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, 

Analyzing the tabbies

Checking into the genetic modifiers for the dilute cats got me started on analysing some of the other cat colourings we have around the Sanctuary. It’s frequently been noted that we have a number of black cats, and that they’re not always easy to tell apart – but the same is true with some of our many tabbies. A little Googling led me to identify the four main types of tabby markings, and then it was off to the Sanctuary to match cats up. I quickly realised that the markings were most easily seen in the short-haired cats, and that in longer-haired ones, distinct patterns were blurred by ruffled fur.

Most common would probably be the MACKEREL tabby – distinguished mainly by the clear stripe markings on the sides, and almost always by the clear “M” marking on the forehead.  Apparently they’re also called “fishbone tabbies”, though it’s the markings on the side of the mackerel fish that gives the feline patterning its name.  Our clearest mackerel tabbies are probably Whisky and Cloverleaf

A Whiskey stretch - MW

Cloverleaf - MW

But mackerel markings can be seen in some of our other coloured tabbies too. Little Orange`s fur shows lovely stripes.

Little O, snoozing on a hot day - MW

The CLASSIC tabby is also known as a “blotched” or “marbled” pattern – rather than clear stripes, the colours appear in swirls, and sometimes in a bullseye pattern on the side.  I think our most beautiful classic tabby is timid Quinn who hangs out in the back courtyard. He’s often found in Waldie’s hut, but when approached by humans, scuttles away to hide.  He can be tempted by a bit of chicken, if you can do it when Owl’s not watching!

Quinn - `now, which way should I run...`- MW

This handsome boy in the barncat pen shows the clear bullseye.

BC

Pumpkin is a relative newcomer to the back courtyard, but making himself at home. His pale orange shows the markings in the right light.

Pumpkin is gradually becoming tamer - ML

The TICKED tabbies have fur that changes colour along each hair, called an agouti pattern, which gives the effect of a salt-and-pepper mixture. For the most part, the cats with this sort of patterning also show faint remnants of the other patterns as well. In many of them, it's their contrast colour, with black patterns.  

Piper says "This is MY shelf!"

The SPOTTED tabbies are actually a sub-set of the Mackerel or Classic tabbies – the stripes in the original genetic pattern are broken up to form spots.  The clearest examples of this are Lucky, our Bengal, and Emery, who clearly has some Bengal in him.

We can see how in a wild cat this would be protective colouring.
One of many wonderful Lucky pics by Michele..

But this is probably the most common marking, with the remnants of spots or stripes showing through the agouti fur for both long and short-haired tabbies.

Birdie showing his pretty markings - MW

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Moira Langley & Michele Wright

Garbo cats - back area

One of the first blogs I wrote, back in the summer of 2014, introduced a number of the front courtyard inhabitants as The Garbo Cats, who want to be left alone by other felines, though they may more readily accept human attention.  The back courtyard and double-wide cats seem to tolerate each other much better, but there too we have our share of loners – cats who prefer to avoid the company of others. 

 MW

The queen of these antisocial felines has to be Jingles. When I first came to volunteer at the Sanctuary, I was warned about one cage in the double-wide which was labelled as Jingles’ home.  It had formerly been the med-cage until our medics got moved to a much lighter, slightly more spacious area, and then it became the safe haven for (and from) an angry little black cat. Claire introduced her in 2009 as The Cat Who Hates Everybody, and she had herself quite a reputation for lashing out at the unwary.

 MW

These days Jingles no longer confines herself to a single cage, but she still remains a Cat Who Walks By Herself (or more accurately, lies – she’s not a very active girl!).  She’s much more accepting of petting from human passers-by, but you have to keep an eye open for other cats who think that it’s their turn for attention – at a moment’s notice Jingles will decide that someone’s in her space and she’ll swat whatever is nearest.

 Baby - PH

New volunteers are routinely warned about orange Baby, in the tea-room.  He’s been labelled a Jeckyll & Hyde cat, because his personality can change on a dime, and when Baby bites, he bites hard. Interestingly, I don’t think he’s a nasty cat; he’s very wary around other cats, and his personal space is important to him.  Most people, he just ignores, but  he’ll accept careful petting from the humans he likes.  It’s been a while since he’s actually attacked anyone, and we’re hoping he’s grown out of it, and is more accepting of his surroundings.  But we all read his body language very carefully!

 

Piper - PH / Jody - MW

Baby shares the tea-room bathroom space with two other antisocial cats, and it’s amusing to watch them jockeying for space on the three shelves by the sink. Piper, who is usually at the top, is quiet about her dislikes – she just removes herself from the space (unless occasionally she comes face-to-face with another cat).  Much more vocal is elderly Jody, with her worried face, often found on the middle shelf. When there’s a vocal protest going on, it’s usually Jody telling someone to get the h*** out of her way. She adores human attention, however, and loves to lick the caressing hand.

BC

My own favourite Garbo cat at the back is Emery. This tabby Manx boy probably has a bit of Bengal in him, with the same long legs and athletic build as Lucky.  He avoids all contact with other cats and prefers not even to look at them if he can help it.  I find that he’s quite often one of my greeters at the gate, if it’s quiet, and he will occasionally ask to be picked up and cuddled. More often, you will find him tucked away on a shelf inside an open cage, where he will often reach out and climb onto a shoulder.

 MW

 If he’s in a particularly relaxed and loving mood, he reaches up to put his paws on my shoulders and snuggles his head into my neck – totally guaranteed to melt the heart!

ML

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Phaedra Hardman, Moira Langley & Michele Wright

The 12 Days of RAPSmas - days 11 & 12

Finishing up The 12 Days of RAPSmas:

On the eleventh day of Christmas, the RAPS cats gave to me

11 Piper’s pipings

10 Hannah leapings

9 Josie dances

8 Lincoln mooches

7 cuddle puddles

6 of Mario’s harem

5 hugs from Fred

4 Grizzy sprays

3 Billy kisses

2 random buns

And an “egg” that was laid by Sweet Pea

On the twelfth day of Christmas, the RAPS cats gave to me

12 Baby glares

11 Piper’s pipings

10 Hannah leapings

9 Josie dances

8 Lincoln mooches

7 cuddle puddles

6 of Mario’s harem

5 hugs from Fred

4 Grizzy sprays

3 Billy kisses

2 random buns

And an “egg” that was laid by Sweet Pea

Merry Christmas, everyone. The Neko Files will be back on Friday, December 28.

Graceless '12

It's been a few months since the last Graceless Kitties post - high time for the first installment of 2012.

So here are some of our sillier (or at very least more relaxed) friends at the cat sanctuary doing what they do best. Enjoy.

 photos by Marianne

photos by Michele

photo by Ayako

photos by Phaedra

 photos by Claire

In addition to thanking the photogs credited above, thanks to the cats (Fred, Piper, Morrissey, Diablo, Ricky, Leland, Larry, Ella and others) for playing along.

Piper

This has to be my favorite picture of Piper; it fits her name so well:

photo provided by RAPS

And here's her story, from Marianne:

"Piper was trapped at UBC one very cold and snowy January morning a couple of years ago.  She'd been spotted hiding under a building but it took two separate weekends to get her.  In the intervening week, her name had been decided - whether she turned out to be a boy or a girl, it was going to be "Piper", after Martha Piper the then-Chancellor of UBC.  Although she'd eluded capture for over a week, once she was in the trap, it was obvious that Piper was friendly, not feral. 

 photo provided by Marianne

While she's not too crazy about other cats who invade her space, Piper's a nice, relatively sedate cat who loves to be held and cuddled.  At first glance, her colouring may appear to be simply tabby, but her fur has an unusual and attractive speckled appearance, not the usual tabby stripes.  She can usually be found snoozing in the tea room or on the heater in the washroom off the tea room; on warm days, out in the back courtyard." 

The tearoom is exactly where I found Piper back in February and was able to spend a little time getting to know her. She is a friendly girl indeed, relaxed and ready to enjoy a cuddle.