Delilah

MW

Delilah came to us about a year ago, having been trapped and found to be pregnant . She went into fosterage with one of our staff, and produced the “C” litter of kittens. They were all (including Delilah) adopted from the City Shelter, but Delilah was subsequently returned to us for being a pee-er. Her owners did all the right things – got her vet-checked, changed litter, and so on – but this quirky girl wasn’t about to cooperate. She’s proved to be not only bathroom-challenged, but also a girl of considerable mood-swings.

JK

Some of the cats that come in with an “aggressive” label settle very well at the Sanctuary – nobody here is going to pick them up and try and snuggle if they don’t want it, and most of us understand cat body-language well enough to tell when an approach is welcome, and when the cat is in “leave me alone” mode. We have often had cats who are aggressive in a cage, and who relax into being pussycats once they’re free to run around.  Delilah, unfortunately, is not one of those – she’s wired to be on edge, and both humans and cats need to be super-aware around her.

MW

Delilah mostly hangs out on top of the cages in the Double-Wide; she will occasionally come down and investigate on a lower level, but the top is her preferred stomping ground.  And I use the phrase deliberately – a quiet time in the Double-Wide is often interrupted by the thunder of feline feet as Delilah chases an unwise cat away from her vicinity, or from whatever she is claiming as her own.

Delilah thinking about ambushing Pixie - PC

Volunteers and staff who have to climb up to clean or to medicate a cat learn to keep an eye out for Delilah, to gauge her mood or to distract her attention.

TV

Like her fellow cage-top cat, Lumi, she can be friendly, begging for petting – but the line between “enough” and “too much” is a fine one. It’s one of the reasons we no longer allow young children to visit on Sundays; there are too many visitors who don’t understand that the presence of strangers is a stressor to some of the cats, and who may get swatted for petting a cat like Delilah, because they can’t know how many earlier visitors may have pushed up her stress levels.

BC

On her good days, Delilah does enjoy attention, though she’s not a lap-cat, and not one of the Double-Wide couch crowd. Fellow-blogger Pauline, who is the Double-Wide Ambassador on Sunday afternoons, describes Delilah as the little kid who just learned how to run, but has no etiquette and no sense of boundaries. She will literally stick her face into anyone and anything. She gets away with it because she's young and cute. This week she has taken on a new habit - run up to a human's face and scream. When she's overstimulated, she can lash out without any typical warning signs. I've seen her attempt to bite, scratch, spray, and dash off within 5 minutes. Delilah and Comet clash frequently and they usually end up chasing each other around the catwalks until the chaser loses sight of the runner. On the plus side, she responds to her name and will sit on people... when she wants to. Toys are the easiest way to get her attention and she'll seemingly appear out of nowhere with her eyes locked on the target. 

Vicki offered this video clip of Delilah suddenly deciding that Orlean was the feline target on which to set her sights.

Blog by Brigid Coult, with Pauline Chin

Photos by Pauline Chin, Brigid Coult, Jennine Kariya, Tanisha Vincent, Michele Wright

Video by Vicki Lo

The Silent Meow

Mona - the silent meow - MM

Mona and Jinx are two long-haired girls who came to the Cat Sanctuary from another shelter this past January and, until just recently, I couldn’t tell one from the other.  Although Jinx has tabby colouring and Mona is a tortie, they’re both little, friendly and long-haired and hang out in the Front Courtyard, around or inside the little building known as Connor House.

Jinx - MM

And, they’re both darn cute, more so because they frequently do the “silent meow” thing – they look at you earnestly, their little mouths gape open and it looks like they’re meowing but with the sound turned off.  For some reason, this makes them look particularly cute and appealing.

Booster yelling - MM

Most cats have audible meows and a few, like Booster, make their presence known by yelling, loudly and persistently, to get attention so I wondered why, and how, Jinx and Mona are silent meow-ers.

Jinx the sun-worshipper - BC

Upon consulting “Dr. Google”, I found the scientific explanation of how some cats meow silently.  Apparently, the cat is actually making a sound but at a frequency which mere human beings can’t hear – we can hear up to a measly 20 kilohertz only, while cats can hear sounds of a much higher frequency than that.  So, if a silent-meowing feline wants to tell another feline to shove off, their intention is just as clear to the intruder as if it were screeched.  Okay, so that explained how they do it but didn’t tell me why.  

Mona - PH

Dr. Google goes on at length with the many reasons why cats meow, silently or otherwise – they want food, attention, to be let out and then immediately back in, are annoyed or in pain or just want to greet you.  However, if your cat makes a habit of using a silent meow to communicate with you, it’s possibly because it’s just clever and manipulative enough to know how adorable that looks and is taking full advantage of that to get what it wants.  Fluffy or Tom-Tom quickly figure out what’s going to be most effective to get their people to hop to it and do things their way. And if it works, they’ll keep doing it.

Mona dozing in the sun - BC

Dr. Google concludes by saying that if your precious cat really wants something from you and wants it now, it probably won’t hesitate to let you know, one way or another. Playing cute, for example with a silent meow if the cat do it, pretty much guarantees a positive result.

Piper hopes for a tidbit - MM

Having done the on-line research, it was time to do some practical work – a walk around the sanctuary was called for, with eyes open for silent meows.  It’s interesting how meow-free the place usually is – cats are not vocal in the way dogs are, and cat-noise is the exception rather than the rule. There are a few cats with particularly distinctive voices – Gabby lives up to his name, and Desi can be heard through the back area when he decides to talk. But yes, there are a few silent-meow-ers: Freckles is noted for her voiceless yell for chicken and cute little Orlean uses it to get attention.

Freckles sees chicken coming;  Orlean says "Pet me now!" - MW

Owners of particularly yappy cats might welcome one that meows silently but it seems to be an on again-off again thing.  Jinx and Mona can, and do, meow loudly when they want to get someone’s attention for an important message like “Feed me, now!” or “Why aren’t you picking me up?” but for sheer cuteness appeal, they can really work that silent meow.

Blog by Marianne Moore

Pictures by Brigid Coult, Phaedra Hardman, Marianne Moore, Michele Wright, 

From Swatty to Sweetie

The majority of the cats we have at the Sanctuary are ferals, coming to us from having been living wild, or born of a feral mother. The “tame” cats that call the Sanctuary home are usually here because of behaviour problems: pooping or peeing in the wrong places, or occasionally for biting.
The number of ferals surprises visitors, who see the welcoming committee on Sunday afternoon, and can’t believe that these cats aren’t all dying to find their own homes. Our experience, however, is that semi-ferals are easily spooked by a change in surroundings (see Esme’s story). They’re happy to accept pats and treats and occasionally a good cuddle – but the Sanctuary is home and unknown territory is scary stuff!
That being said, there are degrees of feral – and one of the joys of working with the cats comes when a previously scared, angry cat seeks a volunteer out for head-rubs and stroking.

Bossanova

Bossanova was a pretty scary cat when he first came to us. His cage in the double-wide was to be approached with caution; offering food took a certain amount of nerve; angry growls and hissing welcomed any intruder. And then gradually he realised that we weren’t going to harm him; he progressed from allowing scratches with a back-scratcher to pats from a hand, and eventually to head-rubs.  He now hangs out on the single-wide deck, where he recognises the voices of his favourite people and comes looking for attention. He’s still wary, and a stranger will send him back to his high-up corner, but a familiar hand will bring him down the ramp, drooling in delight as his head is rubbed.

Sarah

Sarah hung out for a long time in the feral area of the front courtyard. A delicate little grey cat, she hovered on the edge, fascinated by action, but not willing to join in. Sarah’s tipping point was that she’s a chickaholic – when chicken was offered, she wanted in on the action, and increasing exposure to humans handing it out has convinced her that we’re not so bad – she’s become brave enough to be a lap-cat on occasion.

Gilbert

Claire also reported on ginger Gilbert who was first coaxed by Ann into becoming much more sociable and is now positively assertive when food is being offered.  He stands his ground with some of the pushier cats, and will occasionally come for a cuddle for the people he counts as friends when things are quiet.

Orlean

Orlean is one of our little ginger females in the double-wide. Claire’s blogs have noted her progress from a scared and hissing feral to an attention seeker that enjoys (with the right person) being carried over the shoulder, and who, like Josie, seeks bottom-slapping attention with great delight.

Georgina

In the back courtyard, sweet Georgina, who used to run away from everyone now waits in the mornings to get petted by Phaedra – and is coming to accept that other people may have gentle hands as well. 

OJ - "What have you got for me?!"

OJ, in one of the feral pens at the back, now comes towards the gate to greet a visitor instead of hiding and swatting.
And our greatest success-story, in the pen opposite, is our beloved Dell, who was once impossible to handle and now waits anxiously at the gate for his friends to pay attention to him.

Dell

There are still many ferals in the RAPS Sanctuary population – and some of them may never accept that the humans only want to help them. But it is one of the great joys of working here, to gain the trust – even if for only a few moments – of a formerly scared and suspicious cat.

Blogger: Brigid Coult

Photos: Michele Wright

cat sanctuary music video!

For a different way of sharing the always entertaining cats living at the sanctuary, I decided to shoot some video. As a number of my RAPS friends know, making music is another thing I like to do...
And so it seemed to me a great idea to create not just a video with the cats, but a music video with the cats.

I recorded a cover of Ingrid Michaelson's The Way I Am, chosen because the cats take us just we are, just as we do for them.
Some of you have seen this already. For those who haven't -- enjoy!

Click on the image below for the embedded player, or click here to watch from the YouTube page.

Here are some of the cats featured in the video:

Yoda

Lucy

Selma

Orlean

Squeakers
(with Orlean still wriggling in the background)

Mario and Nelly

Logan

Marilee

Foxy

Booster

Ziggy Girl

Cookie

Note: There will only be one blog post this week -- the video was lots of fun to do, but really took it out of me!

Mary (II)

I was introduced to Mary earlier this month by Gaye. With formerly shy Orlean now following me around and meowing at me until I pick her up and drape her purring self over my shoulder, I'm ready to take on a new challenge. Gaye recommended Mary as a good candidate for some extra attention.

While interested in what the humans moving around her may be up to, Mary's still quite shy and ready to scoot away at a moment's notice if anyone gets closer than she's comfortable with.

Some people have been able to get close enough to touch the tip of her nose, but so far that's about all she's prepared to permit. Since she's only just met me, I haven't yet been allowed even this close, but she was curious enough about me that she was content to sit peering at me, just safely out of reach, as I took a number of photos of her.

The next time I met her, I was able to get a little closer through the presentation of a food offering. As is apparent from her rounded silhouette, she does like her food.
Let's see if we can get her into the idea of liking a few cuddles too.

Mini update: Orlean

When I wrote about Orlean back in December, we were lucky to touch a fingertip to her nose before the skittish stray would give a swat or just zip off under a shelf. Leslie maintains that she really does want to be friendly, but just hasn't quite learned to trust us enough yet.

In holdout cases such as this, sometimes a small amount of trickery is needed in order for a breakthrough to occur.

On Monday night, Orlean was showing off for a few cats she's made friends with. She'd just managed to get one of them to wash her rear end and was feeling pretty pleased with herself when I took advantage of a moment's distraction and reached down to stroke her back and give her a scratch by the base of her tail. In the few moments it took her to realize this additional attention did not come from one of her cat friends, she quite unreservedly enjoyed the cuddles.

Then she turned around. And proceeded to tell me off - sitting back on her hind legs and lightly whapping at me with both front paws while delivering a series rapid-fire offended meows - before scooting off out of sight.

I went back to the work I'd been doing. When I happened to look around a few minutes later, there she was, sitting a short distance away, watching me with curiosity.

I managed to get in a few more quick flyby strokes over the next hour or so. Each time she'd scoot off, and each time she'd be back a short time after, come to check out what I was doing.

She can't resist us for much longer, we're sure!

Orlean

Meet Orlean:

She's not quite sure just yet if she's pleased to meet you.

After coming in as a stray, Orlean had a few health issues that, although not severe, did mean that her initial exposure to med staff had to involve a certain amount of poking and prodding. As a result, she's still rather loathe to trust the humans at the sanctuary.

The first few times I had to go into her cage to give her dinner or refresh her water, I'd find her sitting in the middle of her litter box, staring at me and meowing emphatically as is trying to ward off the unwelcome intruder.

Now she's out of her cage and still skittish about being touched, yet at the same time so curious about us that she can't seem to stop herself from sitting out in the open where she can get a good view.

Moving slowly and quietly, it's often possible to get close enough to reach out to her. Most times she'll respond with gentle slap to the back of the hand, but occasionally she'll allow a fingertip to touch the tip of her nose before she loses her nerve and scoots just out of range.

I'm thinking she has the makings of a sweet girl.