Garth & Sierra

Garth  (KN)

It’s more than 10 years ago that the Merritt cats came to us from a cat population explosion to which many BC rescues responded.  We took in about a dozen cats initially, but the stresses of a feral existence can carry into later life, and all those years later, we now have only three of them left: Desmond, Michonne and Garth. When the reduced group was moved to Pen 3, for a while we had two clear colonies: the Merritt cats and the little tabbies. In the last year, the group became much more fluid, and there was more social interchange.

Garth (KN)

Garth is a laid-back gentle giant. Like all the Merritt cats, he’s wary of humans, and too quick an approach results in a rapid retreat to the hiding places. But he’s happy to lounge around in the back section and let himself be admired – and when the right human approaches in the right way, he will allow limited contact and the consuming of treats.

Garth in the middle of the cuddle pile
with Annie and Desmond  (LBF)

For a long time the anonymous little tabbies (I could never sort out who was who) were the other part of the population, presided over by our beloved Dell.  Then we added Annie and Nikki Sixx Toes, ferals from Semiahmoo, with Nikki, like Dell, being diabetic. Sadly, that didn’t work out – Nikki was feral enough that medicating him in the pen was almost impossible. Annie and Nikki were split up, and Nikki was brought into the SingleWide, where he is flourishing and no longer feral.  Annie took a while to decide whether she was in the tabby party or the Merritt one, but decided that the latter was more interesting, and can often be found hanging out with her new buddies.

Hickory, Mitzi, Sierra   (LBF)

Enter Sierra.  Sierra came to us last year from CATS rescue on Vancouver Island – she arrived with Hickory and Mitzi – though not from the same situation. The other two adapted fairly quickly – Hickory is the tamer of the two – and based themselves on the DoubleWide deck with the other semiferals. Sierra, however, was NOT going to be friends with anyone. She spent her time huddled in a corner of her cage, all her body language conveying that she didn’t want to be touched, or even acknowledged, despite all the Kitty Comforters could do to coax her.

Sierra in hiding (KN)

Sometimes you just get cats like that. There are places where they would say “she’s not able to be tamed or adopted; put her down”. At RAPS we have the space to be able to say “she needs to be a feral and take her own time”. Sierra was put into Pen 3 and allowed to make her own decisions. For a long time she huddled in a bed in the cabin, or found herself a cosy straw bed in one of the kennels. Very occasionally she would sniff at an extended fingertip before pulling away.  

Garth & Sierra (LBF)

But in the last few months she seems to have attached herself to Garth – perhaps recognizing a bigger version of herself, and a source of comfort.  Initially she hovered on the edge of the group, but increasingly she can be found with him, and since he will accept a little petting from feral-charmer Lisa, she is also accepting it, especially when she’s cuddled next to him. 

We're letting her take tiny steps, trying not to force her to anything before she’s ready. 

Recently we've transferred the Pen 3 cats into Pen 4 - the latter is a larger space, and we needed to make room for another group of young cats that shouldn't be kept caged, but who need to be limited in range until we find who might be tamable.  The original Pen 3 cats seem to be settling down, and Sierra and Garth are finding new places in which they can hide or hang out together.  Many cats need the comfort of a familiar space, and if we ever opened the feral pens, these ones would likely never come out. And so what? - the RAPS Cat Sanctuary is their home, as long as they need it.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen & Karen Nicholson

Video by Lisa Brill-Friesen

Pen Three Ferals

A question frequently asked by Sunday visitors is  “Where do these cats all come from?”

Napoleon - MW

In our early days, they were entirely local cats – we were Richmond Homeless Cats, created to meet the challenges of a feral cat problem in the municipality. Our spay/neuter programs, our focus on TNR (Trap/Neuter/Release) and our ability to give shelter to colonies displaced by commercial development meant that all our resources needed to be reserved for Richmond felines. Sanctuary numbers peaked at around 900 animals at one stage, but since then we have living with an aging population – and feral cats, who may have come in with early-life malnutrition, or environmental exposure to toxins, do not always have a long life -expectancy.

Michonne - MD

As our resident numbers decreased, we became more able to work with other organisations outside our immediate area. Shelters all over BC are doing outstanding work to rescue and give help to the animals for which they care, but it only takes a few “dumped” families of cats, and a feral cat explosion can occur. And many of those shelters simply don’t have the facilities to deal with large numbers of ferals.

Garth - BC

Some cats can be tamed – especially if brought in young enough – but it’s a long process, requiring a lot of patience, when it comes to older cats. In many areas, feral colonies are being TNR’d and assigned  as barn cats or some other situation, where they will receive basic oversight and care, but continue to prey upon mice and rats.  But sadly, there are other areas where there is no shelter able to undertake this work, and dealing with feral cats is a matter of exterminating them.

Desmond - MW

The cats living at the back of Pen 3 are part of a group that came from that sort of situation some eight years ago – feral cats were being trapped, but without ongoing care available, their survival was moot. Several shelters, RAPS among them, stepped up and took groups of ferals. The colony that came to us initially lived in the Prince of Wales pen, at the back of the New Aids pen. The smaller pen was the outcome of a generous gift from a group at Prince of Wales school, and the restricted size meant that we hoped to have a better chance of connecting with this feral group. No such luck – they were firmly stuck in their belief that humans were not to be trusted, and the majority of our staff and volunteers were treated with great suspicion. Even the best cat-whisperers were not able to convince any individuals to make the big jump – though occasional touch was reported.

Beethoven - BC

As they aged and the colony became smaller, we were also faced with a growing population of FIV cats. So the decision was made to take our ferals and relocate them to one of the other feral pens – and then reassign Prince of Wales to the FIV cats who needed a quieter life.  The two feral cat pens – 3 and 4 – are both sufficiently large spaces that the staff felt the colony could choose to live separately from the residents, or assimilate.

lounging together - MD

In the end, the cats chose the former option. They decided to live entirely in the back section of the pen, sleeping in a collection of kennels and other shelters, most of which are lined with straw rather than fabric bedding. They obviously enjoy each others’ company, and will often be seen out, all together, or all be hidden away at the same time.  Four of the five are long-haired, and well-suited to outside life; short-haired Desmond probably uses his buddies as insulation on cold nights!  On really cold days, black Michonne just looks like an enormous ball of fluff.

Michonne in fluff mode - CP

The most venturesome of the group is grey Napoleon, who will allow just a little human contact from time to time. Michonne, Beethoven and Garth prefer to keep themselves away from humans; Desmond has apparently been showing some interest in people.

Desmond being curious - BC

Members of our wonderful Kitty Comforter team continue to visit with them – never to force contact, but just to sit and talk with them, and to allow them to know that humans have their interests at heart, and that we can be there if and when they decide to approach.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Melanie Draper, Carol Porteous, Michele Wright