Francis

MW

Many of the cats in what we call New Aids are FIV+ males – Feline Immunodeficiency Virus is most commonly transmitted in blood through bites inflicted by feral males doing battle over access to females. And almost every case, whether the cat is feral or tame, this has happened because the cats in question have never been spayed or neutered. 

KN

Some of our guys have come into us as very friendly boys – they may once have had careless owners, but they are used to human contact.  Others are definitely feral, and both staff and volunteers may take years in getting them to the point at which they will relax with us.

Zimmer & Tiberius used to watch warily from the cage-tops

Zimmer wants love from Mel;
Tiberius hopes Karen has tidbits!

Sweet old battered Zimmer, and feisty little Tiberius are two of the cats that are gradually coming around; having spent most of their time hiding away on the cage-tops, both are living at floor-level now. Zimmer loves to be petted and comes for some lap-time;  Tiberius is happiest when chicken bits are on offer – bribery was the way to his heart.

Don't bug me!  - KN

There are probably volunteers who have not yet encountered Francis. For much of his time with us, this handsome boy has stayed out of sight unless he really knew the human intruder. When he first came to us he was one of the escape risk cats, and would climb between the wall of the enclosure where the rabbits once lived, and the netting over the pen, so that one could look up and see this cat-shaped lump pretending that he wasn’t there. All the outside of the pen needed to be reinforced – we don’t like to think of cats escaping with local coyotes on the loose.

Francis hangs out with Drake - as shy as his buddy  -  KN

Francis has lots of other places to hide. He rarely goes inside the cabin, but there are many kennels and cat-beds from which he can choose, and he can often be found right at the very back, in what we call the Prince of Wales pen, with the other ferals.

MW

Very few of our Sanctuary cats are pure-bred – and those that are, frequently come with behavioural problems. Francis is so beautiful, I was sure there had to be some deliberate breeding there – but I couldn’t find anything that perfectly matched his appearance. He’s more or less a seal-point, with dark face and legs, and blue eyes, his facial markings are tabby, and all his floof indicates some ragdoll – but he doesn’t ever relax enough with us to give us the behavioural indications of a ragdoll. It’s sad to think that a cat that may come from a breeding intended to give us a relaxed happy animal is so anxious and fearful.

KN

Francis has been with us for more than two years now, and we have in fact seen progress; I find that I can sit in the courtyard with the other cats without him hiding, though he still doesn’t much like to be approached.  At least, he knows with us that he’s safe, he has regular food and water, and other timid cat-buddies with whom to snuggle.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright

April 2021: We lost our beautiful boy quite suddenly. He had become much more friendly with his human care-givers, and was allowing petting. Sadly, a sudden gall-bladder infection proved inoperable, and we had to free him from pain.
Much loved - even when he didn't really love us...

Tiberius

MW

A visit to the AIDS cats usually generates a certain amount of interest from the inhabitants.

Waiting hopefully for treats - MD

The greeting committee is usually active – and usually food-motivated. Arnie and Norman tend to be anxiously hovering, and they used to be joined by Randy and Popeye – the latter two now happily adopted together.  Other cats, like Boomer, are less interested in the food and more in the attention.  Out in the courtyard there are usually suspicious eyes watching – Francis and his friends are not yet ready to be approached. And in the main cabin, there are always the more timid cats hiding on the upper levels.

BC

If chicken is in fact on offer, there’s always one little tuxedo who dithers around on the catwalks until the lure of a treat becomes too much, and he ventures to accept a tidbit from arms-length, or to venture down the ramp to get a bit closer.

Tiberius's friend Zimmer is a much more stereotypical
feral ex-tomcat   -  BC

Tiberius has been with us for several years, arriving with a group of cats who had been found at Point Roberts, and trapped by VOKRA (Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association). Their excellent work is focused on rescuing and trapping young moms and kittens, and finding homes for them by means of fostering. They don’t have the facilities to deal with cats with long-term health concerns, and RAPS will often take from them the cats that need specialized care. Four of the five ferals from Point Roberts were AIDS-positive – the fifth was feral. Survival as a feral male cat inevitably involves some battles with other cats. And since the auto-immune virus is transmitted in blood, the cats who come to us from that background are more likely to carry it.

MW

Many of those unneutered males come to us with the bulk and jowly heads of a classic tom-cat. Tiberius doesn’t fit that pattern. He may simply have been under-nourished to attain full growth, but he has a slight build, and he’s skittish rather than aggressive. He’s not been a cat that can easily be approached; the upper-level cat-walks were built to allow cats to get away from us, and he has usually taken full advantage of that. For some years he was an outdoor cat by preference, and frequently acquired the matted dreadlocks of a long-haired feral, which needed to be shaved under sedation.

BC

In the last year or so, Tiberius has moved with more comfort between courtyard and cabin, and has now progressed to coming forward to accept tidbits from a human hand at floor-level. He is looking more relaxed and less skittish – a sudden movement will startle him, but he doesn’t go far, and with patience, he is approaching more and more easily. Inside the AIDS cabin, his preference is still for the upper shelving, but he no longer shies so quickly from the petting hand. He’s not ready to be a lap-cat like Boomer yet, but it’s very satisfying to see that he finally accepts that we’re friends and no longer to be seen as something to fear.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Melanie Draper, Michele Wright

Black Cats in the New Aids pen

Norman and Denzel - BC

Many of the volunteers at the Sanctuary work in specific areas, and get to know the cats there really well, while not knowing cats in other areas. I do quite a lot of fill-in in the main complex, but somehow I rarely spend much time in New Aids and the Moore House.  Following a shift last week, rather than sitting down with my usual cuddle-buddies, I decided it was time for a visit with the Aids cats.

Max and Tiberius - BC

In part, this was prompted by plans for next year’s RAPS Cat Sanctuary Calendar. Two of the pictures we’ve selected are of cats from the New Aids pen, and though I was in on the selection, the photos had been taken by Michele. In fact, both are black cats – notoriously difficult to photograph – and though you’ll have to wait for the calendar to see the final beautiful pictures, this is a quick introduction to some of the personalities involved.

Norman - MW

Claire introduced us to Norman several years ago. He came to us through VOKRA  – he was found as a stray and taken to Killarney Vet Hospital.  When it turned out he was FIV-positive, and a little nippy, it proved more difficult to find him a home, and he was transferred to our care. He’s a handsome black panther of a boy, very friendly now, and ready to interact with humans; he’s a little more picky about his own space with other cats.  Petting at the front end is encouraged; an old hind leg injury left him a little sensitive about rear-end touch.

Norman - MW

It is worth noting again that, though communicable, the FIV virus is only transmitted through blood, i.e. cat-bites, and as such is more often seen in unneutered male cats. Once the cat is neutered and settled down, he can actually co-exist with Aids-negative cats quite happily, as long as the cats get along. The story of Simba and Jack, a couple of years ago, was an example of a pair that didn’t want to be separated.

Denzel - MW

If you’re sitting with Norman, the chances are that Denzel will be somewhere close. These two are not exactly buddies, but they both like human attention, and the chance of treats. Denzel is one of those cats whose black fur is flecked with white hairs, giving him a slightly grizzled appearance. He’s another “import”, coming from Keremeos.

Denzel - PH

Tiberius - MW

Tiberius is not a friendly cat – but there’s been a big improvement in his behaviour since he first came to us as an angry feral. He prefers to use one of the many shelters in the courtyard rather than enter the house, and because he was so unapproachable in his first years with us, he was frequently very matted, developing dreadlocks that had to be shaved off under sedation.  

Tiberius - BC

These days he is much more a part of the courtyard crowd, even entering the house on occasion, and he is no longer spooked by the sight of a human in his space. He’s ready to hover at treat-tossing distance, and risk another cat moving in on his prize.  It takes a while, but we’ll bring him round...

Minew - MD

This pretty girl is the second of the black cats to feature in the 2018 calendar. Minew is one of the smaller population of female Aids cats – Holland was introduced in an earlier blog – and has come to us from one of the shelters on Vancouver Island. I don’t know whether Minew’s name derives from “minou”, which is the French word for a little cat.  Minew is still pretty shy, and seems to hang around Holland – two timid girls giving each other courage.  She’s more ready to interact with humans than her older buddy, and is often happy to play with a string toy.  You need to be careful when petting her – she’s one of those cats who is very particular about where she’s touched, and very quickly overstimulated by sensation. She’s so cute, it’s easy to forget about those teeth!

Minew - MD

We’ve recently had more cats come into New Aids, transferred from other rescues.  I can see that I need to spend more time here to make new friends and introduce them through the blog.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Pictures by Brigid Coult, Melanie Draper, Phaedra Hardman, Michele Wright