Best Buds - Thistle & Fonzie

Thistle and Fonzie are the best of friends. 

Fonzie (KN)

They came to us from different places.  Fonzie was one of a trio of young males who came to us from Grand Forks last winter; we don’t know if they were related, or even if they were trapped together, but they were too feral to be easily tamed, and were sent on to us by the local rescue.  The three were very different in appearance:  tabby and white chonky Flynn, silver tabby Fletcher, and black-and-white Fonzie, whose sideburns gave him his name.  Initially they hung out together in the Double-Wide, on top of the cages, but increasingly we saw Fletcher and Fonzie exploring outside.  The Kitty Comforters earmarked them for special attention, and gradually both boys began responding to attention and to tidbits. Flynn remained indoors, and though he explores outside more now, he is still not ready for contact.

Fonzie playing with Fletcher

Quite suddenly we lost Fletcher. Feral cats know that they can be both hunter and prey, and when they are unwell, they are vulnerable and hide away. Fletcher had an inoperable tumour, and all we could do was to let him go peacefully. Fonzie was lost for awhile without his brother; the two of them had played together in the back pens, and life alone took some adjustment. But he is one of the more social cats, and was ready to go with the flow of Sanctuary life.

Thistle

At some point he encountered Thistle. Thistle had come from Vancouver Island, from Broken Promises rescue and arrived with his “sister” Daisy; Daisy was renamed as Aster (there can only be one Daisy at the Sanctuary!) and the two of them were wary of contact. Aster mostly located to the back deck, but Thistle was an outdoors boy, and enjoyed the freedom of the back courtyard.  He is an elegant dark tabby, and though he hung back for awhile, finally started to allow contact with humans.

Fonzie & Thistle

This fall, Thistle and Fonzie have discovered each other, and become very close. They can be found snuggling together on the seat outside the tea-room – sometimes just the two of them, sometimes with Tyson as a third snuggle-buddy. 

Adding black Tyson to the snuggle

They groom each other, they head-bunt, they wander through the courtyard with tails entwined. We have been saying that Fonzie might be added to the Adoptables list, but I think this is one of those times when we need to be looking for someone who would take the two of them together – adoption can be stressful for a cat (especially a former feral) and these two would take comfort in each other.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Karen Nicholson

Promises Kept

Nugget  (KN)

I have often mentioned in earlier blogs that RAPS Cat Sanctuary does not work in isolation, and that we have strong ties with other rescues around the province. The most consistent one is probably with Sammy’s Forgotten Felines in Kamloops, with whom our Manager, Valerie, was associated, and we have a number of cats who have originated from there – but we also work with rescues on the Kootenays and on Vancouver Island.  Most of these are grass-roots organizations, funded by local donations and made possible by the devoted work of volunteers. Many have very little space, and rely heavily on those volunteers to foster the rescues they take in until a more permanent home can be found for them.

Thistle  (KN)

Our visitors this past Saturday afternoon included a small group from Broken Promises Rescue near Victoria. Over the past year, we have taken some of their cats, and they were anxious to see how they were doing, and that they had settled safely into a new life with us.  We had a heads-together with Karen, to identify them all, and to establish the ones whose names had been changed, and where they might be found, and then I abandoned the regular visitors to the care of Kate and Brad, and became their exclusive tour guide.  

Chance  (BC)

We began in the New Aids pen, with a visit to Chance. Chance had come to us from Broken Promises last year because he was FIV+ and could not be released to a feral colony after neutering; he had loving care from a fosterer, but was still very hissy-swatty when he arrived into our care. Quiet, and lots of patience from the Kitty Comforters helped him to relax, and he now is one of the established lap-claimers in the cabin.  It’s hard to know if his happy reaction to the visitors was because he recognized voices or just appreciated company, but he was quick to jump up and ask for petting and treats.  It will be interesting to see if he decides to explore outside as the weather warms; he’s been almost exclusively an indoor cat since he arrived.  We introduced some of the other cats as well – both the very social ones like Biggie and Obelix, but also with a quick visit to shy Boston, as well.

Nothing Nugget loves more than a box!   (KN)

Returning to the back pens, we did a little hunting round to see if we could ID any of the more recent Broken Promises cats, and to let the visitors see the space available to our resident cats.  At least one of the BP cats is in Pen 4, and most of the Pen 4 cats are expert hiders; that afternoon Ranger (from Haida Gwaii) and Annie were the only ones basking on the path, and everyone else was safely tucked out of sight. A return to the main courtyard and the TeaRoom gave us an encounter with Nugget, enjoying his under-the-chair bed.  Nugget wears a collar as an indication of his tendency to be reactive, which is the reason he’s with us; when he began getting aggressive with the other cats with whom he was fostered, it was clear that he couldn’t remain in a standard home.  Like Chance, Nugget also seemed to recognize his visitors, and wriggle-squirmed in an effort to get more attention.

Aster  (BC)

The Double-Wide is off-limits to visitors usually, but under these circumstances I was able to take just one person in, while we hunted for a couple of the newer cats who had joined us.  I was pretty sure I knew where Aster hung out, and there she was!  She had come in with the name of Daisy, but for us there is only one Daisy, and the name was retired after her passing. Keeping the flower theme, this little one became Aster, and her buddy became Thistle. 

Thistle  (BC)

Both are still pretty shy, and divide their time between the Double-Wide and the courtyard, but with visitors around, I guessed that they might well be indoors. I think Aster recognized the voice calling her, but she was still nervous enough that she preferred to remain on the cage-top in her safe zone; she was interested, but not brave enough to approach.  I hoped Thistle might be on the back deck, but at that point he was hiding, and didn’t appear until later.

Gwen hoping for goodies   (BC)

A couple of other Broken Promises cats were around; poofy tortie Gwen hovered anxiously, hoping for chicken handouts and quite unmoved by the presence of her rescuer.  Blond Tucker was sound asleep in bed and not to be disturbed. We returned to the courtyard and more joyful interactions with Nugget.

Tucker - Do Not Disturb!   (KN)

Broken Promises takes its name as a reminder that we make commitments to the animals in our lives.  And when those promises are broken, when we don’t spay/neuter, when we hoard, when we act without compassion, it is the animals that suffer. The team at Broken Promises is there to pick up the slack, to try to remedy some of the carelessness and cruelty.  And their commitment goes beyond taking in animals and finding homes for them.  Even when handing them over to another organization for care, they want to follow through and make sure that all is well.  Truly, promises kept...

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult & Karen Nicholson