Pumpkin Cats for Halloween

Tradition holds that black cats are the symbols for Halloween – but with an abundance of pumpkins around, this Halloween I’d rather think about the Sanctuary's crop of orange cats.

Pumpkins - DW

Pumpkin is obviously a great name for an orange cat – in fact, I’m surprised we have had only two Pumpkins at the Sanctuary – one a feral leukemia cat, now passed, and our current Pumpkin, who was actually named more for his orange eyes than for his pale orange colouring

Pumpkin - MW

This Pumpkin is mostly an inhabitant of the Newcomers area; he’s an excellent example of a semi-feral cat who appreciates humans bearing food, but is not really happy about all the touchy-feely stuff – he will allow a little stroke here and there, and he’s a long way from being the angry feral that came in to us, but he prefers to stay at arm’s length, other than with specially favoured visitors like Moira.

Simba - DW

The intense orange of a good pumpkin is better echoed in the colouring of a cat like Simba. This sweet boy came to us as one of the first from a closing shelter on the Sunshine Coast; since the pen he was in has been opened, Simba has enjoyed the chance to wander and make new friends. 

Simba - MD

He excels at finding laps and making himself comfortable – and as all cat-lovers know, there’s no better therapy than a purring cat in the lap. Apparently he was initially surrendered as a pee-er – probably a protest against not being allowed outside. Here at the Sanctuary he has outside privileges in safety, and lots of friends to love him.

Simba lap-cat - MD

OJ is not only pumpkin-coloured, he’s also pumpkin-shaped! He is one of the few cats in pen 4 (ferals) who will allow touch, and it usually needs to be accompanied by treats. 

OJ - DW

We recently opened pen 2, all the inhabitants of whom had come to us last year from the Five Road shelter. Some of that colony have stayed safely in the area they know, but others have enthusiastically ventured out to explore. Parry is one of those cats, happily visiting with volunteers in the tea-room or poking his nose into the double-wide. His orange friend Pavel is much more wary about passing the gate...

Parry - BC

A long-time back courtyard feline pumpkin is Albi, though his solid-orange coat is a darker shade than Parry or Simba. Another semi-feral, Albi will cautiously allow touch, though he’s obviously not that enthusiastic about it. 

Albi - MW

Another pumpkin-shaped orange cat lives in the Single-Wide; Paylan came in with Mom Marisa (now passed).  After several years living with us, a vet-visit informed us that “he” was “she” and the renamed Sarah Paylan can usually be found tucked away on a shelf. She belongs to the school of cat behaviour that calls for as little exertion as possible – hence the shape! We do have several other orange female cats (statistically, 95% of orange cats are male) but most of them are orange and white, and only Blanche and Paylan are predominantly ginger

Sarah Paylan - DW

The front courtyard also has a good collection of orange cats – sweet Gilbert, shy Lucky, brothers Henrik (in the Val Jones area) and Daniel, as well as orange and white Tigger.

Fall in the front courtyard - DW

But a feature on our pumpkin-coloured cats wouldn’t be complete without a look at the not-so-small Little Orange, friend and protector of Merilee, worshipper of Sunday visitor Allison, and one of the softest-furred cats in the Sanctuary.

Little Orange - MW

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Melanie Draper, Debbie Wolanski, Michele Wright

Pen 2 cats - 3: Orange Is The New Black?

MW

In the first blog introducing the Pen 2 cats we met the two blacks – Kevin and Palma – and the two tuxedos – Booty and Tubby. Last week’s introduction was to the tabbies: Calvin, Chase, Sophie, Celeste and Zivko.   All the cats in this week’s group have the gene that gives rise to orange colouring in one format or another. The majority of orange cats are male – statistically only about 5% are female – but it is the orange gene that can give a female cat either tortoiseshell colouring (black and orange) or calico colouring (white and orange – generally with some black). And torties and calicos are always female.

I have noted in other blogs that it’s sometimes hard to distinguish between one black cat and another. That can also be true of the coloured cats – sometimes the identity is clear; sometimes it’s only subtle markings or behaviour that distinguishes one cat from another.

Parry - MW

There are three orange males in Pen 2.  The most friendly and outgoing of the three is Parry, who loves to have human attention, and is always eager to be fussed over. The pale tail-tip is a giveaway of his identity.  Also friendly, but preferably at ground level, is peachy-orange Taffy; he was caged for a while for health reasons, and the Kitty Comforters obviously made him feel happier about human contact.

Taffy - AM

The third orange boy is Pavel – with no white tail-tip, and much more shy than Parry, he will often be found snuggling with someone on an upper shelf in the hut, or hiding out in the undergrowth at the back of the pen.

Pavel & Paula - DA

All the other coloured cats are female.  Paula is classic calico; white fur with strong orange and black markings. She is pretty shy, preferring to hide out with Pavel in the hut, or just out of reach. She will accept treats as long as you don't get too close!

Paula - PH

Minnow is another calico, with much paler colouring; she is outgoing and friendly, and clearly pretty dominant in the colony.

Minnow - MW

The remaining two cats are dilute torties – the strong colouring of regular torties like KitKat, Blaze and Toes in the front courtyard takes on a much more subtle shade in Barbie and Salina. Barbie's colour-markings are clearer than her buddy's, and she is pettable, especially if treats are on offer; Salina is much more muted in colour, and she can be clearly distinguished by a little white dot on her nose; she is much more skittish and wary about interaction with humans.

Barbie - AM

Salina - BC

Sanctuary Manager Janet Reid tells me that we will probably be opening up Pen 2 sometime in the near future. If these ones follow the pattern of other cats from opened pens, we will probably find that the majority will continue to make Pen 2 their base, even as the braver ones start exploring the full range of the back courtyard.
.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Derya Aydede, Brigid Coult, Phaedra Hardman, Angelina Mak & Michele Wright