In Tigger's House

Smithy and Sprocket are best buddies  (KN)

When the Sanctuary was constructed more than 20 years ago, much of it was thanks to the generosity of devoted donors who sponsored the cost of building cabins and pens. As you walk around, you will notice signs memorializing the beloved pets of those donors.

At the south end  (BC)

The back courtyard is structured in an L shape, with one wing reaching east and another to the south. At the south end of the latter wing is a cabin that is labelled as “Tigger’s House – in Memory of Waldie’s favourite cat.”

Waldie & Barb  (DW)

Tigger is long gone now;  Waldie is now in his 90s, and only comes occasionally to visit, but up to a couple of years ago, he held down a regular Saturday night shift at the Sanctuary, scooping the back pens, while his wife Barb fed the cats. The two of them have been devoted Sanctuary supporters since the beginning; Barb is still a regular volunteer. Their home is well known to their neighbourhood cats and they have been responsible for rescue and TNR around there for many years. When Waldie is visiting, he always seeks out Rookie, who they brought to the Sanctuary.

Rookie  (KN)

So “Tigger’s House” is actually known to most of us as “Waldie’s Hut”, and it’s the home base of a number of the shyer cats. Some of them have relocated from Pen 8 next door, when it had to be closed and refurbished for the colony of cats from the Kootenays. Pen 8 had been an open area – most of the cats living there were semi-feral – and the inhabitants were used to the courtyard space. Some, like hissy-Smithy, preferred to stay in the courtyard just outside, hiding out in the collection of boxes and shelves backing on to the SingleWide deck. Others preferred the shelter of a cabin. 

Smithy says "leave me alone!"  (KN)

Smithy’s friend Sprocket can often be found in Waldie’s Hut, high up on a shelf. When outside, he likes the company of his hissy pal, but at night, he prefers his comfort. His brother Rocket, in the New Aids building, has finally accepted attention from humans and enjoys being petted;  Smithy’s touch-me-not attitude has rubbed off on Sprocket. He doesn’t hiss, but he prefers no-contact.

Sprocket is comfortable with wandering - just not with touch  (KN)

Princess, who was featured in the blog a couple of weeks ago, can also be found here. She also prefers no touch, but hovers hopefully if chicken tidbits are offered. 

Princess wanders freely, but likes this hut  (KN)

The real chickaholic in this area is sweet Selena. She was a feral mom who came to us more than 10 years ago, and joined the other tabby/white cats in Pen 8. Now she is aging, and with senility has come the loss of feral-fear – she loves attention (especially when food is on offer), and shoulder-climbs when I am cleaning in the cabin. She also no longer restricts her area, and can often be found visiting around the Tea-Room. Like Sara Lee, she’s starting to look a little raggedy, and lap-climbing is a little painful with her old-lady claws.

Selena waiting hopefully  (BC)

If there’s anyone who has picked up the hiss-habit from Smithy, it’s Magpie. This handsome boy prefers the bed adjacent to the door, which means that he can’t pretend that he’s not there when you enter, and he hisses until eye-contact ceases. He’s not a cat I have even tried to touch, and he’s not really food-motivated – he’s just one of those cats who will probably remain feral.

Magpie is always suspicious  (KN)

There are a few other cats who rotate in and out of the hut, depending on mood and weather. It was a favourite place for Cinnamon Bun Lincoln until a few months ago; now he’s very frail and prefers the comfort of the heater in the Tea-Room. His girlfriend/worshipper Dusty prefers the hut; Dusty is another who hisses early and often, but her hiss is reactive, and she does allow human contact when given time. She is a cat who prefers cat-company; her two earlier boyfriends, Salty and Ridley, have both passed, and she follows Lincoln adoringly – though mostly, he ignores her.

Dusty is a loner when not following Lincoln  (BC)

And let’s not forget the outside of the cabin – there are several of the back courtyard cats who prefer to have their secret cat meetings well out of reach, and have found a way to climb to the roof of Waldie’s Hut. We have to be careful that the fencing above them prevents them from getting onto the roof of the SingleWide. And in the heat of summer days, it can be very hot up there, and occasionally someone needs to climb up and make sure that all is well with the cats.  

Sprocket keeps watch as Quinn chairs the day's cat-meeting  (DW)

Like most of our back-courtyard cabins, Waldie’s Hut is showing its age – these cabins were not designed as long-term structures, and a coat of paint is a temporary fix-it for some of its imperfections. But it’s full of memories – if you close your eyes, Samantha and Eclipse, Chimo and PawPaw, Lucky the Bengal, and many others are still there for the long-term staff and volunteers who loved them.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Karen Nicholson & Debbie Wolanski

Meowvember furry faces

November is the month when guys who can, grow their facial hair, and then shave it off at the end of the month to raise funds supporting men’s health issues. In the feline world, facial hair is not limited to the males.  Obviously some cats are furrier than others, but it’s not just the quantity of face-fluff that’s noticeable, but also the markings.

Magpie - KN

Last time I wrote about Meowvember, we admired the defined ‘tache of Magpie, who usually hangs out around pen 8 and Waldi’s Hut. Magpie is no less hissy, but some of us have now been introduced to Sweet Pea, in the front courtyard, with similar markings. Sweet Pea has been with us a while, but is very feral and wary, and prefers not to be seen (unless you carry chicken!)

Sweet Pea - KN

Digby, Smoochie, Mya, Salish, Comet and Rocky all featured in the Meowvember blog back in 2017, but since then we’ve an assortment of new facial markings to join the ‘tache club.  One of my favourites is sweet Winston, who lives in Waldi’s Hut – he’s still a little shy, but loves being petted when he knows he can be safe with you

Winston - KN

Spirit and Tootsie are both one-sided ‘tache wearers – Spirit (front courtyard) on the right and Tootsie (back courtyard) on the left. 

Spirit (right) and Tootsie (left) - KN

It’s easy to tell them apart because of where they live; distinguishing facial markings are more important with sisters Sandy and Pebble in Pen 4. Pebble quite likes human company and presents herself for petting; her twin sister Sandy is more likely to greet you with a claws-out swat in true feral fashion. Pebble’s marking is on the left of her nose, and Sandy’s on the right.

Many of the tabbies in Pen 8 have facial markings that help us distinguish them. Johnny is the alpha, hissy boy, with a single smudge to one side of his muzzle; his sister Hailey carries little balanced patches on both sides. 

Johnny & Hailey  -  LBF

Fellow feral Selena is the only one in the pen who now approaches to ask for petting; her markings cover both her muzzle and her chin - ‘tache and beard.

Selena   -   MD

My favourite boy Skittles not only has a hint of ‘tache markings, but he also has a serious quantity of facial fur.  But it’s all his – he is not going to be shaving it off at the end of the month!

Skittles  -  MW

Our magnificent Dell has relocated to the Single-Wide (for insulin injections), and will also not be doing any shaving at month-end.  Dell has wonderful fur, and usually an impressive set of whiskers – we noticed that some of his whiskers were much shorter than they should be, and guessed that his little tabby girlfriends in Pen 3 had probably been doing some over-enthusiastic grooming. Now that he’s made himself at home in the SW, we hope he can regrow his nibbled whiskers.

Dell - with nibbled whiskers - KN

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Melanie Draper, Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright

Shy Winston

This big boy came to us late fall of last year.  He was brought in to the City Shelter as a stray, but acted pretty aggressive, and was transferred to our care.  It was noted that he had not been neutered, so that was quickly taken care of, and Winston’s tomcat days were done.

During his cage-stay he was visited by the Kitty Comforters, who found that rather than being aggressive with us, he was very shy, but not feral-reactive. Many ferals don’t like contact with humans, and react with aggression. A stray who has known human attention but lived as a feral may shrink from contact, but the reaction tends to be fear rather than aggression; something in them knows that humans can mean good things.  Winston hid in his box, but allowed touch, and eventually emerged to permit some petting.

It’s always a hard decision for the med staff to know when to release a cat. We don’t want to keep them caged indefinitely, but there have been many cats who were touchable in a cage, and then hid from contact. One of my sponsor cats, Sylar, is like that – caged, he hisses, but allows contact (and enjoys it, from the bum-in-air reaction) – out of the cage, he doesn’t want to get closer than ten feet or so. So we were concerned about how Winston would react to freedom.

Winston quickly managed to make his way out of the Double-Wide trailer and into the courtyard, mostly basing himself in the Newcomers area. We call it Newcomers because it’s quieter, and offers less chance of dealing with scary humans, so many of the newly-released cats spend some time there.  Sadly, Winston is one of those cats who really is a pussycat – he carried a big label around that said “Bully Me!”. And our resident bullies – Jasper, Chester and Gizmo (particularly the latter) did just that.  Winston found a few hidey-holes where he could retreat, and occasionally vanished down to the bushes at the back of Pen 2, but he preferred to be in warmth and comfort.

KN

In the late spring, the decision was made to open pen 8, the pen where Smithy, Splotch and their feral buddies lived. A procession of cats visited in and out of the gate; interestingly the ferals relaxed quite noticeably with all this new company, and dared to venture outside, though maintaining their base there.  At some stage, Winston discovered this area, and now he can often be found in “his” box, still shy, but approachable and ready to accept petting. I'm never sure whether it's the name or the voice, but like Skittles and Bossanova, Winston is a cat who will often come when I call, and he's now starting to put paws on my lap (though not yet ready to sit and relax there).

The corner he has chosen was largely the territory of feral Magpie, who is not entirely happy with human attention, but who obviously enjoys the company of his new buddy enough that he will tolerate us in the vicinity.

Magpie & Winston

If you’re at the Sanctuary, please come and introduce yourself to this gentle boy with the muscular body and broad cheeks of a former tomcat, and the wariness of a cat who has not always had gentle handling from humans. Gradually we’re changing his mind.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult & Karen Nicholson

Meowvember

MW

Traditionally November is a month in which many men grow a moustache as a part of raising funds for issues around men’s health (Movember).  There’s no ‘tache-growing going on around the Sanctuary, but an interesting variety of facial fur markings can be seen.

BC

Digby is one of our relative newcomers, and his moustache marking suits his personality, which is dominant, to say the least!  He’s not afraid to tell other cats where to get off, especially when they encroach into his space.  Digby came in at the same time as Magpie, who has a similar ‘tache, but in reverse – white on black fur. Magpie is a pretty hissy feral, and has not cooperated over having his picture taken.

MW

Smoochie’s little Hitler-moustache belies his gentle nature.  Very timid for a while when he lived in the Leukemia area, he has now a wide variety of human friends. He hangs out with his buddies Bear and Hendrik in the Val Jones area.

Mya - MW

Feline moustaches are not, of course, confined to males. Mya, one of the ferals from the composting facility, has a most impressive Chaplin-type moustache marking. Her late sister, Teagan, was one of the cats with a half-tache, and shy sister Kirstie’s marking covers her entire nose. It’s too erratic to be called a moustache, but she does have a little black chin that might double for a goatee!

Brighton - CP

There’s obviously something genetic here – Brighton and Hillie also came from the same venue. Hillie’s nose is mostly black; Brighton has a much more impressive spread of coloured fur over her upper lip.

Woody - MD

Woody is one of the relative newcomers to New Aids, and like Brighton, his ‘tache has a good spread. Many men who grow their facial hair find that it comes in quite dark; it’s pretty rare to find someone with dark hair and a fair moustache. We do have a few white moustaches in the Sanctuary. Magpie, mentioned above, is a prime example, 

Salish - MW

but so is shy Salish, whose pencil moustache is just visible in her long fur.

Honey Bear - ChrisP

Honey Bear’s ‘tache is as off-balance as he is, with more white on the right side than the left

Comet (MW) & Rocky Slippers (DW)

And these two look almost identical, though as far as we know, they’ve never met. Comet is an assertive lady who dominates the cage-tops in the DoubleWide; Rocky Slippers is a nervous and shy feral boy who hangs out mostly in Pen 1 area and won’t allow anyone to touch him.

This is not taking into account all the cats who have half-taches on one side or the other – Chester, Mischa, and many others

But I think one of my favourites is an implied rather than an explicit moustache – Emily’s dark markings in all her tortie fur always look to me as if she has a little pencil-thin handlebar moustache, though to be sure, it’s stronger on one side than the other!

Emily - PH

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Melanie Draper, Phaedra Hardman, Chris Peters, Carol Porteous, Debbie Wolanski, Michele Wright