Double-Wide Kramer

Kramer  (BC)

In the last few months, volunteers have been asking “who is that beautiful cat in the DoubleWide?” - and the cat in question usually turns out to be our handsome Kramer.

Showing off the tail floof   (DJ)

Kramer is the second cat by that name – his predecessor was also tabby and fluffy, but preferred the outdoor life in Pen 5; this boy likes the comforts of warmth and cosy beds and food at hand.  He’s a big handsome boy with a magnificent floof of a tail, and he reminds me very much of big tabby Zander, who was a resident of the Sanctuary when I first came here.

He likes to be by the door, where he can get a little attention  (BC)

We don’t know a lot about Kramer’s background; he’s about 8-9 years old, and has been surrendered twice, for no fault of his own.  The first time was in 2021, when his human family moved and couldn’t take their cats, so Kramer and his housemates came into our care.  He was adopted again at the end of December 2021 and went to a household where he was living with a younger cat, Riker.  In the early summer of 2023, both cats returned to us because of some sort of family crisis, and they took up residence in semi-detatched cages in the DW.  Gradually it became clear that though the two tolerated each other, they were not bonded, and Riker was really a people-cat – looking for laps, enjoying belly-rubs – so he was transferred out for adoption, and Kramer remained with us.

Kramer with younger "bro" Riker   (BC)

What was obvious was that once he was out of the cage, Kramer just bloomed – he was very comfortable in new surroundings, and is disdainfully tolerant of other cats.  He’s not anti-people in any way – there’s no aggression in him and he’s quite willing to accept a little petting. But it’s usually just a little petting, and then he turns away and says “enough, already!”  He has a bit of asthma, and tolerates the med-staff giving him a dose from the puffer.

Waiting for the door to be opened  (BC)

Interestingly, for a cat with such confidence, until recently he opted not to go outside at all. In fact, for a while he rarely negotiated the swinging door into the laundry room, preferring to wait for a human doorkeeper to open it for him. Most of the other cats have learned to push through, or to hook with a paw and pull the other way – Kramer would rather call for a butler.  But recent sunny days, with everyone deserting the DoubleWide, led him to braving both the door and the cat-door, and exploring the back courtyard. 

Not so sure about this outside exploring thing...  (BC)

He stopped to have a drink at a newly-filled waterbowl, and have a little face-off with Jasper – interestingly, it was Jasper who backed down without much fuss. A side-trip into the Tea-Room presented him with a lot of orange floof around the dinner-plate, and he avoided them and explored outside the side-door. A trip up the stairs and into Newcomers gave him a quiet encounter with Ollie, before he retraced his steps and crossed over to Pen 6. He ignored all the other cats around – very much The Cat Who Walks By Himself – but finally decided that he needed to return to the quiet of his own space in the DoubleWide.

Doing a little cat-yoga in comfort  (LBF)

Aspects of Kramer’s personality remind me of my own boy, who’s not a clingy cat, liking his own space and his own schedule, and who has only recently progressed to being on the lap, rather than beside the lap. Kramer has his favourite beds, his usual turf, and a few people that he tolerates – most of the other cats might as well not exist for him. He’s not an assertively “Garbo-cat” resident, but would probably do well in a quiet home where he’s the only cat, and can establish his territory without feline interference.  And if it never happens? - well, he’s already showing that he can settle to a comfortable life in the Sanctuary.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Brigid Coult, Daphne Jorgenson

Sully

Sully (LBF)

Any regular volunteer at the Sanctuary knows how much of our work revolves around bathroom habits. From the scooping of many litter-boxes (more than 35 in the back area alone) and dealing with sweeping up after enthusiastic litter-kickers, as well as changing and scrubbing boxes – there’s a lot of poo and pee in our lives.

Sully  (BC)

And that doesn’t account for dealing with the cats who choose not to use litter-boxes. In some cases, it’s territorial (yes, Jasper, I mean you!), in other cases it’s a physical problem (as with our Manx Syndrome cats) – but for many, it’s because they just like to; it’s a habit, and one they’ve been unable to break.

Ollie is the King of pee-ers   (KN)

Six-year-old Sully was surrendered for pooping outside the box.  When he came in, he was actually named Ollie, but we already had an Ollie so his name was changed.  We should have known – our resident Ollie (beautiful boy that he is) has no time for litter-boxes either.  It was thought that Sully might be mis-aiming because of children-caused stress at home – we have had cats come in labelled as pee-ers, and find that they’re just fine with us. But it didn’t matter where Sully was – the box was not getting used.

Looking for a little attention   (KN)

Apart from his bathroom habits, he’s a sweet boy. He’s friendly and outgoing, and he seems to get on well with other cats.  He can be found all over the Front Courtyard – he’s not yet established his own niche area – and he is one of the cats that seems to enjoy visitors, rather than being spooked by them.
He reminds me of a friend with red hair and very pale skin who complains that her eyes vanish until she’s put mascara on; Sully’s eyes are a little squinty, especially in the sunshine, but it doesn’t stop him enjoying his feline sun-worshipping. 

Chilling out in the courtyard  (BC)

Some of our new cats take a while to adjust to life at the Sanctuary. Sully is pretty relaxed and feels quite at home. 

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Brigid Coult & Karen Nicholson

Chirpy

Pet me now, please....  (MW)

This sweet girl is another of the cats who has come to us because of “inappropriate urination” - she pees in the wrong places.
     Cat owners seem to be divided by those who would do ANYTHING for their cats, and those who can’t be bothered to track down whether it’s a stress thing or a physical thing, and just open the door and let the cat go.  In the former category are people like Ollie’s owners who put up with his peeing for some years, trying every possible fix, before they finally brought him to us.. A surrender like this is not just a drop-off;  with the history of a cat like Ollie or Chirpy, it’s unlikely they will ever be adopted out, and a surrender to the Sanctuary involves a cat’s-lifetime sponsorship.

Looking for love...  (KN)

Chirpy actually came to us from Alberta.  Her owner had heard about us from the Meow Foundation, who sent Algy to us. Like us, they are a no-kill organisation, but Algy had aggression problems that they couldn’t deal with, and he’s better with us where he can hide and wander when the mood gets him. The woman had taken Chirpy in, but she’s another of the “I vant to be along” Garbo cats, and did not get along with the original cat in the household. The owner grabbed at the hope of RAPS as a way of saving Chirpy, brought her out to see for herself, inspected the Sanctuary, paid to sponsor her, and flew back the same day leaving the Chirpster in our care.

This was not a quick or easy decision; Chirpy was well-loved and a surrender is a big financial decision. But knowing that a cat will be loved and cared for at RAPS is a big factor for many owners faced with a hard choice.  And Chirpy is indeed well-loved by us - and her former owner, who misses her greatly, stays in touch.  It feels like failure, for her - but failure would be dumping the cat at a shelter where she would be put down, or risking her life as a cat forced to live outdoors.  This was a decision made with much love, for the best welfare of a beloved pet.

Helping to garden....   (KN)

Chirpy has made the Connor building her home.  Living with one cat was evidently not to her taste; living with a lot of them has to be stressful - and this 9-year old girl is on a mild anti-anxiety medication to help her cope.  But she’s learning from the best – sweet old Tigger who also lived in the Connor, and regularly demonstrated how to ignore all the other cats around him. Chirpy likes a little human contact; she has her special people she loves, and she will happily visit with others for a short while. But let another cat come within view, or request human attention, and she’s outta there!

Chirpy guarding the Connor entrance (AP)

There are lots of corners for her to hide out – her favourite thing is to take over an empty cage for her exclusive use and hiss at any other cat who comes near. She’ll sometimes be found outside, wandering around and exploring or “helping”. It’s unfortunate that most of the really cat-savvy people who might take a cat like Chirpy already have a cat – or two, or three...   She needs a home as an only cat, with someone who can read her body-language – give her love when she needs it and back off when she wants space.  The Sanctuary is the next best thing, where she gets some of the things she needs, and we can just mop up after her “accidents”.

The anxious stare...(KN)

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Karen Nicholson, Anne Parker, Michele Wright

 

Adopted!

 For many years, the Cat Sanctuary has been a home for cats that could find no other home.  

Not adopted: Beautiful Ollie just pees wherever he wants.... (KN)

Sometimes this was because they were feral, or very easily spooked; sometimes because they had been surrendered to us for bad bathroom habits; sometimes because they had health issues – but, for the most part, they came to us when they had waited too long in the City Shelter, or a shelter somewhere else, and space had become an issue.

Not adopted: Portia is both semi-feral and leukemia-positive (MW)

Things have changed. The single biggest issue has been that in this pandemic year, people confined largely to their homes have been looking for animal company, and not only the RAPS shelter, but other rescues have been finding it much easier to find adopters. So without the constant inflow of “unadoptable” cats, our numbers have been reducing.

Not adopted: Kin is a feral who prefers to stay well out of reach   (MW)

Sanctuary philosophy has been changing too. From having had a pretty hard-line “these cats are unadoptable” approach, we have increasingly been moving cats into homes.  Initially, this has been largely to staff and volunteers – the people who already know the cats in question, and are aware of potential issues and what may be done.  Because we had early bad experiences with adopting out shy semi-ferals (see Jenny's story), there was a reluctance to do so – but when the semi-ferals in question already know and trust their adopter, and that adopter is alert to the problems, we have seen some marked successes.

Larkin & Peony are now Scooter & Twinks
- and very happy!  (BJ)

Sanctuary cats are not for novice cat-owners, and the usual RAPS adoption requirements about no outdoor access are more important than ever for cats who have been used to a lot of Sanctuary freedom.  I hope that in the course of the next few months we may hear occasional reports from adopters about cats who have moved to a new home and settled in.  For now, here are a few of our happily-rehomed feline alumni:

Horatio (KN)

Horatio, former feral, finally decided that humans were OK, and that one of our med-staff was the best of the best!  She had given palliative home-care time to angry Frankie who couldn’t handle other cats; when Frankie’s heart-condition at last got the better of her, Horatio became her next home-cat, and he is ecstatic! 

Earl Grey (LBF) and Puma (KN)

We have worried about our seniors, as the Moore House has been gradually emptied in preparation for removal. Some of them have settled happily into life in the Single-Wide, but we were delighted when Earl Grey found a home, and even more delighted when his adopter returned to take Puma to join his buddy. The two old guys are happily settled together without other cats to bug them.

Leona claims the couch  (ACA)

Little Leona shared pen 6 with our McLeod clan of cats – but never really belonged with them. Almost always a loner, she waited by the gate for attention – both wanting it and dreading it. We finally moved her into the Double-Wide so that all the staff and volunteers working there would have a chance to help her get used to being petted. One of our volunteers fell in love with her, and now reports that Leona has settled very happily in her own home.

Darius & Mischa  (JB)

We are missing Darius these days, but are so pleased that another of our med-staff has taken him home. Former Sanctuary cat Mischa was already with her, and we hear that he has taken Darius under his wing and shown him around his new digs; the two of them have settled very happily together. Both are cats that spent a lot of time outside at the Sanctuary, and the ‘catio’ is a favourite place for the boys.

Her Majesty Queen Smokey is very comfortable
in her new digs (DJ)

Anyone working in the Moore House in the last couple of years has had to tiptoe around Smokey – a very angry grey girl who didn’t like either cats or people.  One of our volunteers was sure there was more than just “I hate everyone” going on, and has consistently made time for Smokey, establishing her boundaries, and spending extra time with her. Following the loss of her beloved Otis, she has offered Smokey a home, and is turning her into a lap-cat. We are so excited to hear the progress that is being made. Lots of patience and love...

There are a few other Sanctuary cats who have made their way to our Adoption Centre – for more information on who's available there, please check https://www.rapsbc.com/raps-adoption-centre/

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Ana Carolina Albuquerque, Jess Breitkreitz, Lisa Brill-Friesen, 

Bev Johnston, Daphne Jorgenson, Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright

Beautiful Ollie....

KN

Usually my blogs introduce a cat, or tell a story;  sometimes an update on a previously featured cat will give a new perspective, or show how s/he has progressed.
Not this week...
Ollie came to us three years ago, a victim of his own bad bathroom habits.  His family loved him dearly, but his steadfast determination to use anything RATHER than his litterbox finally brought him to the Sanctuary.

KN

He is a truly beautiful cat, and many visitors have asked if we're really sure he's not adoptable. Yes, we're sure - the world is Ollie's litterbox.  And cat-pee smell can be very hard to get rid of in a house; we do our best at the Sanctuary, but we're all pretty much inured to it.

JK

So, Ollie's not changed - but because he is SO photogenic, I thought we'd have a picture-blog on him just to celebrate how beautiful he is!

MW

He's not the most social of cats - either with people or with other felines.  He has his human favourites, but he's happiest on his own.

KN

Clean laundry is his favourite thing - if you don't fill the shelf all the way, Ollie will take possession, and resist being moved.

KN

He's not really attached to other cats or to people - but he is very much attached to his own tail;  he can often be found curled up in a ball, firmly holding it with his front paws.

MW

Height is his other "thing"; he likes to be where he can look down on the world, and decide for himself whether to come and join us. He can most often be found on the high shelf in the Newcomers area

KN

but if that space is not available, he's happy to tuck himself into a cat-cave.

We're currently choosing pictures for the 2021 Calendar;  Ollie was featured in a recent edition and isn't eligible for the upcoming one, but he is SO photogenic, I suspect he'll be in the 2022 edition at least...

Blog by Brigid Coult
Photos by Jennine Kariya, Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright

Loaf Cats

Blog from volunteer Pauline Chin....
You may have come across  the terms loaf cats, cat loaves, loafing kitties, platter cats… the list goes on. The key feature is the way the cat is sitting, which resembles a loaf of bread.

Dusty - MW

The cat will tuck its legs and tail underneath its body, hence the name, loaf. In the classic loaf position, no paws can be seen, through some do a partial loaf with a leg or two showing.  Sometimes, they fall asleep that way with a face plant.  Extra-large loafing kitties look closer to a turkey on a platter.  Our long-haired cats might resemble a big poof with eyes, or a certain fictional alien race.

Jobie - MW

Why do cats sit this way?
Mostly it’s because it’s comfortable.  They can relax, take a nap, stare at you from a distance, but still be on their feet in a second. Most cats refuse to expose their weak spot – the belly.  Think about it.  How tempting is it to give cats belly rubs? In cooler weather, it helps conserve body heat.  Tucking their tail and legs in prevents people from stepping on them, too.  The loaf is also a position for cats to hide injuries;  cats are masters at concealing pain.

Kramer - MW

In this time of quarantine, when baking your own bread seems to be the Thing to Do, feast your eyes on some loafing kitties:
The first kitty loaf many visitors will think of is Jay-Z.  He enjoys loafing around everywhere.  He and several cats favour the spot in front of the fridge.  Given his big, solid body, Jay-Z can easily block paths in the trailer while simultaneously looking cute.

Jay-Z - MD

Buddy prefers loafing at petting level; you'll usually find him in the laundry room or just inside the Double-Wide, where lots of people will be within reach.

Buddy - Jennine

Little Keira Knightstreet is also affectionately known as the Tiny 'Tato

Keira - PC

Our Leo is a big boy, but when he's "loafing", he can fold himself into a surprisingly small space

Leonardo diCatprio - MW

The whitest of cat-loaves, Ollie tucks himself out of the way.

Ollie - MW

Three loaves in a bowl, only Princess's tail overflows a bit.

Spike, SaraLee, Princess - BC

Petunia demonstrates one of the paw variations for loaf pose - rather than with pads on the floor, she curls her paws under her chest

Petunia - KN

Bluebell is one of the cats who combines the faceplant variation with loaf pose.

Bluebell - KN

I believe the ultimate kitty loaf king is… Chimo!  This boy has a toasty orange coat, a white center, and a short, round body, just like the perfect loaf of bread.  He likes to chill and cuddle with everyone.  Chimo would happily leave his loaf position for extra body rubs.  Just don’t touch that belly!

Chimo - PC

Although it’s extremely tempting to sneak in some petting on loafing kitties, I advise against any impulsiveness.  Always let the cat know you’re next to it first and get their permission before physical contact. Surprise the cat and it will surprise you – and, unlike bread loaves, cat loaves can bite back.    Luckily, most of our cats are open to attention - hold out your hand to them and they’ll let you know immediately whether they want your touching.

Blog by Pauline Chin with Brigid Coult

Photos by Pauline Chin, Brigid Coult, Melanie Draper, Jennine Kariya, 

Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright 

The RAPS Calendar is Coming

The selections have been made; the captions have been written; the calendar charts are laid out; it’s just back from the printers now, and due to launch in the next few days.

Ollie was featured in the 2019 Calendar, so he has to miss a year.

I’m not going to spoil the surprise, but I’m going to give you a few of the photos that didn’t make it, for one reason or another. They are all by our volunteer Michele Wright, who freelances as Furry Friends Photography

This picture of sweet Pops was one of the ones considered for the cover.  We decided in the end that much as we loved it, the cover photo needed a "pop" more of colour,

Mischa missed his opportunity for the best of reasons - he got adopted!

I always ask Michele for "couple" and "group" pictures.  I love this one of Calista and Jamie - they love each other so much - but I wanted to see more of Calista's face.

The same is true of this one of Shaggy and Chanel, in the Moore House.  Shaggy lost his best buddy Spicer, and it's good to see him making friends with shy Chanel.

We had a lot of orange cats to choose from this year. Sprocket was definitely a contender, but someone else won!  I try to make sure that the calendar has a cross-section of colours and shapes, so that everyone can find a favourite cat somewhere!

There were several possible torby candidates too. Roe is a front-courtyard favourite, and always a greeter at the gates.

Chase appeared in a perfect autumnal photo. Unfortunately, he was also featured in another photo, so someone else got the autumn leaves in the end.

Skittles just missed as well - but these days this former feral spends more time climbing into people's laps than sitting and looking photogenic!

HoneyBear's incredible blue eyes were featured in 2018, so he was eligible for the 2020 calendar. But another blue-eyed boy sneaked in ahead of him...

I'm wary of including some of our fragile older cats, like little Debbie.

There will be three RAPS calendars: the Sanctuary Cats one, one of some of the Shelter dogs, and one for the RAPS hospital.  All of will be available from all our RAPS sites - The Sanctuary, the Shelter, the Hospital, and both Thrift Stores, as well as by purchase though our website. In addition they will be on sale at four of the fall craft fairs scheduled in Richmond.

Tubby Tiger was another adoption success!

Start making your Christmas lists now, and write "RAPS Calendar" by as many names as you can!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Michele Wright