Feeeeet!

Freya's feet   (MW)

 If you are reading this blog, you are probably one of the many people who uses social media to indulge in your feline addiction.
We post pictures of our own cats, our friends’ cats, cat-memes, famous cats like Cole & Marmalade or Maru.  If we are lucky enough to be associated with a shelter or a cat sanctuary, our cell-phones are loaded with images. Kittens and seniors, feel-good stories and sad tales of abandonment, all touch our emotions. 
And one of the never-fail images is of FEET.

Bentley paw over nose  (KN)

Paws, to be exact.  Poofy paws, usually, with claws discreetly hidden.  Poofy on the top, and with a variety of patterned toe-beans below.

Claws are useful for Plum to grab a treat  (KN)

Human feet are definitely not so interesting. Nobody wants to look at pictures of cattle or horses’ feet – impressive though they may be. Dogs – well, perhaps some of them.  But cats’ feet almost always get an “Awww” response.

Jasper demonstrates the pile of paws pose  (KN)

Cats are DIGITIGRADE – meaning they walk on their toes. This is why it is so cruel to declaw a cat – you’re taking away the top joint of the toe, and everything is more uncomfortable without it.  Many declawed cats will end up in a shelter or a sanctuary because they hate to use a litter-box – it hurts their feet. And many will lose muscle tone because they don’t like to move around so much, and are unable to give their muscles a real workout without digging their claws into something.

Akiva has no claws - but he still needs to clean between his toes  (KN)

On a hot day, they can often be found with pads exposed – when you have a fur coat, paws may be the only place you can cool off by sweating.

Lindor cooling off, with all paws exposed  (MW)

Cats use their paws for much more than just walking. They climb (sometimes having to return backwards down a tree); they dig (with luck, mostly in the litter-box), they leave scent markings for other cats to decode, they fight other cats (especially Jasper and Gizmo), they swat unwary humans, they wash up with velvet paws, and then extend their toes so they can clean between them.

Mr Binx clean-up time  (KN)

Our Sanctuary cats give us a wonderful collection of feet to admire

Alexandria is one of our very active cats, and her flexible paws are often used for climbing.

Alexandria offers the Vulcan salute  (KN)

Jackie-O is also a climber, possibly made easier by an extra “thumb” on her front paws

Jackie O's paw  (KN)

Extra thumbs help to hang on   (MW)

We have several polydactyl cats at the Sanctuary. Raymond in Val Jones, Christina Aguilera in the Front Courtyard, and NikkiSixxToes in the Single-Wide all have more than their share of toes.

NikkiSixxToes could also be called Bigfoot   (KN)

A glass table-top in Pen 3 is an irresistible tool for getting feet pictures from another angle

The models on top  (LBF)

paws from below  (LBF)

This dark tortie girl was named for her blond toes!

Toes  (EW)

Sometimes we call them “murder mittens” – but often when you see them like this, the cat is usually asking for attention

Kiefer's velvet paws reaching through from the Single-Wide (KN)

Winston says "Reach out and touch me!" (KN)

And of course, there is nothing we like better than to have a purring pile of fur in the lap, and the sensation of being kneaded gently as the paws show how much we are loved!

Roe loves a lap!  (JS)

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill Friesen, Brigid Coult, 

Karen Nicholson, Justin Saint, Erica Warren, Michele Wright

Gardens and Gattos

Mercury (LBF)

Many of our cats have come to the Sanctuary as untamed ferals, and the experience of being caged is very uncomfortable for them – necessary, initially, because we need to take time to assess them and have the Kitty Comforters work with them – but often not something that can be sustained.

Fabian  (KN)

These are the cats who, in other circumstances, would be deemed unadoptable, and euthanized;  they don’t want anything to do with us, and in the buildings, they try to stay high up and out of the way, or hidden behind a drape. In the gardens they can find hiding places in the greenery.

Chirpy supervising planting  (KN)

Lindor helping with choices   (KN)

The Sanctuary is truly a sanctuary for them, because there are so many places they can hide, especially if they are back-courtyard cats. We have several volunteers who are gardeners, and much work has gone into filling flower beds, so that they can also be safe cat-beds. 

Leonardo diCatprio  (KN)

Preparing the garden to do some new planting always brings a few feline helpers, and planting needs to be done quickly to avoid too many deposits in the fresh soil. 

Hillie  (KN)

Some plants, like lilies, are not good for cats to be around, and they have been carefully eradicated; roses rather than lilies have gone into the beds, as well as splashes of colour with red runner beans (tasty for humans) and nasturtiums.  Summer interns have seen to the regular watering of both front and back gardens, and emptied water-bowls keep things moist.

Rico  (LBF)

Charlotte staying out of reach  (KN)

There is netting all around the Sanctuary to keep the cats in and the coyotes out – but the mesh is hidden for the most part by shrubbery, which offers shy cats all kinds of place to hide. Japanese knotweed springs up very quickly around the edges, and needs constant cutting back – but the cats in the north pens like it for shade and sleeping places.

Kramer   (LBF)

Some of the pens are grassed, and it’s often allowed to grow to give comfy corners for snoozing; maintaining it is hard, though, since the little feline “gifts” in the grass make a standard mower impractical, and the weed-whacker is pretty noisy.

Racks  (MRJ)

Potted Holland  (KN)

In the pens that are largely paved, greenery is provided with potted plants, and climbing plants. And if the pots are large enough, they provide another comfy place for resting.

Chaga  (MW)

Pen 6 has both real and artificial grass – but many of the inhabitants like to be up on the waist-level walkway where they can have shade and hiding places in overhanging plants, or sitting on the window-ledge of their play-hut.

Sandy goes climbing (KN)

Trees have their place too – both to provide leafy hiding places, and to allow for some height. We were all concerned when feral Sandy needed a back leg amputation to rid her of a cancer; it’s good to see that it hasn’t slowed her down much, and she’s even trying a little tree-climbing.

Ollie  (LBF)

Even Ollie will abandon his bed on the clean laundry to go out and enjoy a little sunshine and smell the flowers - and Alfred will take time out from bugging other cats to enjoy the garden world.

Alfred  (LBF)

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Marla Rae Jenkins, 

Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright