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

Tucker

Tucker  (KN)

The RAPS Cat Sanctuary is so-named because we are a place of safety for many cats who have no other options. There are shelters and rescues around the province who do wonderful work, but who are unable to offer long-term options for ferals, for leukemia cats, for the incontinent or aggressive. Tucker is one such cat.

Tucker in time-out  (BC)

Tucker came to us last year, and has spent much of his time in a large cage next to the med-staff area. Because of aggression, he was transferred from Broken Promises Rescue in Victoria, who tell us that he was trapped as a feral kitten with his mother and the rest of his litter. We understand that he suffered a neurological injury that may have resulted in a personality change as well as a physical handicap. The rescue works through fostering, and Tucker didn’t do well, being picked on by his mother and another cat in the home. It doesn’t take much to startle him and he easily becomes overstimulated. Loud noises scare him, and make him jumpy. And when he’s scared or reactive, he swipes out and his swipes are forceful. 

"Smack!"  (BC)

When you watch Tucker get around, it’s easy to see that he’s not quite in control of his body.  Like our sweet Honey Bear (now gone) his movements are a little jerky and without the usual elegance of a cat. There’s a slightly unfocused look to his eyes, as if he can see something we can’t;  that may actually be a vision issue, because he had eye problems that needed treatment for a while, but I’m inclined to think it ties more to his neurological issues.

Helping Molly in the morning  (MS)

Med-staff Molly says “He's getting better with the other cats, and knows to steer clear of the more assertive personalities, but he will attack the older, sweeter ones like Tuggy and Dazzle. I think it's that he can tell they're easy targets. I'm hopeful that he'll learn not to, but everything takes him twice as long to figure out. He's an incredibly sweet boy, who loves to be held and sit on laps. Just do it with an ounce of caution, as he gets nasty when other cats are around, or when he gets set down he may lash out. I have a soft spot for him, but he's not the most popular with everyone else”.

Jasper having a face-off with Tucker  (BC)

Tucker’s foster in Victoria also has a soft spot for him, but recognized that he was not a cat for anyone but a really cat-savvy person. When we have visitors at the weekend, Tucker is caged so that he doesn’t get over-stimulated. Once visitors have gone, he emerges and wanders, exploring with no sense of other cats’ territory. Med staff are used to keeping an eye on him, and watching to see when things have become a bit too much and he needs to be back in his peaceful place. Even feisty Jasper can become a target at such times, and it’s always better to intervene before an actual cat-fight takes place.

Tucker sleeping - MS

We have a limited number of cages for med-care and new cats, and don’t usually allow any cage-space to be claimed, though there are always exceptions – many long-term volunteers will fondly remember little tuxedo Aurora, who spent most of her life with us, refusing to leave her cage. And big blond Oscar (now adopted) would sulk and refuse to eat when shut out of his favourite space. Tucker’s cage is a safe refuge for him, and it’s large enough that it can have its own cat-tree, to make his (occasionally unsteady) climbing a bit safer. Molly says that part of his self-soothing seems to be lying is a slightly twisted posture with his head thrown back – it doesn’t look comfortable, but he does it often enough that it obviously does give him comfort.

Quiet time in his cage  (BC)

We don’t know Tucker’s future – if adopted, it would have to be to someone very cat-savvy, who was prepared to have him be an only cat. There may be other medical issues; for now, at least, he is best in our care, with access to the knowledge of the vets at the RAPS Hospital, and with staff and volunteers who love him.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Karen Nicholson & Molly Sjerdal

Much Love for the Cats

Ginger & Chamomile

February blogging often offers a struggle between featuring either our Cat-Lovers for Valentine’s Day or our furry Cat-Families. This year not only are the two days well separated (especially when allowing for an early Valentine’s blog), but there are SO many Valentine's pictures to share with you all!

Cadbury

For the last month, Lisa Brill-Friesen has been bringing photo-props in with her to help stage a heart-felt tribute to her beloved Sanctuary kitties.  

Chamomile & Ginger

Lisa and Ken discovered RAPS in early 2019, and visited us regularly. If something can be made, fixed or constructed, Ken will do it; an early gift from the two of them was refurbishing up the back cabins with mended roofs and fresh paint. 

Newly painted pen 2 - (M.Wright)

Now they’re both on staff.  Lisa loves to garden, and has done much for the back courtyard.  But her particular love is working with the shyest cats, and she will spend hours willing them into accepting petting and tidbits.

SO much love for Holland...

Like other staff and volunteers she has dealt with the joy of bonding with a new furry friend, and the heartbreak of losing them – shy Napoleon, from the Merritt cats; well-named Princess Diva; sweet HIV cat Holland – all were particularly dear to her. But they remain heart-cats, and somehow her heart finds space to love another one – or two, or more...

Billy

She has made a particular project of the cats from Kamloops who have been our Pen 6 furries. All that orange fluff makes them look the same to many of us, but she knows their names and personalities, and though they remain resolutely untamed, the way they are accepting of the presence of humans owes much to her work.

"I will never let go, Jack!"

Thankfully, they’re not ALL orange and floofy – there are at least a few of them that are easier to tell apart! And though they may not cooperate in the intended poses, she is quick to grab the opportunity when they want to re-enact the scene from "Titanic"

Billy & Chamomile

Lisa’s love for shabby-chic decor is another passion, and she refurbishes and stages her “finds” with great enthusiasm.  Her own two cats are among her best “meowdels”, but there is no lack of feline talent to take the stage at the Sanctuary.

Baby

Cassidy

It’s easy to see which ones are the cats who are reacting with treats in mind, and which are the ones that just love being centre-stage!

Cornelius is a consummate ham!

Nor did she confine her photographic efforts to the back courtyard cats – she visited around in both Single- and Double-Wide to catch the romantic view of some of our friends there.

Bossanova

Oscar

Hearts and flowers from the cats to all of you that love them. And hearts and flowers to Lisa for all the love she shares around the Sanctuary.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen

Visiting the Shut-Ins

Plum - caged for bath-time   (MW)

One of the things that so many of our visitors adore is the freedom that the Sanctuary cats have to roam. There are limits, of course – leukemia and FIV cats have separate areas, the Single-Wide cats never go out of their building, and some of the back pens are kept closed to give the cats inside a better sense of their own territory.  But people often come, expecting cages, and are surprised to find that they are the exception rather than the rule.

Rico, when he first came to us; now he roams the back pens freely   (BC)

So why do we have cages at all? Well, any new cat needs an acclimatization period, during which they become aware of other cats around, with whom they don’t yet have to interact.  They may have vaccinations due, or be recovering from spay/neuter surgery. And they need to get to know the people who will be working with them.  Perhaps they’re a cat that someone has identified as “off colour” and they are caged so that the med staff can assess if they’re eating/drinking enough, if they’re using the litter-box – perhaps a visit from the vet or a trip to the hospital is in the cards.  We’ve recently had a group of cats from one pen, with upset stomachs – they’ve been on a special diet, and it’s taken having the whole colony of that pen on dietary restriction to get it under control (they’re all back together now, and very happy about it).  

Poor Taylor has dental problems, and many teeth pulled;
hence the tongue-tip showing   (KN)

Perhaps a cat has been diagnosed with a condition like diabetes or hyperthyroidism, and they need to have cage time to get used to being medicated – and to allow the staff to assess how that medication will be most effectively administered. Or perhaps (and this is very common) they’ve had dental surgery, and are on a no-kibble restriction (which means extra wet-food treats!)

Winston getting cage-time snuggles  (MRJ)

A cat who is caged may only see the med staff when being medicated, or a volunteer when food is being offered or the cage cleaned.  The work of the Kitty Comforters is very important with these cats, encouraging contact with the shy ones, and making sure that the social ones don’t feel abandoned.  Many of the volunteers will spend extra time with the caged cats once a shift is “finished” – because for many of us, it’s not finished until we’ve shared cuddle time with our charges.

Quinn is not happy about being caged  (BC)

My Saturday evening place is with the Double-Wide cats, and last week, having fed everyone and checked on water and kibble, I went back to spend more quality time than just simply putting a plate down.  Two of our shyest cats were tucked away in different corners:  all I got from black Michonne (pen 4) was an unfriendly hiss, but handsome tabby Quinn, though hiding in a corner, gave me his best owlish stare.  Quinn is a buddy of my sponsor cat, grey Sylar, and is usually very keen on the prospect of chicken tidbits; he rarely allows himself to be touched and I was not about to force it on him, but with this visit he was not much in a mood for eating, either.   He will be watched carefully, and force-fed if necessary.

Oscar has to be tempted to eat a little of his special food   (BC)

Our Haida Gwaii teddy-bear-cat, Oscar, liked the cage he first came to so much that he has refused to vacate it. Right now he is confined so we can see just why he’s a bit off-colour, and just what he’s eating.  The med-staff are finding little tasty plates for him, and he will sometimes eat while there is someone there to admire, and talk with him. Sadly, he is not fond of the company of other cats, so a closed cage suits him well. 

Hillie enjoying visiting time  (BC)

Cow-cat Hillie has been caged for a while with a cold;  when a cat gets congested, not only is the breathing impaired but sometimes so is the appetite, because they may not be able to smell the food. Hillie seems to be doing well, but she’s less active than usual. She was very pleased to have a visitor, and emerged from behind her drape to sniff me over and accept attention. 

KeKe is not happy about necessary medical attention  (BC)

A temporary resident in the cage opposite is cranky KeKe. She is one of our diabetic cats, and more importantly, she’s one whose blood sugar fluctuates a lot, so she needs regular glucose checks. She is not happy about this – not because it’s particularly painful (the prick of a glucometer or of an insulin needle is negligible) but because she resents being handled on someone else’s agenda. She makes her feelings known very vocally, and by changing her mind frequently about what she will eat. The med-staff offer her a regular buffet of gourmet cat-food, and she will often make it quite clear that none of it is good enough.  It can become a real battle of wills to get her to eat before she gets her insulin and is released from the cage for the rest of the evening.

Rodan is happy to be caged and fussed; the more visitors, the better!  (BC)

In the cage backing on to hers there are two cats from the same pen – sometimes the presence of another cat that is known can be a comfort to a stressed animal.  In this case, grey Odie couldn’t care less; he has established himself at floor level and does not want to be bothered, letting me know by his hissing that he does not appreciate the visit. Rodan, on the other hand, is delighted by the presence of a friend. This sweet one-eyed boy is the only cat in pen 7 who is really comfortable with humans – a good thing, because he gets recurring colds and ear infections, and is a regular user of med-staff attention. He ignores Odie, and rolls happily at shelf level, begging for petting and treats.

Luke would rather mooch for treats than eat what's on his plate  (BC)

His next-door neighbour perks up and also begs at the mesh for chicken bits. Luke, normally a back deck member of the Tuxedo Club, is our newest diabetic, and is caged to accustom him to treatment and help us get a base-line on his glucose levels. He’s not likely to be a problem to medicate – most of the diabetics are pretty easy-going about the whole process. The biggest problem is convincing them that because they demanded tuna yesterday, it’ll be equally tasty today – it seems like the moment diabetes is diagnosed, they become pickier about what they will eat than Jamie Oliver!

JackieO hasn't let the loss of her tail affect her climbing skills;
she REALLY wants to be back out again  (KN)

The last cage belongs to a sweet girl – but a visit requires a towel. JackieO came to us in 2020 as a cat made incontinent by a tail-pull injury; we had her tail amputated (it was effectively paralysed) which meant that it was easier to keep her clean. The amputation has not slowed her down one bit – she climbs and jumps and plays as much as ever, and her polydactyl paws are always busy. She’s got a messy gut problem right now, and visiting requires the visitor to be well protected; we check and change all her bedding on a regular basis, and hope her medication will sort her out quickly so she can go back out to play – at the moment it’s rather like telling a child that they have to stay in their bedroom.

Nobody likes to think of the cats being caged; at least, in the DoubleWide, they’re big cages, so human visitors can sit fairly comfortably, and let the patients know that they’re not forgotten, and that the big wide world awaits them if they’ll just hurry up and get better!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Marla Rae Jenkins, Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright

Kitties from Haida Gwaii

 We are enjoying the company of two cats who have come to us from far in the north-west of BC. 

Oscar (L) & Charlotte (R) - LBF

All around the province there are rescues that do wonderful work, but the long-term future of cats in their care is limited because their space and resources are also limited.  If the cat is very feral, sometimes the only thing to be done is to spay/neuter it and return it to its source. Feral cats tend not to live long lives, but you have to balance a life lived in safety but also in fear, and one lived in the surroundings it knows.

I'd rather stay here, thank you....   KN

Sometimes the cat is obviously a stray and not a feral, and the issue then is finding it a home. If that is not possible in the community, it may be possible in another one.  And just occasionally it’s a feral cat, but the rescue thinks there’s hope, with time – and RAPS has time and space for that work. The rescues are often able to partner with a local airline, and we pick the newcomer up at the airport.

Any closer, and I'll smack you! - KN

Oscar was found at a dump in Haida Gwaii.  He is a big blond former tom-cat, who began by trying to convince us that he truly was a grouch, but isn’t quite up to keeping up with the act. His game is given away by his teddy-bear companion; staff and volunteers have to be careful to leave Ted where Oscar can see him.  As we do with most ferals, we have left Oscar’s carrier in his cage, and he prefers to hide in it for the greater part of the day, emerging occasionally to observe the world from a different angle. When you enter his cage, he retreats, but he is much less hissy than on arrival, and with the people of whom he approves, he will allow a little touching - and loves to play.

Smiling for string-toy play - PC

He reminds me very much of OJ in pen 4 – and he may yet end up in that feral pen – but we’re going to make every effort to reach the pussycat hidden behind those hisses. He’s not very fond of the other cats that pass his cage.  In many ways he reminds us more of Ranger, both physically and in attitude.  Ranger (who also came from the NorthWest) is still in pen 4, but by his own choice now; he will come out occasionally, but it’s now “his” space. It will be interesting to see if Oscar acclimates in the same way. The Kitty Comforters are spending a lot of quality time with him!

Wide-eyed scared kitten when she first came - KN

Oscar’s travelling mate is very unlike him. Charlotte is a tiny girl with a lot of fluff. She’s still quite young – less than two years old, we think – but she’s had a litter of kittens. She was put in one of the quieter cages, and with some reason at the beginning – she appeared to be terrified. But scared and hissy as she is, she’s actually made more progress than Oscar in terms of getting out of her carrier, and in interacting with humans.

Playing with her buddy Jackie O  -  LBF

Her age is a bonus; she’s young enough to want to play, and that offers bonding right away. Kitty Comforters with patience (and a pocketful of treats) are coaxing her into trust, and her cage door is now open, though she prefers to remain in its safety.  She is less stand-offish with other cats than Oscar is; she has bonded with the cat who was in the next-door cage, Jackie O, and the two of them have been found cuddling together.  She’s even been seen to roll over and expose her tummy to a visitor – an indicator of trust, though not an invitation for belly-rubs (yet).

Looking more adult...   LBF

Ferals progress at very different rates. Star and Leona, who came in together, are light-years apart – Star wants nothing to do with us, but Leona, with patience, may be adoptable.  The same with these two – it’s way too early to determine that Charlotte will be adopted out, but the potential is there, and we will give her every chance to find her own home and her own person.

Pretty kitten - LBF

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Pauline Chin & Karen Nicholson