Over the Bridge in 2023

Pandora - December - LBF

Pandora came to us in bad shape, but she had
nearly two years of greatly improved health with us before her aging body had had enough.

The Sanctuary is a place where we celebrate life – specifically, the lives of many cats who, in other circumstances, would have been euthanized for being unadoptable.  Many ferals have come through our hands, and though some have eventually accepted human attention, others have remained feral for much of their lives. Adopters shy away from taking cats with FIV or FeLV, diabetes or kidney disease – and we rejoice that we have been able to give them shelter and treatment. We have partnered with rescues in other places, and taken groups of cats that a smaller organization may not be able to house.

Dango - June - KN

Dango came to us from Alberta in 2019, and joined the New Aids pen; earlier this year he was relocated to the Val Jones pen so that his renal diet could be closely monitored.

But because many of our cats are with us through much of their lives, we are, time and time again, with them for their deaths. Sometimes they are unexpected, as in cancer, or FIP.  Sometimes we watch the gradual aging of a beloved friend, and know that their time is come. Many cats hide their ill-health, and occasionally we will find them already passed; most of them are taken by a staff-member to the hospital, where they will pass gently, held by loving hands.

Kiwi - December - MW

Kiwi came from the same shelter as Dango;

we lost her to FIP, which is a random mutation of an otherwise standard feline coronavirus.

The turn of the year is a time when we look back over the past twelve months, and remember more than fifty of the furry friends who have “crossed the Rainbow Bridge”. So once again, this is less a blog, and more a photo-essay that may bring smiles and tears and memories and love of some very special cats. We can't feature them all, but here are a dozen of those who have gone ahead of us.

Tugboat - February - MW

Much beloved by all, Tugboat became very frail in his last year,
and was cuddled and comforted by humans and cats alike.

Sprint - December & Shaggy - July;  LBF

Little Sprint was a junkyard cat, very shy, and with health problems; 
Shaggy was one of the last of the “oldies” from the former Moore House.

Sara Lee - March - KN

Sara Lee had lived here for most of her 21-odd years.
Easily identified by her bi-coloured eyes and her smoke coat, she was a fixture at the coffee table, where she toured from one lap to another.

CB Lincoln - February - MW

Cinnamon Bun Lincoln was named for his curled tail,
and known for his tendency to pee on anything/anyone he wanted to claim.

Little Orange - October - KN

One-eyed Little Orange was loved by volunteers and visitors alike,
and is greatly missed by his friend Allison who visited him every week.
He’s reunited with his girlfriend, shy Merilee.

Stella - February - MW

Stella was a regal presence in the Tea-Room and the breezeway; 
she liked to sit high up and reach down a paw to those seeking her attention.

Bossanova - August - KN

Bossanova evolved from a shy boy hiding high on a shelf
to a cat who would hover hopefully, looking for treats and attention.

Jazz - September - KN

Jazz was the doorkeeper for the Single-Wide.

Originally collared as a signal that she was a reactive cat,

she came to enjoy the attention she got, and demanded that everyone stop on the way in to pet her.

Pancake - March - KN

Pancake was the son of Autumn, in the front Courtyard;
he proved too shy to be adopted, and returned to us to make his life
with his cat friends in the DoubleWide.

Tara - October - KN

Tara remained a scared feral most of her life with us,
only allowing contact in the last months when she was confused and forgetting that she was scared.

Hamlet - August - KN

Hamlet came to us as a feral, but soon developed a presence
 as a benevolent Godfather on the DW deck.

Rainbow over the Sanctuary - BC

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright

Tara

Tara - BC

From the Neko-blog founder, Claire, we’ve had an introduction and update to shy orange Tricia, in the double-wide – Tricia used to have to be backed into a corner in order to be reminded that petting felt quite good. She was named for a RAPS supporter who fell in love with her when the little feral first came to us.

Tricia - CP

Tricia didn’t come alone – she was accompanied by her sister, Tara, named for her sponsor’s sister. We’ve had no such taming luck with little sister Tara. This pretty girl hangs round pen 1; she’s fairly social with the other cats, especially her best buddy Gabby, but she feels that humans are still not to be trusted.

Tara lets Gabby know how good it is to see him again - BC

Tara was caged for a couple of months recently while we treated her for a bout of vestibular disease. Often the process of caging a cat gives us the opportunity to swing the kitty comforters into action and habituate a shy feline to more regular handling. It didn’t work this time. Tara regarded all intruders into her cage with horror, and once released, returned to her haunts around pen 1.

"No closer, please!" - MW

But things aren’t quite the same – now she is more inclined to hover just out of reach, allowing the human to approach just to touching range before scuttling another metre away and then turning to stare. She now sports the distinctive post-vestibular head-tilt, as does her pen-mate Tibet – and she has the same half-scared, half-fascinated attitude to people. Tibet now has his favourites with whom to interact; we really hope that Tara will make that final jump to trusting us.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Chris Peters, Michele Wright

Family Day at the Sanctuary

Though most of the Sanctuary cats have come in as singles – whether feral-trapped or as surrenders, we have our share of feline family relationships. Some of them have recently been featured – the “Cow Cats” – Mya, Kirstie and Teagan – are now out of a cage and hanging about in the upper reaches of the single-wide trailer. They’re unlikely ever to be very tame cats, though both Teagan and Kirstie will accept a little attention, but they still enjoy each other’s company. However many of our siblings largely ignore each other, and it’s rare that you find them together, so most of the upcoming pictures are of singles rather than pairs.  Claire introduced shy Tricia nearly five years ago and updated us on her progress back in 2013. Tricia is currently caged for a mouth infection, and actively solicits petting when visited – big progress from the shy girl she used to be.

Tricia - CF

Now we need to get working on her little sister Tara. Tara has been almost exclusively a back-pens cat – a little ghost who hovers around pen 1, but doesn’t want much to do with people. She was recently confined to treat what looks like an inner ear problem, and though still wary of being touched, is watching everything that’s going on. Having a cat caged, and accessible to the staff and the kitty comforters, is often a really good way of coaxing them into the next stage of being tamed.

Tara - BC

The last of our Val Jones family, Paulo and Latte hang out together in the front courtyard – but their togetherness is probably less about affection and more about a common goal of food and attention from humans!

Paulo & Latte - PH

Brother and sister Miller and Fiona also live in the front courtyard. Though they mostly live independent lives, we can occasionally catch them together.  Fiona’s usually a very friendly girl, though she doesn’t think much of Sunday visitors – she has a talent for hiding herself away until 4:10pm, when she emerges with an air of “did I miss something?”. Miller has progressed from being pretty feral to being everyone’s pal, and loves attention. The third of the trio is their sister Schatze (whose middle name should have been Houdini). Schatze lived in the parking lot until recently – she had a gift for escaping (though we never knew quite how). The nearby presence of coyotes encouraged us to bring her to pen 4 which is totally meshed in, and she’s stayed there – she was pretty miffed at first, but has now progressed to living in the hut with some of the other cats.

Fiona & Miller - DW

Schatze - MW

Families can be adoptive as well as blood relatives – and that’s true of the Dryer Gang: the first cats you encounter on entering the single-wide. They are centred on Simone and Bantam, who we used to think were brother and sister, but according to the vet, Simone is older than Bantam, and may well be his mom – even though he’s twice her size.  The other cats are unrelated – they all just love each other!

The Dryer Gang - MW

The single-wide is also the home of some of our maternal relationships:  tortie Sophie and her tabby son Hiro; Diamond and momma’s boy Garfield.

Hiro & Sophie - MW

Diamond & Garfield - DW

And a third maternal relationship which we thought was wheezy Marissa and her orange son Paylan,  has now been revealed to be mother/daughter (rechristened Sarah Paylan) – we should know by now that though orange cats are usually males, we have our share of the female variety.

Marissa & Sarah Paylan - DW

Happy Family Day!

Blog by Brigid Coult
Photos by Brigid Coult, Claire Fossey, Phaedra Hardman, Debbie Wolanski and Michele Wright