Back Courtyard Shadows

Shy Minnie in Pen 8

Throughout the Sanctuary, there are feral cats lurking out of sight or on the edge of our vision. Some of them have come from our own kitten-rescue efforts; others have come to us from other rescues across the province. Many of those rescues are doing amazing work with little in the way of resources, and they rely on fostering for ongoing care for their cats. And as we all know, some cats will tame down fairly easily, and others resist it all the way!  For a fosterer, the hope is always that you can get a cat to the point of allowing contact and building a relationship – and when that doesn’t happen, it’s very hard to know what to do with a stressed and angry animal in the long term. 

Escaper Volcano is getting used to us 

At the Sanctuary, we can release these cats into the general population and play the “wait and see” game. Some of them may go their entire lives avoiding us, others tolerate our presence as long as we don’t invade their space too much, and with luck, a few will learn that with humans come good treats and gentle hands.  Most of the shyest cats can be found out-and-about in the early morning, and in the evening; cats are by nature crepuscular, meaning that they are most active in the twilight. And it’s usually staff member Karen whose patience and camera-eye can capture views of the ones that many of us see only rarely. All the photos in today's blog are hers.

Sherlock is very wary

Sherlock and his brother Mycroft came to us together; they were spotted on the trail-cams around the perimeter, trapped and brought in. Sometimes these “detective cats” may have been dumped, but these two were definitely feral, and had probably been making a living off the rodents in the surrounding farmland. After their obligatory cage-time for neutering, vaccines and so on, their cages were opened. Sherlock made for the courtyard; Mycroft chose to remain indoors. He adapted really well, and in fact has been adopted (he’s just “Mike” now!) and has his own home. His rough-coated brother Sherlock has also adapted well – just, not to people. He migrates happily from the south wing to the eastern one, and no longer freezes in fear, but he doesn’t trust us, or allow an approach. That’s OK – it’ll happen when he’s ready...

The Winter King - majestic, but cautious

I introduced beautiful Plateau back in September, and he remains wary and dislikes too much attention. He usually hangs out around Waldi’s Hut.  He has been joined by The Winter King, who prefers the comfort of being IN the hut – though he is quick to exit or to hide when any human enters. He came to us from the Shuswap lakes are this past fall, and we had hoped he would tame up, but in the Adoption Centre he huddled in his cage, and only reluctantly tolerated touch, though without aggression; the staff decided to bring him over to the Sanctuary and see if he might blossom (like Bello did). He has obviously decided that he will remain on the wild side.  Thankfully, unlike his namesake, he is no fighter, but manages to co-exist quite happily with his roomies.

Devon and Cordelia, in Pen 8, prefer to be up and out of reach

Next to Waldi’s Hut is Pen 8, given over to a group of refugees from a hoarding situation in Victoria. These cats have been very wary with us, mostly going into hiding when anyone comes in to clean or feed. The Kitty Comforters (particularly Patti) have been working on building trust with them – sitting quietly with music, offering tasty treats and gentle play. Some of them are getting much braver and coming to the gate, especially in the evening; others prefer to remain out of reach, though they are obviously not as scared as they were. Churu to the rescue!

Pretty Pinnacle prefers to stay in hiding

When Lisa and Ken rescued the Commuter Colony last year, there were two naming conventions applied – one group was the Hotel Cats (including Westin and Wyndham) and the other was the Topological Cats (including Plateau, above). The latter group also included Summit, Meadow, Pinnacle and Volcano. Pretty tabby Pinnacle has removed herself as far as possible, but can occasionally be seen at a distance, or lurking in the shrubbery.  Volcano showed himself to be an escape artist, and since recapturing a black cat is not the easiest thing, he has been confined to the escape-proof Pen 7, where he is beginning to get used to the presence of humans; as well as regular visits for cleaning and feeding, Pen 7 is regularly entered by the med-staff handing out necessary meds to other cats.

Tubbitha - no, you may not pet me!

The colony that came to us from Cranbrook, known as the College Cats, has established themselves firmly in Pen 3. Most of them prefer not to use the cabin, which is largely occupied by the group that came from a Calgary hoarding situation back in 2021; the College cats prefer to use the outdoor shelters, and largely operate like a shoal of fish – where one goes, the others tend to follow.  All except for Tabitha, who has separated herself from her family. Renamed Tubbitha, this solid tabby girl has established herself just outside the cat-door leading onto the DoubleWide deck. I assume she goes in when it’s cold, but mostly, she remains at the base of the cat-tree. Visitors proceeding into New Aids have to be warned not to touch her; unlike Hickory, who is also dark tabby and enjoys attention, she is quick to warn people off. The collared cats are marked as cats who will approach and then change their minds, reactively; Tubbitha is not collared because she doesn’t want to be approached at all.

Handsome Chef has the BEST whiskers!

Beautiful tuxedo Chef is right on the edge of contact. He arrived with us in a Tupperware container from another rescue this past June, He came with the name Chicago, but we already had a Chicago among the Pen 6 Newton cats, so his name was changed. He’s still quite young – probably less than 2 years old – and the inner kitten is still there in his reaction to wand toys. He doesn’t want direct contact yet, but he likes treats, loves to move, and is sometimes to be spotted playing with a found object, whether manufactured or just a leaf. He’s quick to swipe with sharp claws when you get too close, but he obviously enjoys being around the courtyard even when people are there – he doesn’t go and hide out in the gardens.

Princess offers the royal sploot

Our little Iranian refugee, Princess, has always kept her distance; she likes to have visitors come and speak Farsi to her, she is a dedicated chickaholic, and she follows me around in the pens, but she did NOT want contact. Suddenly she is presenting herself for petting (though under specific conditions: she has to be on a table or a shelf and there must be no other cats around) - then she ducks her head under my hand and clearly tells me to go on and stroke her. I knew that she’d started accepting it from other volunteers, but it’s the most amazing feeling to have that gift of trust. She’s been with us more than four years – who knows when or if the others will allow that touch.  

But in their own time.... 

Blog by Brigid Coult

All photos by Karen Nicholson

The Holmes Brothers

 

Mycroft  (BC)

Many of the Neko blog readers will remember that when a cat finds its way to the Sanctuary, we call it “a detective cat” – previous detective cats have included Magnum, Kojak, Cagney, Horatio – and more recently, Rico, Steele, Munch, Cassidy and Rollins – all named for TV detectives (our med staff watch a lot of Law and Order!)  For our most recent detective-cat newcomers, somebody has reverted to the classics, and Conan Doyle’s wonderful stories.

Sherlock joins the ferals who meet on the Waldi's Hut rooftop  (KN)

Everyone knows about Sherlock Holmes, but you need to be a Conan Doyle aficionado to know that Mycroft was the older brother of Sherlock Holmes, and is a government official who has abilities of deduction and knowledge exceeding even those of his brother, though their practical use is limited by his dislike of fieldwork. 

Sherlock backed up to the boundary netting  (KN)

Our feline Sherlock and Mycroft were spotted on the perimeter cams, trapped, and brought into the DoubleWide trailer late last year. We think they're about two years old.  Like Munch and Cassidy, they are obviously brothers;  unlike Munch and Cassidy they did not rush to share a cage when it was offered. The two of them were initially caged separately so the med-staff could make sure each had the right care with vaccines and neuter surgery. Both cages carried the warning “Med staff only” label, and both boys resisted gentle approach, hissing in fear. There is a limit to how long we will leave ferals caged, and the staff decided to open both cages and see if they would get comfort from being together.

Mycroft hiding  (BC)

Mycroft resolutely stayed behind his drape. Sherlock wanted out, didn’t want to take time with his brother, and made first for the cage-tops, and then for the door – probably via the back deck and the ferals’ exit. He has largely joined the colony that hangs around Pen 8; there are a number of good places to hide in that pen, and behind Waldi’s Hut.  Initially we were concerned that like Munch, Sherlock had escape forefront in his mind – he certainly did a lot of prowling, investigating every possible place there might be a gap. But Karen and Ken have been doing a lot of checking since Munch’s breakouts, and Sherlock couldn’t detect his way out.

Sherlock enjoying the outdoor life - but very human-suspicious!  (KN)

In the end, he decided that he really had the best of all worlds – no cage, regular food, places to hide and similarly wary-minded cats to hang out with. We see him fairly regularly, but he doesn’t want to be approached by humans, and will probably remain one of the many felines that lives a feral life inside our boundaries – safe from the eagles and the coyotes and human machinery.

Mycroft also remained suspicious
- the ears say it all!  (BC)

His brother Mycroft, obviously takes after his human model and dislikes fieldwork!  He remained in his open cage for some time, gradually allowing staff and Kitty Comforters to spend more time with him. Like a lot of ferals, he was wary of hands, but if he could be distracted while petting was started, he came to realise that he actually liked it!  It was not long before his bum came up and his head went down, and then he was rolling around and enjoying contact (though you still needed to be careful of the exposed belly.

Pet me, pet me!   (BC)

Gradually he became more confident, and started to explore, enjoying the cage-tops and the cat-trees in the middle of the room. And then suddenly his cage was needed for another cat (Cornelius needed eye-drops) and he had to relocate more permanently. Those central cat-trees and shelves are now where he is most often found, and he just loves having the people he knows stopping and giving him attention. To a newcomer he can appear a little scary; he has a forbidding stare and tends to sport flat airplane ears. But how he looks and how he behaves are two different things.

Mycroft in the mouth of a mouse  (KN)

We don’t know if Mycroft will ever choose to venture outside, or whether he and Sherlock will meet up again. It would be nice to think he could convince his brother that we’re the good guys – but don’t hold your breath!  To go from two really feral boys to one that has accepted the confines of the Sanctuary, and one that actually enjoys human touch is enough of a gift for us all.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult & Karen Nicholson