Formerly Feral

Many of the cats at the Sanctuary have come into our care as ferals.

Pen 8: Selena, Hailey & Johnny - KN

Some of them will remain feral in behaviour all their lives.  Many of the cats in Pen 8 are examples of this – as you enter the pen, they take a horror-filled look at the intruder, and make a beeline for the closest cover. It is clear in their eyes that they want nothing to do with humans, and when, in areas like pen 4 that cover may be in a free-standing kennel or in the bushes, they present a significant challenge for the med staff who need to check on them.

Pebble (front) and Sandy (rear) - DW

In this pen, only OJ and Pebble are comfortable being touched (the links take you back to their early days, but a little searching by name will yield updates); both enjoy petting, but you can see the wariness in their body language. Pebble’s sister Sandy is almost identical but sends out a very clear “don’t touch me!” vibe.

Yma prefers to climb out of reach - MW

These cats, together with many though not all) of the ones in Pen 3, and a good number of those from other open pens, were born wild, missed being socialised at the optimal time, and have it well ingrained that humans are The Enemy – we may be a source of tasty food, and of occasional touch, but we are not really to be trusted. We occasionally worry when an old feral suddenly becomes friendly and handleable; it’s often a sign of a kitty dementia, as the cat forgets that it should be scared, and it may be an indicator that it’s coming to the end of its life.

Little Calista only became touchable in her last months - MW

Common cat-handling wisdom has it that a kitten should be socialized by the age of 3-4 months, or it won’t socialize at all. In fact, those of us who have had semi-ferals in our homes know that they can become very handleable to their own people, though they may always be wary of strangers in their space. At the Sanctuary we have tried to keep some of the younger ferals together around the back deck of the Double-Wide, and the Kitty Comforters have worked with them as much as possible.

Bubbles loves to play - BC

Gradually we see behaviours changing:  hissy Luke is now allowing us to touch him; Bubbles is enjoying interactive play;  shy Ruff is coming out of his hiding place; beautiful Scooter, who hovered just out of reach on the cage-tops, smacking at us when we coaxed her closer, is now coming down to an accessible shelf and enjoying being petted.

Scooter original (L) and relaxed & happy (R)

In pen 3 former feral Napoleon has decided that humans are worth cultivating – both regular volunteers and Kitty Comforters have charmed him to the point where he will approach, asking for petting. His buddies at the back of the pen are not ready for much contact yet, but Napoleon is happy with human company.

Napoleon - LB-F

My own former-feral triumph has been with Skittles, formerly of Pen 6. That pen has now been vacated in preparation for another group of ferals coming in, and Skittles and his friends have the run of the back pens. Most of them are now based in Pen 2, where there are other semi-ferals, and lots of places to hide. But Skittles, who was always the bravest and most social of them, has decided that he likes to be around people. Chicken tidbits help – he’s always been a chick-oholic.  But he recently decided that since I was a source of Good Things, he might try something new, and he hauled himself up on my lap.

Loving a lap - DW

This was not just cupboard love – he wanted petting and attention, not just feeding. It’s a little painful on the legs – he’s a big solid boy and doesn’t jump much, so lap-climbing is mountaineering!  But it’s happened often enough now that we can really feel Skittles has earned the former-feral label. And he is now transferring that trust to other people.

Skittles - MW

All these cats may some day become very used to human touch, but they will always remain cats that we will hesitate to adopt out because of their background, and because new experiences will likely cause them to revert to the fear-filled wild creatures that originally came into our care.

Blog by Brigid Coult

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

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