Lost and Found

Miller (KN)

After the celebrations of Christmas, we start anticipating the prospect of a New Year – and inevitably that includes some retrospection as we remember what we’ve been through in the past twelve months, and, particularly at the Cat Sanctuary, who we’ve lost in that time.

HoneyBear  (KN)

In fact, 2022 has been a year in which fewer cats have crossed the Rainbow Bridge, but there have been some notable personalities among them. The list has to be led by HoneyBear, our blue-eyed charmer, whose neurological quirks caused both his incontinence and his “Ministry of Funny Walks” gait. Once visitors encountered our boy, we could be sure they would always ask after him again.

Marty, our love-bug  (LBF)

Lovers of the Single-Wide cats were particularly hard-hit in the summer, when we lost seven cats in less than three months. First was Bluebell, the Dowager who was transferred when the Moore House was closed; a week later we lost Siamese Presley. Little Marty put up a brave fight with a tumour, and was a central figure for some loving from both cats and humans; less than a month later we lost Mr Pink, another especially loving boy.  All too often cats hide their illness until it’s too late for any treatment.

Mr Pink (JS)

Cats with feline leukemia are almost always more prone to having something that seems small become fatal; their systems don’t have the resiliency needed to combat an infection. Since August we have said farewell to Nandor, Catalano, Banff, Brian and sweet Jane (who features in the 2023 Calendar which went to press just before her sudden passing).

Jane (LBF)

Rudolph & Salish (KN)

Bonded pair Rudolph and Salish in pen 5 have both gone. Rudolph had an anaesthetic reaction to dental surgery in January; Salish passed in June – she missed him so much.  Most of the Old Boys club in Newcomers has also gone; Albi and Woody passed on the same day, and Moxie less than a month later.

Ruff (KN)

We remember sweet Ruff with fondness – his extreme shyness when he arrived, his amazing floof, the way he bonded with Karen – and I still find myself looking for OJ when I enter Pen 4:  he was another feral boy who finally decided that humans were not so bad after all.  Onyx was one of our dowagers, at least 20 years old. Having been largely an indoor cat for years, she moved out to Pen 5 this summer, and then wouldn’t move back in when the weather turned. Med-staff Catherine took her home to fosterage for her last few weeks of comfort and loving.

Puck (BC)

And two other front-courtyard senior tuxedos have passed in the last month: little Puck was our beloved Marianne Moore's cat, and she has crossed the Bridge to be with Marianne again, and sweet Miller (at top) was beginning to age early in the fall, and became very frail and tottery in his last few weeks.

Oscar (LBF) and Gypsy (DW) - gone to new homes!

So we grieve their passing, even as we give thanks that the lives they lived were made possible by the love and care they received at the Sanctuary.  There are never enough homes for all the cats we take in – especially in a year like this one with a prolonged kitten season.  We are grateful to the people who have taken in Sanctuary cats like Oscar and Gypsy and given them hope for a new life, and also to all the supporters whose help allows us to give lifelong home-space to otherwise unadoptable cats like incontinent Jasmine or moody Jade or JJ, to the cats who come with Feline Leukemia, or the shy ferals who want nothing to do with us. Every life is precious, and RAPS will continue to offer Sanctuary to cats who have no other options.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Brigid Coult, 

Karen Nicholson, Justin Saint, Debbie Wolanski

The Cuddle Crew

Marty, Dodger & Merran   (JS)

A few years ago, it was usual for visitors to the Sanctuary to ask for the Dryer Gang, who hung out in the Single-Wide trailer.  Just inside the door, the lid of the dryer made a well-loved place for the cats to hang out together – usually some combination of Simone, Bantam, Chickadee, Zoe and Little Mama. The warmth coming up from below, and the vibration, combined with its situation just inside the door where everyone who entered offered attention – it was the favourite place to be. (Search “Dryer Gang” in the Neko Blog for more pictures!)

Sitting with a lapful  (JS)

Things have changed in the SingleWide, though. As our cats age, the faces change; all the core Dryer Gang members have now passed, and so has the dryer, which has been replaced by a stacked washer/dryer – too high for comfortable cat access. Instead, the big chair in the middle of the room has been taken over by the cats, and the Cuddle Crew has evolved.  As with the Dryer Gang, this is not a fixed combination, but there is a core group that is usually present.  Most of them are cats that were too shy in earlier years to interact with humans, and now they can’t wait for attention.

Dodger  (LBF)

Dodger is probably the central point of the group – the Simone figure round whom the others gather. She’s always enjoyed human attention, but usually from a shelf or the floor; now she has become a lap-cats, and loves to have petting and belly-rubs.

Dodger, Marty, Merran, Mr Pink  (KN)

Usually Marty is present. He is probably the oldest and most frail – he’s the last of a group of cats that came to us in 2008, and he is under medical care for an eye condition. He’s a climber – either up from the floor or down from the shelves behind the chair and over the shoulder – and loves to have hands on him.

Marty & Merran (JN)

Tabby Merran came to us from the same trapping operation as cow-cats Kirsty and Mya – but he sure doesn’t have the same genetics in terms of colouring!  He took a long while to become comfortable with us, and was an expert in finding all the hiding places available; he’s still a little wary, but he loves snuggles with the other cats and is willing to tolerate human attention.

Dodger & Mr Pink  (JK)

Mr Pink is probably the closest thing we have to a Salty/Mario equivalent in the Single-Wide;  they were the cats in the Back Courtyard that all the other cats loved to love. Pink is also something of a cat-magnet; he gets on with everyone (except perhaps BeeBoo), the shy cats are relaxed around him, and he just loves having visitors.

Bossanova (KN)

I have known Bossanova since he first came in as a very angry feral, and watched his progress as anger became timidity, and then as he gradually became braver. I think those of us who know him back in the early days would have found it hard to imagine that this boy would become a lap-cat – less for snuggles than for the prospect of treats, perhaps, but the end result is another member of the Cuddle Crew.

"Come sit down! You're late for cuddles!"  (JN)

Other cats swing in and out of this group – Presley, Nova, Shaggy, Sarah Paylan, Kirstie and others – and it changes when they move out on the back deck. But the core group can usually be found together. 

Marty, Dodger, Merran  (LBF)

I am fascinated that this sort of consistent gathering has always been a feature of the SingleWide – and it doesn’t really exist in the DoubleWide. There are usually cats in the DW that like being on the couch, and when there was a cat-magnet like Salty, there was competition to be with him. And there are cats on the DW deck who like to snuggle together, but do NOT want human attention.  But the SW Cuddle Crew are a very cooperative bunch, enjoying each other’s company, as well as all the attention they can get from the humans around. 

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Jennine Kariya, 

Joanne Nicholson, Karen Nicholson, Justin Saint

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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Paws to Admire

Have you ever noticed how really exquisite cats’ feet are?  I’ll come clean:  I have a huge foot fetish – or maybe it’s more accurate to call it a paw fetish.  But I’m mesmerized by the beauty of the feline foot.  As I write this, I’m trying to put my finger on exactly why.
Mostly, I think, I’m in love with the shape – often there’s such an elegant length of graceful leg, ending in a lovely big blob of furry roundness – the leg like a dancer’s, the paw like a powder puff.

Jingles just “happened” to have her foot out as I went by – probably knows about my paw fetish and is taunting me

Dancer’s legs.  Note – two background cats trying to get their paws in the picture

Sometimes just the powder puff itself is enthralling. 

Check out Gina’s feet, maybe the poofiest EVER.  Could she possibly have blow-dried them??

 Perhaps Gina has been inspiring the other cats, as someone else is clearly trying to compete with her for the poofiest feet.

Sometimes what I love is the angle of their paws, the way their hind feet jut out from those lovely round haunches at a cheeky side-ways angle.  Did you ever see such exquisitely poofy caramel perfection??

One of the cats in Old Aids – maybe Chip?

Sometimes a cat’s paws stick out enticingly from under a furry flap of tummy, like those of an Emperor penguin protecting its egg.  I also love the way the paws are so often white on an otherwise non-white cat, as if nature had taken a moment to highlight this exquisite detail.

Ben aka McGyver, new guy in the Moore Trailer.  “Love me, love my feet.”

It’s clear (at least to me) that the cats know how beautiful their feet are, and often display themselves to advantage.

Mr. Pink’s Toes

Unknown cat’s bottom I mean foot

And last but not least, there is sweet sweet Cookie, who knows that paws can be useful too.  When I’m sitting on the stairs giving out treats, he’ll sit behind me and use his paw to tap me on the shoulder every time he wants another one.  I don’t have a picture of his feet, but here he is learning to take selfies.  Clever boy, that Cookie.

 

Blogger: Moira Langley

Photos: Moira Langley and Michele Wright