Thomas

Sometimes I sits and thinks...   (KN)

We’ve had only two feline Toms at the Sanctuary in the last 12 years – which is sort of interesting, given the “tomcat” label given to unneutered males, of whom we have dealt with many (until neutered). And the Tom in Tom and Jerry has to be one of the best-known cartoon cats ever. 

That anxious face sums him up  (BC)

Previous Toms here were TomCat, who came to us as one of a group of ten bequeathed by an ailing owner going into care, and breakout-Tom, who was trapped and brought to us by volunteer Elizabeth, and loved to be on the other side of a gate.  Both were big black boys.  

Thomas, flirting from his cage  (LBF)

Our orange Thomas Cat came to us this past summer – labelled, sadly, as a pee-er, though there’s been no evidence of this behaviour at the sanctuary. He is a really beautiful ginger boy, with a long plume of a tail. His fine fur mats easily, and we need to give him a little grooming assistance from time to time.

Thomas, the helper   (KN)

He was caged in the DoubleWide initially, and had a steady procession of visitors to sit with him in his cage, to all of whom he showed his friendly side, allowing lap-time and much petting. Now that he is out, he’s decided to stay in the same area – he doesn’t appear to be much of an explorer, and is only rarely found outside. His favourite place appears to be on the shelving by the door to the Deck, and he will occasionally poke his head through and visit briefly.

New sheriff in town?  (LBF)

Sadly, Thomas has turned out to be one of those cats that doesn’t much like other cats. Even friendly boys like Huey get the hissing treatment, and as for the alphas like Eli, Thomas stays well out of the way.  I had expected that he would go out and find more alone-ness, but he’s obviously an indoor boy, and not comfortable with the outside world.  What I’m seeing is mainly fear, masked with aggression; he’s not a nasty boy, but he doesn’t much like other cats in his space. He likes human attention, even cooperating in costume sessions - but he is constantly watching that there is no feline competition.

Letting us know that he is ,,,   (LBF)

Though labelled as a pee-er, I suspect that, as with many cats, it’s a stress-reaction. Thomas really needs a calm, loving one-cat home where he no longer feels pressured by the presence of other cats, and can relax into a relationship with his humans. Even though he now knows his way around, I notice that he is not as comfortable with me as he was when in his cage – he’s constantly on the lookout for whichever cat might be the next threat to his peace of mind.  It’s a risk to take on a cat who might stress-pee, but I think with the right person, Thomas might be the simply purrfect companion.

See how pretty I am!  (LBF)

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Brigid Coult, & Karen Nicholson

Tom Cat

Tom cat is one of ten cats that lived together with their adoring owner who unfortunately had to give them up to RAPS due to health reasons. All ten cats arrived at the sanctuary in April and were given private time in the Val Jones house to acclimatize to their new home.

Two weeks ago I was fortunate to arrive at the shelter in time for their grand release into the general population. It wasn't so much as a release as an opening of the door. As I peered into the door of Val Jones house I saw nine sets of cat eyes peering cautiously back at me clearly not ready to come out of their safe place.

The exception was Tom Cat who was out and about nearly as soon as the door opened strutting around like he owned the place. He is a big, black, almost demonic looking cat who can be distinguished by his ragged left ear which seems to add an image of thuggery to this tough looking cat.

There's no doubt Tom cat is the dominant cat of the group and will likely hold that position out in the general population. In less than an hour of his release he stalked over to our fierce Jerry and started little fracas to which Jerry, a cat who never backs down from a good fight, scuttled away in disgrace.

Towards me, Tom Cat seemed quite a congenial though he took his time. When I arrived a week later to see how Tom cat was doing, he was laying like a king on the cool cement ground outside of the Val Jones house and upon seeing me he raced over for some pets and to rub himself against me marking me as his own.