Family Day at the Sanctuary

Though most of the Sanctuary cats have come in as singles – whether feral-trapped or as surrenders, we have our share of feline family relationships. Some of them have recently been featured – the “Cow Cats” – Mya, Kirstie and Teagan – are now out of a cage and hanging about in the upper reaches of the single-wide trailer. They’re unlikely ever to be very tame cats, though both Teagan and Kirstie will accept a little attention, but they still enjoy each other’s company. However many of our siblings largely ignore each other, and it’s rare that you find them together, so most of the upcoming pictures are of singles rather than pairs.  Claire introduced shy Tricia nearly five years ago and updated us on her progress back in 2013. Tricia is currently caged for a mouth infection, and actively solicits petting when visited – big progress from the shy girl she used to be.

Tricia - CF

Now we need to get working on her little sister Tara. Tara has been almost exclusively a back-pens cat – a little ghost who hovers around pen 1, but doesn’t want much to do with people. She was recently confined to treat what looks like an inner ear problem, and though still wary of being touched, is watching everything that’s going on. Having a cat caged, and accessible to the staff and the kitty comforters, is often a really good way of coaxing them into the next stage of being tamed.

Tara - BC

The last of our Val Jones family, Paulo and Latte hang out together in the front courtyard – but their togetherness is probably less about affection and more about a common goal of food and attention from humans!

Paulo & Latte - PH

Brother and sister Miller and Fiona also live in the front courtyard. Though they mostly live independent lives, we can occasionally catch them together.  Fiona’s usually a very friendly girl, though she doesn’t think much of Sunday visitors – she has a talent for hiding herself away until 4:10pm, when she emerges with an air of “did I miss something?”. Miller has progressed from being pretty feral to being everyone’s pal, and loves attention. The third of the trio is their sister Schatze (whose middle name should have been Houdini). Schatze lived in the parking lot until recently – she had a gift for escaping (though we never knew quite how). The nearby presence of coyotes encouraged us to bring her to pen 4 which is totally meshed in, and she’s stayed there – she was pretty miffed at first, but has now progressed to living in the hut with some of the other cats.

Fiona & Miller - DW

Schatze - MW

Families can be adoptive as well as blood relatives – and that’s true of the Dryer Gang: the first cats you encounter on entering the single-wide. They are centred on Simone and Bantam, who we used to think were brother and sister, but according to the vet, Simone is older than Bantam, and may well be his mom – even though he’s twice her size.  The other cats are unrelated – they all just love each other!

The Dryer Gang - MW

The single-wide is also the home of some of our maternal relationships:  tortie Sophie and her tabby son Hiro; Diamond and momma’s boy Garfield.

Hiro & Sophie - MW

Diamond & Garfield - DW

And a third maternal relationship which we thought was wheezy Marissa and her orange son Paylan,  has now been revealed to be mother/daughter (rechristened Sarah Paylan) – we should know by now that though orange cats are usually males, we have our share of the female variety.

Marissa & Sarah Paylan - DW

Happy Family Day!

Blog by Brigid Coult
Photos by Brigid Coult, Claire Fossey, Phaedra Hardman, Debbie Wolanski and Michele Wright

Paylan & Marissa

Paylan - KS

This shy boy lives in the single-wide.  He isn't always the biggest fan of human attention and I had not really noticed him until he was in a med cage last year.  Fellow Monday-nighter, Kim, told me a bit about him and how he enjoys attention while in the cages, but he seems to forget people aren't so scary once he's back out on his own. 

Paylan - DW

I have been making an effort to get to know him over the last few months, and he has grown to trust me though he still has his skittish moments.  He is  a sweet guy who really does love chin scratches once he feels comfortable with you.  I've even found a little ticklish spot on his neck that gets his back leg scratching like a puppy. 

Paylan - KS

Paylan is one of the more full figured cats in the single-wide. He has a very distinctive lower lip and cute little turned up nose.

Marissa - KS

This is Paylan's Mom, Marissa, checking me out from on top of the cages where she usually hangs out.  She is also a resident of the single-wide, though not nearly as social with people as her boy. 

Marissa - MW

She does seem to like being talked to, though, and is willing to give my finger a little sniff just as long as I don't go in for the full chin scratching.  I'm hoping I can win her over with treats and time.

Marissa (PH) & Paylan (MW)

These two cuties are definitely worth a visit next time you are in the single-wide.

STOP PRESS: Paylan has been discovered to be female (relatively rare in an all-orange cat) and she has been renamed SARAH PAYLAN!

Blog by Katie Scragg

Pictures by Phaedra Hardman, Katie Scragg, Debbie Wolanski and Michele Wright

Mom-cat – love you!

The Sanctuary is home to a wide array of cats, most of whom are spayed and neutered as soon as they come to us.  But occasionally it’s too late, and Mom and kittens arrive together.  For some of the moms, motherhood is no big deal, and once the kittens are taken off for adoption, that’s it. For others, the role of mom-cat continues even at the Sanctuary.

Autumn's kittens (& Autumn, on extreme left);   Autumn today

Autumn arrived a couple of years ago with six half-grown kittens. Mom and offspring were placed in adjoining cages, and staff and volunteers rallied to socialize them. The kittens eventually went off to the No 5 Road Shelter for adoption – Treat was adopted by volunteer Carol, and Waffle’s adopter visited us recently, but poor Pancake was never adopted and is now back with us.  Mama Autumn was NOT interested in being tamed, but a couple of years have taught her that humans aren’t all that scary, and now she comes to us for attention.



Hiro (tabby) with Sophie (tortie)

Sophie and her son Hiro are established single-wide inhabitants. When Claire first wrote about them, Sophie was still very wary of human contact, but like Autumn, she’s mellowed. She can often be found lounging on one of the shelves on the right side – and without Hiro clinging to her, as he used to do in the early days.  However, they can still be found cuddling

Marissa (photo PH) and Paylan

Another single-wide mom-and-son pair is Marissa and Paylan. Marissa’s an up-top girl, though she usually likes to hang out where she can see the action. She’s also one of our chronically congested cats, and has to be caged every once in a while for medication. Chubby Paylan isn’t a mama’s boy, but is still quite shy of human contact.

Diamond (tabby) and Garfield (orange)

The mother-son pair we all love and would REALLY like to find a home for are Diamond and Garfield. They came to us as owner-surrender – their owner was really distressed about losing them, but her new housing wouldn’t allow them to stay. They lived for a while at the No 5 Road Shelter, but it wasn’t comfortable for them; they’re both BIG cats and couldn’t share a cage, and in fact Garfield was reduced to lying in his litterbox so that he could reach through and touch his mom. They’re a deeply bonded pair, and so we brought them to the Sanctuary where they could share a big enclosure, and still have room to move. Garfield has been having some treatment for his eyes, and both have relaxed to the point where they don’t have to be touching all the time. They are adoptable, but only if they can go as a pair – they need to be in a home where their diet can be supervised and they can be encouraged to get some exercise.

Joanie (left) & Val (right)

Mother’s Day, of course, may also be a time when some of us remember the mothers we’ve lost. This past year two mom-cats stand out for me: shy Joanie in the back courtyard was the mother of GusGus  (in the Val Jones pen) and soft sweet Hope, in the front courtyard. We don’t know what happened to Joanie, who was found one morning – probably of a heart attack.  And many of us are still mourning the loss of our darling one-eyed Val from the front courtyard – mother of Silverfox (Foxy), Latte and Paulo (and of Fury and Savannah, now gone). Right to the end, Val was boss-mom, batting her kids out of the way if they were reaching for a tidbit she wanted.

Memories and appreciation and love – that’s what Mother’s Day is about – for cats and humans!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Phaedra Hardman and Michele Wright