Marty

Recent time spent in the Single-Wide has reminded me that there’s one little cat who has somehow missed having a blog to himself.

Marty, in his younger days   (MW)

Marty is one of a group of cats that came to us from a farm in south Richmond in the days when we were still managing colonies of cats around the city, until they were forced out by development or changed ownership. Volunteer Mary He visited and fed them regularly, and when she saw a family of kittens there, she was able to trap them and bring them in.  Some of the adults later made it to the Sanctuary – Belinda, Marilee, Alec (who was adopted and loved by long-time volunteer Stephanie), Maureen, and others. But Mitchell, Mary, Mischa and Marty all came to the SingleWide, and never left; sadly, they were all too nervous to tame up well, and we were very wary about adopting semi-ferals out.  

Wary feral Marty  (MW)

They came to us in 2008; we lost Mitchell in the fall of 2011 and Mary a few years later; Mischa and Marty hovered in the background, reluctant to accept much attention until the past few years. Mischa likes to be around people but not necessarily within reach; Marty has recently become more and more a people-cat.  

Marty  (KN)

With me, he started by sneaking up from the back of the couch while I had lap-time with Belinda and Bossanova.  I became aware of this presence behind me, wanting in on the chicken treats, but not really wanting attention – so chicken bits would make their way over my shoulder where they would magically disappear. Gradually the couch back gave way to the arm, and then to a just-within-reach spot near me.

Chicken, please?   (BC)

Marty has been having eye problems of late; one eye is quite cloudy and we don’t know how much sight he has in it; the other seems to get a recurring infection which responds to drops, and then flares up again. He’s had quite a lot of cage-time for treatment, and has become used to being handled and petted – with the result that he is now one of the most enthusiastic lap-cats in the room.  Both he and Mischa are obviously aging – at around 14 years they qualify as seniors, and as with people, some cats seem to age earlier (whereas others, like Sara Lee, go on like an Energizer Kitty).

Sharing a chair with Dodger & Mr Pink  (BC)

When the weather’s not so cold, the couch on the deck is a good place to have a feline love-in. Boxing Day cuddles this year had to be a how-many-cats-can-you-hold affair in the main room, with Marty front and centre (and active) in my lap with Mr Pink, Bossanova over my shoulder, Dodger, Paylan and Presley all hovering hopefully.  Marty, you’ve come a long way from the scared feral kitten you were!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright

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Belinda

photo provided by Marianne

I was asked to write a post about Belinda by Bev, who sponsors this little black sweetie living in the singlewide.

I first met Belinda some time ago but had yet to blog about her, largely because the fact that she's very friendly and tends to do a bit of scooting around one's feet as she shows it makes her not an easy girl to get a good photograph of.

Belinda comes from the same farm where Mitchell, Mary, Alec, Marilee and others were trapped. She was initially very shy, but a bad cold early on in her time at RAPS saw Leslie having to climb into her cage regularly and sit with her while she gave her fluids.

It came as a welcome surprise to Leslie when Belinda started to purr during her visit. And then she even came over and climbed into Leslie's lap.

According to Bev, Belinda may not be into being picked up, but she does love a lap to curl up in.

Belinda turned out to be such a sweetheart that Marianne says it's a shame she's never been adopted. Fortunately, she does have friends at the shelter who love her dearly.

photo provided by Bev

Maureen

Maureen was one of the first cats trapped on the Richmond farm that Alec, Marilee, Mitchell and Mary came from. Human Mary who'd been looking after the feral colony called Maureen "the auntie" to the kittens there.

Maureen has an old front leg injury that gives her a noticeable limp, but she's had it for so long that Leslie says there's not much point in us messing with it now. Still wary enough to flee when a human comes too close, Maureen doesn't look to be in favor of us messing with her leg either.

Even without embracing the idea of human buddies, she has no cause to feel lonely at the sanctuary and is particularly fond of cat magnet Jet.

Marilee (Merrily)

This tiny, pretty girl came from the same place as Alec, a farm where a feral colony was living. It's quite possible, likely even, that Alec is her brother. Leslie named Marilee after RAPS' Mary, who'd been looking after the site. (It's "Marilee" since the actual name "Mary" was already taken.)

While the kittens at this location were brought straight to RAPS to be tamed and hopefully adopted out (Mitchell and Mary among them), the adults were trapped, neutered and released back on the farm, as the property owner was happy to have them there. What seemed like not long after, RAPS found that Marilee was back at the vet, having somehow sustained an injury to her tail that resulted in most of it having to be amputated. After this, Carol decided to bring her to live at the sanctuary where we'd know she was safe.

Marilee's made some friends among the cats in the front courtyard and Connor building, but she's still not sure how she feels about us humans. She's very curious and will often position herself so that she can peer, wide-eyed, at whatever you're doing, but she'll quickly scoot away if you get too close.

The curiosity's a good sign, though - she's at least interested in possibly, maybe, if it's not too scary... getting to know us.

All hail the graceless kitty

"Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this"  ~ Anon.

Cats may not have forgotten, but those who interact with them on a daily basis may now and again (and again and again) get to see that mask of regal aloofness slip a bit.

For your entertainment a blooper reel, er, photo essay of some of our sanctuary friends' less graceful moments.

A big thanks to Ann for the idea.

Abby: upside down and doesn't care who knows it

Tootsie with food on her nose... as usual

Mary

photo by Phaedra

Lola

Jenna-fur

Fred

photo by Phaedra

Andy, posing for Playcat

photo by Phaedra

Diablo - "Eat. Play. Fall Over."

Gunther, seconds away from giving the paparazzi stink eye

Logan. Because he can

photo by Michele

Zoe, trying to sell us on the idea that this position is remotely comfortable

Charlie: "You're taking a picture of me? Neat! Can I watch?"

photo by Michele

Ricky and his "drool man chu"

Arnie: "Here's lookin' at you, kid."

Mitchell

Mitchell is a sweetheart of a tabby who lives in the singlewide at the sanctuary. He was trapped in Steveston a couple of years ago as part of the same litter of feral kittens that gave us Mary. Their feral mom and aunt live in the rear yard of the sanctuary.

baby Mitchell

photo by Phaedra

Mitch tamed up nicely and is quite happy to interact with his human friends. According to Leslie, not only does he love laps, but this "wide-eyed monkey loves to scratch on the tops of people's running shoes, probably because he's attracted to the shoelaces."

I haven't witnessed the running shoe playing myself, but I have experienced some shoe sitting. It's an amusing sight to feel a gentle pressure on your foot and then to look down to see this cat neatly parked there and looking brightly back up at you.

Mitch is a particular favorite of volunteer Michele, who gets to spend some quality time with him every week during her shift in the building where he lives.

Here are a few of her pictures of him:

 photo by Michele

 photo by Michele

Mitch and Deanna

photo by Michele

Mitch was almost adopted out a little while back as a companion for a woman's cat, but she unexpectedly had to take in another cat and was unable to have more than two. Mitch is still a very adoptable boy. Leslie says he would be a great companion to another young cat or two.

Updated September 19, 2011: We're all very saddened by the sudden illness and passing of sweet Mitchell this weekend. Below is a lovely tribute created by Michele, with whom he was close.

Sophie, Hiro and Miko

I was introduced to a wild mama today by the name of Sophie.

Sophie

She was brought in to the sanctuary as a pregnant feral and gave birth to her litter in the kitten trailer. In a room at the other end of the trailer were some older kittens who'd been trapped earlier. Describing this to me, Leslie remembers how surprised she was when Carol told her that Sophie was in fact the mother of both litters.

When the older kittens were reintroduced to their mother, who they'd not seen for a number of months, there was no question whether they remembered her or not. A cuddle-fest ensued. Most of the kittens were later adopted out, but brother and sister Hiro and Miko remained at the sanctuary. They can still often be seen nearby their mom.

Hiro & Mary

Tabby Hiro's a little nervous around people, but black Miko loves a good cuddle. Today, she spent a good amount of time wriggling around on top of the cage where she was perched, anxious to demonstrate her immense cuddleability.

Miko

Sophie's still a bit wild but, if pressed, will make an effort to allow herself to be stroked. Some time spend in a cage receiving attention from animal care staff a while back seems to have helped her get more used to people. Now, even if she does give in to the urge to swat, she will (at least in my experience) limit herself to a light slap on the wrist.

Mary

It's time to pass on the crown of covercat for The Neko Files header. For the past few months we've been enjoying the adorably quizzical face of Mary, one of the cats in the single wide.

Here is the original, unedited photo:

Mary is a photogenic cat who actually seems to like getting her picture taken. Or at least she finds the crazy biped holding a box interesting enough to stick around and stare at. She hasn't let me touch her yet, but she's quite content to let me get as many shots as I care to.

Leslie tells me she's named after the lady "who fed and then captured her feral litter in Steveston about 1 1/2 years ago." She also says that while Mary will sometimes let her stroke her, she's still a timid girl who will often run away.