard, but the big boys there gave him a taste of his own bullying behaviour, and we eventually moved a slightly more subdued Alfie back to his starting place.

Alfie waiting for Mozart to come out - CT

He’s definitely top cat, and can be very vocal when wandering around.  Kitty-Comforter Mel says “He loooooves catnip, tries to be close to you but he doesn’t know how to show affection. It’s like he wants to be petted but growls at you. He pees on everything.” He will occasionally “make nice” with a human, but don’t count on it! - he’s just as likely to swat. He and Winston can sometimes be found exchanging greetings at the window of the Newcomers door; Winston is pretty shy, so Alfie has no need to show off.  Cheryl thinks Alfie’s at his best when he’s sleeping – she says “He reminds me of the Lion in the Wizard of Oz!” 

The lion sleeps tonight! - CT

Alfred-in-the-back is a handsome tabby manx gentleman. He came to us with a “peeing” label; lack of urinary control is sometimes a manx thing, but equally it’s often a stress symptom. His former owners reported that he'd had urinary crystals, which can be very painful for male cats. During his caged period with us, he seemed to be managing just fine with the litterbox, and since emerging he’s not shown any real sign of problems in that area – other than where it comes to other cats. 

If it fits, I sits - KN

Mostly, he's an independent guy. He will tolerate a little petting before he moves off; he's ready to accept treats or to interact a bit with humans, but he's not a snuggle-bug.

Any treats up there?  LBF

But where Alfred's problem lies is with aggression. He has established that he knows who the other pushy cats are, and he pushes right back. Cats don’t have a social hierarchy in the way that dogs do, but we do know that males, in particular, will attempt to establish their alpha status with each other (and with us!). Alfred has a particular “hate” on for Licorice; Licorice is not really a fan of other cats, and his arthritis often makes him grumpy, so being bugged by Alfred can produce a lot of yelling.

"Helping" with the gardening - LBF

Grey Gizmo and Jasper come in for some face-offs with him as well, but it’s Alfred and Licorice that makes us keep the “Bad Cat” spray bottle on the table outside the TeaRoom.  Cool off, Alfred – life’s much better at the Sanctuary when you can get along with the other cats!

A little quiet-time...  KN

Alfie and Alfred are both alphas – and life for both of them can be a bit fraught. It’s a good thing there’s lots of space at the Sanctuary, and hidey-holes where they can take time-out when the stress of being social gets to be too much.

Blog by Brigid Coult (with thanks to Cheryl, Lori & Mel)

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Karen Nicholson, Cheryl Townsend, Michele Wright

Note: as we go to press, Licorice has been transferred to the office area, where we can monitor his diet. Perhaps Alfred will be a little calmer without his bête noire around...

....aaaand.... ACTION!

In every area of the Sanctuary, there are boxes or pots filled with cat-toys.

Tyson chomps on a commercial toy - KN

And I think most cat-owners are probably in the same space – we think “I’ve not been playing enough with Chonky; I’ll get him some new toys”, and he plays with them for a bit, and then they go under the couch or behind the fridge, or wherever, nevermore to be used.

Silky - LBF

Ah, but summertime.... when the playing is easy....

Autumn - KN

It’s the season of LONG grass stalks, which are the perfect cat toy – they have exactly the right amount of spring to tempt a hunter, claws don’t get stuck in them, if they get broken, there are plenty more where they come from.

Kiwi - LBF

So big thanks to Lisa Brill-Friesen and to Karen Nicholson for some stretchy happy-cat pictures....

Leo - LBF

Used-to-be-feral Ranger reaching for his goals....

 KN

"Take that!" says Tigger, getting unusually energetic!

 LBF

Mozart (Poptart) is just a little quicker to grab than his brother Benny.

 LBF

Dodger doesn't do the streeeeetch very well, but the intent is all there

 LBF

Christina Aguilera, who is one of our polydactyls, thinks that it's really useful to have extra toes when you want to grab some grass.

 LBF

Aphrodite, floofy as she is, can stretch with the best of them!

LBF

Even Licorice, who is rather arthritic, and not much into action, wanted in on playing with grass stalks.

KN

There was a lot of action throughout the day - and there were a lot of tired cats at the end.

 KN

Blog (minimal) by Brigid Coult
Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen & Karen Nicholson