Warm and fuzzy feelings

To mark Valentines this year I decided to look at some of the cats that have obviously developed deep attachments to each other. For a few of them, they’re family relationships – mother and son or siblings – for others there is obviously The One Important Cat – and then there are a few who just send out the pheromones that say “I’m lovable!”, and the other cats gather around.

Bantam & Simone - CF

Any visitor to the single-wide will be greeted by the cuddle-puddle on the dryer – led by two grey cats who came from the same source, and are probably siblings. They are happy for a little interaction with humans, but they really love to be with each other.

Garfield and Diamond- MW

Blog-readers may remember Hiro and Sophie, who are often found together – Hiro is a mama’s boy, but has recently started to be a bit more independent. We have just welcomed to the Sanctuary Garfield and Diamond, who are similarly attached. They are in fact adoptable, but being at the Shelter was too scary for them in the small cages there; with us they have room to move as they please – but mostly to snuggle.

 

Liam and Lady Lightfoot - PH

Liam and Lady Lightfoot in the New Aids are often found together, but Phaedra tells me it’s rather a one-sided affair – Lady has something of a crush on Liam, which isn’t entirely reciprocated. Phaedra says, “When Lady snuggles up to Liam he will slowly move to another spot; usually she doesn’t take the hint, and follows him. Liam usually relents because he's a peaceful little guy.”

Many readers will remember our dearly loved Mario who had a harem of devoted followers of both genders who trailed round after him

Mario & Shrek (RIP) - CF

Just over a year ago we lost Mario to cancer and for a while his followers were bereft; Nelly in particular is wary both of people and of other cats and hasn’t found another love. But it was apparent that Mario’s mantle had, at least in part, descended on Salty, who can often be found on the double-wide couch, absolutely surrounded by furry bodies.

The couch cuddlers - MW

He does seem to have a favourite, though – he’s most often seen with Lana – so much so that we chose their picture for the February picture in the calendar this year.

Lana & Salty - MW

There are a few other cats who seem to have that magnetism.  Kiddie is a double-wide table-top cuddler - frequently found sleeping (or trying to) with another buddy

Prince & Kiddie - BC

 Shy black Jet in the back courtyard has a devoted following – here he is with one of his favourites

Jet & Mad Max - MW

and beautiful Foxy (Silverfox) in the front courtyard is usually found with his buddy Cheetah

Silverfox & Cheetah - BC

Sweet Pea is often avoided by humans, because of her dirty back end, but quite often she can be found cuddling with one of her buddies – Lillix, in this case

SweetPea & Lillix - LL

When Shuga was diagnosed with feline leukemia, she and her buddy Esme were delighted to be reunited in the Val Jones enclosure.

Shuga & Esme - BC

Many of the AIDS cats have become so as a result of fighting in their feral days – at the Sanctuary, “fixed” and fed and warm, they’re more often found cuddling together than doing battle. And now we discover that the newcomer in Old Aids, Bubba, is another charmer like Mario, for both cats and humans. Even the alpha male, Merlin, seems to gravitate to the new boy, and shy Kojak was seen being tenderly washed by him.

Happy Valentine’s Day – to cats and humans alike!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Phaedra Hardman, Claire Fossey, Leslie Landa & Michele Wright

 

 

Maddy

Maddy came from Princess Street in Steveston, living with around 20 other cats in the same feral colony that Prince came from.

When I came across her sitting with a number of shy cats on top of the cages in the newcomers' area at the sanctuary, it didn't occur to me she might be tame. And it didn't take her long to set me straight on that one, dancing, preening and generally showing off to get - and keep - my attention.

Leslie agrees that she's "super sweet" and adds that "besides liking people, she has a tabby boyfriend who is rarely away from her side."
Sounds like one well-adjusted kitty!

Spike

Spike's a cat who's constantly underfoot and yet I only just met him the other day. Why? Because his very favorite place to be underfoot is in the med cage.

Leslie was kind enough to take a few minutes out of her busy evening meds schedule to tell me about her little "helper"...

"Spike was a feral that came from a colony of about a dozen feral cats being fed by an elderly gentleman. The man sold his property to a developer and they tore down the house to put up townhouses. We were called in to trap the cats by the salesperson for the townhouses who had seen them. Spike was very wild -- he almost killed me from inside his box when he was first in a cage and I tried to put in my hand to peek at him. This was about 4 years ago.

He used to live on top of the cages [where the feral cats often like to stay], but he eventually became very time. It did take a long time though. And he's decided he wants to be in the med cage.... all the time, if I'm there, so that I will give him food. His favorite is tuna, but he'll eat just about anything that I put on a plate. He has me totally trained. He sticks his claws in my leg just like Prince does as he tries to get my attention and I have to either grab him and push him out of the cage or give him something to eat."

"He's one of two cats who like to be in the med cage with me. The other's a pure white one called Lumi. They're both very fast. So if I throw them out, by the time I can close the door they're back in. They're really funny. What Spike does when he sees I'm going to try and move him, is he'll quickly run under the stool as if to say 'Look, look, I'm just going to go and lie down on my bed. You don't really want to throw me out of here. I won't bother you!' And so I leave him and go fix up the medicines, and the next thing I know, my leg's getting ripped."

It's funny how various cats will pick their favorite human sucker... Spike knows that a cute face like the one in the photo above will always win him Leslie's forgiveness for the odd overenthusiastic claw, while Lincoln, another med cage moocher, knows that Gaye never really means it when she says he's had all the tuna he's going to get.

Prince

Prince is one of the more enthusiastic of the sanctuary's self-appointed greeters. Barbara refers to him as the "Leg Tapper," but with me he has on occasion gone beyond tapping into something approaching "Leg Grabber" territory. Perhaps he realized he had to compete Sadie for my time.

He's so amiable, though, that it's impossible to hold these demands for attention against him. And he does genuinely love being patted.

A prince of a cat? A case could be made, but as it turns out, his name comes from the place he was found. 
Prince's story, from Leslie (originally published in The Love Blog in July, 2009):

"Prince is named for Princess Street in Steveston. An artist named Jan Corkin with a studio in Steveston discovered a colony of around 20 young feral cats and began feeding them. She became concerned about their welfare when she learned that a custodian of a nearby building wanted to get rid of them. Jan feared the cats would be harmed. She contacted RAPS and we were able to successfully trap the mother and all of her offspring. The cats are now living happily at the sanctuary and most remain feral. Prince, however, has become very friendly to people because we kept him in a cage for awhile in order to socialize him."

Prince is so very friendly with people that, as Love Blogger Barbara has found as well, it can be hard to snatch a good photo when he's constantly in motion with his cat dance of joy. I only managed to get these last two photos after he climbed up on a high shelf where he couldn't reach me without expending way too much energy for a cat who's just found a comfy place to sit.