A Cat Who Walks By Herself

Yma  (KN)

Yma came into our care almost nine years ago – one of a colony of cats Stephanie trapped at a nearby composting facility. Some of them may have been dumped cats;  others were born wild.  Life for ferals is often short and terrifying – this site was also a hunting ground for hawks, eagles and coyotes (there were a LOT of rats!) - and we tried to rescue as many as possible.  Many of the cats we brought in were dubbed “the cow cats” for their black-and-white Friesian patterns, though there were also tabbies like pretty Merran.

In her favourite place, alone, in the gardens  (BC)

Stephanie and her helpers made regular visits, setting traps and waiting patiently. We knew that it was not possible to rescue them all, and she had identified at least one big tomcat, who she named Pavarotti, who was too wily to venture into a trap, even with the tastiest food to bait it.  But over the course of months, cats made the protesting journey from the feral life to life with RAPS. I was with Stephanie when one of the last of these was trapped, and was given the privilege of naming her: since Pavarotti was likely her sire, I named her for Yma Sumac, the extraordinary soprano of the ‘50s

Early days: Yma in hiding  (KN)

The youngest cats trapped, of course, went to fosterage and eventual adoption. Stephanie still has one of those cats: Hammy (Hamish) - one of Hillie's kittens - still has the former feral’s wariness, and is a one-woman cat, trusting Stephanie alone. The cats that came to live at the Sanctuary were split between the SingleWide and the Back Courtyard. Mya and Kirstie settled to the comfy life in the SingleWide – so comfortable that they both became roly-poly cats, with all the snacking that was available. Luckily, they had also tamed to the point where they were both able to go to the homes of experienced cat-people who could put them on a measured diet, and they’re both doing well. 

Kirstie & Mya remain happy indoor cats (LBF)

In the Back Courtyard Hillie and Yma ignored one another – their similarity meant that there was probably a strong genetic link, but they were trapped at different times, and there was no mutual recognition. Hillie made a breakthrough with us, and realized that people were not so bad! - Yma relocated herself from the DW deck to the outdoor life, and settled in Pen 2, preferring to keep her distance.  In all the time she has been with us, she has elected to avoid humans at all costs. She was one of the cats who preferred to climb the tree in the back courtyard, and continued that habit until we finally extended the netting to prevent access to the branches and a possible escape route. 

When she first discovered the gardens,
Yma liked best to hide up in the tree  (MW)

Through much of the year she would base herself in one of the straw-lined kennels around the perimeter, actually going into the cabin only when the weather made it really necessary;  nowadays she usually sleeps in the cabin, but a sudden human visitor will make her explode out through the cat-door. I try to remember to speak as I approach, to give her some warning.  

You can look, but not touch!   (KN)

Unfortunately she has that curse of white cats – ears that are sensitive to sunshine, and that develop skin cancers. We have had several cats like her who have had cancerous ear-tips nipped off to prevent further growth. But going in for even minor surgery means netting and caging her, and is stressful – two steps back, behaviourally, in order to be one step forward, health-wise.

Ears now rounded, rather than pointed  (KN)

So, so slowly, she is adjusting to us. When she is sitting quietly, it is sometimes possible to approach her, even to sit with her; a gentle voice is accepted, but any sudden movement, and she’s gone.  She will occasionally hover at the cabin door when I’m cleaning, but she shows no inclination to come closer or to accept tidbits. She has some favourite perches around the edges of Pen 2, and is ready to sit there peacefully even when visitors are around; she obviously knows that the ropes marking access limits are there to protect her.  She’s not a cat-social girl, like Tofino, in last week’s blog; mostly, when you see Yma, she will be alone. Behind the cabin doors, who knows? – but in the gardens, she’s a lonely figure – the other cats don’t bother her, and she rarely approaches them.

Watching the visitors from a safe distance  (MW)

I sometimes label our loners as Garbo cats – but in many cases, their alone-ness comes from their active dislike of other cats, and we need to encourage that separation in order to keep the peace.  Yma simply chooses to be alone.  Greta Garbo would approve of her.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Brigid Coult,
Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright

Two BIG boys

Mojo  (BC)

Tucked away at the back of the SingleWide is the office area where our Sanctuary Manager and Assistant Manager work. There are a couple of cages for cats who need more isolated care, but the rooms are also well-equipped with cat-beds, litter-boxes and all the necessary paraphernalia needed for resident cats. Sometimes the cats in question are there because they’re unsocial with other cats, sometimes there are health issues.

Licorice having a little outing  (KN)

Currently the two residents in question are Mojo and Licorice – both of them solid chonks. When we have cats that are overweight, it’s hard to put them on a diet, because so many of the general population would rather free-feed with kibble in preference to eating the canned food. And caging them means that they get very little exercise, so that a restricted diet doesn’t actually help much.  Sweet chonky Mya was adopted from the SingleWide by one of the volunteers and we hear that she has actually lost quite a bit of weight because she has to run up and down stairs to get her treats. 

Licorice  (KN)

Licorice has been with us for seven years, having been brought in as an unneutered stray. The testosterone might no longer be a factor, once his surgery was done, but cattitude remained part of his personality, and he picked fights with other cats and was often put in TimeOut to calm down. In recent years, Licorice has become arthritic, and no longer moves so well – and of course his lack of movement has contributed to increased weight.

Mojo, considering a lap-leap  (BC)

Mojo came to us in 2021 as a surrender; he was huge, and matted, and diabetic, and it was immediately obvious that he would need a lot of care. Since he arrived, he’s dropped from 30lbs to 17lbs, and his diabetes is now in remission. Because he is such a big boy, he’s not that enthusiastic about the concept of exercise; his idea of making an effort is to jump from the floor into an office chair and make himself comfortable there. Luckily Licorice is prepared to tolerate the company of his roommate – or perhaps it’s just that having a battle is too strenuous these days!

Both begging to come up  (BC)

So Mojo and Licorice have the use of the offices, which allows them to move freely, but they have a carefully measured restricted diet. Unfortunately, a lot of the administration in the last month or so has been happening out of the Adoption Centre, and nobody has been in the SW office, so the boys have less incentive to get up and move around. The Kitty Comforters have been making a point of visiting them, and if they’re in the right mood, getting them to play a little;  unfortunately, both would rather lounge around rather than play (Mojo likes feather toys when interactive play is offered). They are willing to make the effort to come up in a lap (both need a stool to make a halfway jump), but any amount of running is not on their agenda. 

Grass stems make a good exercise toy!  (KN)

We’d love to have them out in the courtyard – Licorice occasionally goes out for a short visit – but for now, KCs and feeding/scooping volunteers do as much as they can to keep these two stimulated and active to some degree, and we hope that the drop of a few more pounds might allow them to enjoy a bit more freedom when the weather is warmer.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult & Karen Nicholson

Black Spice

Shadow (KN)

Shadow prefers to be out on the Single-Wide deck – even as the temperatures drop. She’s not the only one, of course – tubby Mya prefers it too, and Nikki Sixx-Toes; shy Jimmy tucks himself away on a shelf. But Jimmy and Mya will come indoors; Shadow relies on her floof and on Nikki’s company under the heat lamp.

Sharing with Nikki (BC)

Shadow arrived with us a couple of years ago from the Williams Lake area.  She was found as a kitten in a feral colony, and was adopted. However, she never really tamed even though she remained an indoor cat; her behaviour was aggressive, and when she came to our care some ten years later, it was clear that fear fed the aggression.  We discovered that she had a lightning paw, and razor-sharp claws.

She’s twelve years old now, but she’s little and cute, and the unwary visitor is easily fooled into reaching out too quickly! She arrived around the time we lost Belinda, who looked very similar, but was radically different in personality.  Shadow's body language is confident; she holds her tail like a flag, and she’s active in movement rather than cowering in any way.  I’ve shed my share of blood, coaxing her into allowing contact.  Like most cats, she prefers her own agenda;  jumping up for lap-time is fine, when it’s her idea, but nobody tells Shadow what to do!  Some days she will leap onto a lap and allow herself to be petted, and other days she will stand her ground and just dare you to touch her.  

OK - I'm on your knee; now where's the chicken?

The only possible way out is bribery. A number of the SingleWide cats are chickaholics – Bossanova and Sarah Paylan lead the way – and Shadow is quick to react when the treat bag is opened, and even gives up on swatting, if food is on offer.  

Face-off with Bossanova for tidbits  (BC)

Like many black cats, she is hard to photograph;  with her it’s not only because of the density of her colouring, but because she is so much in motion – she’s not a restful girl!  Her “quiet time” is mostly with her buddy Nikki Sixx Toes – and frankly I think the attraction is mainly that he sleeps under the lamp over the papasan chair, and he’s a diabetic, so gets given extra food when it’s time for insulin shots. Shadow approves of extra food!

On the move, with tail plumed!  (BC)

We’re never going to turn her into a tame cat – but she’s a different cat from the one who first came to us. I was going to title this blog Black Pepper, but it has implications that she’s always angry with us, and that’s not so – spicy is definitely the right word for this little black cutie. 

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult & Karen Nicholson

Anywhere But On The Shelf

The Sanctuary is decked for the Christmas season, even though it’s only the staff and volunteers that appreciate it – we miss our visitors!  But one visitor has been making his presence felt.

Tinker says "Who is this guy, anyway?"

Whoever came up with the concept of Elf on the Shelf has a lot to answer for – including the Christmas neuroses of many children!  But not cats...  Cats have more sense than to get freaked out because someone is watching them. They like to be watched – because as all good pet parents know, they are the central point in the home. So having an Elf around at the Sanctuary was probably more weird for staff and volunteers than for the feline inhabitants.

In some cases it was a guarded interest - who was this interloper, anyway?

Bantam photo-op

Merrin gives him the side-eye

In some cases the interest was more in the smell - could there have been a little catnip involved?

Phoebe does a little hopeful licking...

Bentley thinks Elf has been walking somewhere interesting...

The Elf made a few excursions into the back pens....

Cadbury says "Can I sit on your lap?"

...appreciated by some - but not by others

Darius is NOT happy about this visit!

He finds admirers in the New Aids pen, where he is very popular with the girls....

Amaretto sharing secrets

Holland getting quite snuggly...

..even possessive....

But the place he was most popular was in the Single-Wide, where Mya constituted herself his fan-club.

smile for the camera....

mine, all mine....

...so she said to me...

you can't leave so soon!

Shiva and Elf want to wish everyone a happy Christmas, and a joyful and safe holiday!

Blog (minimal) by Brigid Coult

Photos (and Elf) by Lisa Brill-Friesen

 

Room for Teens

One regular visiting-day question is “where are the kittens?”

Kittens always look SO cute!  - JS

Visitors are always disappointed to learn that any kittens in RAPS care are usually to be found at the City Shelter, waiting for adoption – and some of them go rushing off to visit there.
In fact, to get kittens to that point, there’s a great deal more RAPS care by the invisible (to the public) team of fosterers.  Any time a pregnant cat, or a mom and kittens arrives in our care, someone from the fostering team leaps into action.  Many of them reserve a room in their home just as a kitten-nursery; if that space is taken, stand-alone cages are erected on the dining-room table, and all formal entertaining is postponed.

Mama Carly Simon is now settled with us;
her kittens were all adopted from the City Shelter - MW/KD

Fosterers are used to the anxiety of waiting for a litter to be born, of tube- and syringe-feeding when necessary, of dodging a protective mom in order to clean a cage. They handle young kittens as soon as possible, to familiarize them with people – the weaning stage between four and eight weeks is usually seen as the best time – and when the kittens are old enough, they are taken to the City Shelter for adoption - while mama is spayed, to prevent another litter, and moved to Shelter or Sanctuary, depending on her temperament.

Four wary teenagers: Perry, Peony, Perkins & Della - MM

The problem comes when we receive older kittens, who are past that optimal window for easy handling. Socializing them when they are four months old or more can take a great deal of patience to overcome the feral instincts instilled by a feral mama. We will sometimes receive these ones at the Sanctuary. At the age of 4 months to a year, they are not yet fully adult – we would probably say that a 1-year old kitten is developmentally equivalent to a 15-year old human.  And though 15-year old humans can be delightful creatures, they are not as adult as they think they are! We don’t need any feline teen pregnancies, so all of them will be “speutered” (spayed/neutered) before they come to us.

Baby Beetle is all grown up now - but still shy  - MW

You may hear the Sanctuary’s Hill House sometimes referred to as “The Teens”, from its early function. These days we have fewer teens, and they usually go to a room off the quiet senior-focused Moore House.  At one stage it housed Sage and Silky, Cricket, Beetle and Frisky, it was a home for the young cow-cats, Mya and Kirstie, when they first came to us, for Perry, Perkins and Peony (all adopted) and now it’s the base for six youngsters.

Blond Leo relies on his braver friend Benny - BC

Leo and Benny came to us from a hoarding situation. They are less than a year old, and were initially very nervous about being handled. Benny rapidly settled; Leo was less ready to be touched. They were sited in the DoubleWide, and got a lot of attention, but large as our cages are, they really didn’t give this pair space to be as active as they would like. Kitty Comforters spent a lot of time and love on them, and it was obvious that it would just take a bit of time. The two of them are a younger echo of Lindor and Parker who came to us earlier this year – and with similar colouring and initial characteristics. Both Lindor and Benny are fuzzy and black, fairly outgoing and not afraid to engage; both Parker and Leo are slighter and blond, much more shy and in need of coaxing.

Mason loves having space to play - AM

In the cage facing them was a little black panther: young Mason; very hissy and swatty in his first weeks with us, but with the Kitty Comforters working with him, he became very keen on human company – going in to feed or clean his cage meant entertainment time!

It's a hard life, being a kitten, says Mozart - MW

In the meantime, there was another group of teens in one of the Single-Wide’s big cages, tended only by the med staff until we were sure that they were all healthy. This trio had come to us from the Interior, offspring of a feral mama, and about 8 months old. They were named Pistachio, Caleb and Mozart – Pistachio with a little moustache marking; Caleb with more black markings, and Mozart more grey.

Mozart & Caleb - KN

Now there’s been a general reshuffle and the two groups have been put together in the Moore House kitten room, where there’s more room for them to run and play, and for the Kitty Comforters to do the work of socializing them as much as possible.  We hope that they will eventually go to the City Shelter for adoption, but it may be that their feral beginnings are too ingrained to overcome, and they will end up staying with us like the other youngsters. Sadly for visitors, the Moore House is off-limits – they may be seen out on the deck if they choose; they can be admired but not handled.

Pistachio - MW

The Kitty Comforters, of course, are having a wonderful time – but they all know that how they play with these delightful fuzzballs will be vital in establishing patterns that will help Benny and Leo, Mason, Pistachio, Caleb & Mozart eventually to find new homes and grow to be confident cats.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Kati DeGraff, Anne Marchetti, the late Marianne Moore, 

Karen Nicholson, Jocelyn Schonekess, Michele Wright

Hillie - and Yma

MW

Hillie was featured in a blog a couple of years ago, but her circumstances have changed, and I decided it was worth reintroducing her, since she’s now a very familiar figure to those of us working in the back courtyard

PH

Hillie shows her heritage clearly – she is one of the “cow cats”, rescued from a perilous life as a feral hanging round a nearby composting facility.  She is probably related to Mya  and Kirstie, in the SingleWide, and to relative newcomer Yma in the Double.

"Cow cats" - Mya, Kirstie, Hillie & Yma

For some time Hillie lived mainly in the DoubleWide deck area – an area popular with our shyer cats, like Ringo, Dazzle and several others. She and her buddy Brighton, also from the same source, hung out together, though Brighton became more social and enjoyed human interaction, whereas Hillie remained reserved, disdaining petting, though she allowed some interactive play. Sadly, we lost Brighton suddenly, to a stroke. Hillie made her way out of the DoubleWide, and has taken the whole back courtyard as her terrain.

MD

DW

She’s still not keen on much in the way of contact with humans, but she is more relaxed as she encounters us in her travels; she will sit in her characteristic tail-over-the-toes pose and listen to you talk, though she doesn’t really care to be petted.  She also doesn’t appear to interact much with other cats, although there’s no aggression there – she just prefers to be alone.

Yma - BC

Yma is one of the last cats we trapped from that same facility. She was named to belong to a “Y” litter before we knew just how unadoptable she would be. It’s likely she was sired by Pavarotti, the older male we never managed to trap, and the only “Y” singer I could think of was the extraordinary 1950s soprano Yma Sumac. Feline Yma came to us just over two years ago, and quickly joined the ferals on the DW deck – spending most of her time inside the big armchair, which is the preferred hiding place for scared cats.  Occasionally she would venture across the room to survey the area from under the shelf covering the cat-litter storage; perching on the jugs could hardly be comfortable, but she felt safer out of sight.

KN

BC

In appearance she is very like Hillie – slender, white, with black markings – so much so that you have to check markings (particularly the black nose) to see who you’re looking at.  She’s much less relaxed around us than Hillie, though, and most of the photos taken of her have to be done very surreptitiously.  At least while she’s this wary, she’s unlikely to make her way through the rest of the DW to the main door, and out into the courtyard; she’d rather stay in the area where she feels safe.

KN

An adult feral cat, born and brought up in the wild, is unlikely to become truly tame. We have a number of cats we refer to as “former ferals”, but in fact, there’s sometimes no way of knowing if you’re dealing with a feral or a stray. But cats like Autumn or Jamie, who have finally allowed themselves to be handled, are unlikely to relax to petting in the way that is possible for cats like Dell, who lives in a feral pen, but was in all likelihood a stray.  Both Hillie and Yma are a long way from allowing that contact. But at least they both have a place of safety to live, and time to decide if they might eventually allow humans into their lives.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Melanie Draper, Phaedra Hardman, Karen Nicholson, 

Debbie Wolanski, Michele Wright

July 1 update: In just the last week Yma has discovered the back courtyard, and has joined Hillie in explorations. Her latest hiding place: up the tree!

KN