Update: Autumn's Babies

At the end of September,  RAPS cat sanctuary became home to six kittens and their mother Autumn after being discovered and trapped in a composting plant.  I was fortunate to have seen two of the kittens being brought into the sanctuary on the day of their arrival.  They were tiny, terrified little souls whose cries could melt even the iciest of hearts.



Trick

Since then, I spend every Wednesday with the kittens getting to know them and helping to socialize them so they can learn to trust and build bonds with the humans around them.  As they say, it’s a tough job but somebodies got to do it.


To enter their pen is a delight both for the eyes and also the ears. It seems that if you lay your hands on any one kitten, they all instantly start to purr.  An enthusiastic purr to the power of six that could rival the sound of a 747 ready for take-off.


Leif, Pancake, Trick and Treat

The kittens all seem to enjoy human company although they are still reluctant to be held in my arms despite my best efforts to entice them.  They do however, enjoy lots of physical affection and don’t back away from hands that want to touch their soft fur.  It seems that play and wrestling with each other is high on their list of good things in life.


Trick and Leif

Trick and Leif

Leif is one of four brown tabbies and is distinguished by his longer fur particularly around the ears giving him a rather exotic look almost like a Lynx cat.  He is also the biggest of the bunch and the bravest.  He seems to be the ringleader of the group.

Waffle

There are three other short haired tabbies: Ariel, the only female of the group; Trick distinguished by his white muzzle; and Treat. All are intensely curious but it is Treat, fierce hunter that he is, who always seems to find my camera strap no matter where I hide it so he can jump and attack it.

Pancake and Treat

There are two black and white kittens: Waffle, who has a white nose and muzzle and Pancake who also has a white muzzle but his white patch is smaller than Waffle’s markings and also asymmetrical.  Interestingly, these two boys seem to be shyer than the tabbies.  They took their time getting to know me and Waffle spent a lot of time hiding in the box on the scratching post. Interestingly, it was Pancake out of all the cats who eventually succumbed to a cuddle in my lap.

Leif and Treat

So for a good time, do yourself and these kittens a favor and visit them in the Teens house, guaranteed to put a little sunshine in your life.

Ariel and Pancake

Ariel and Pancake

Autumn's babies

RAPS was asked to come and trap Autumn and her 4- to 5-month-old kittens, who'd been living on the grounds of a composting facility on No. 8 Rd. in Richmond. If I understand correctly, I believe they'd been holed up in a brick pile.

None of the staff at the facility were aware of anyone having handled the kittens, and so they were presumed to be wild. Thinking them too old at this point to be easily tamable, Carol began trapping the kittens and bringing them to the sanctuary where they can safely live out their wild lives... only it's turned out that they're not so wild after all.

The four kittens who've been brought to the sanctuary so far are hardly the hissy hiders that one would expect feral kittens to be. Instead, they're playful, wide-eyed and curious about their surroundings, human inhabitants and all. It seems that someone must have spent at least some time with them after all. And so they'll be able to go to the No. 5 Rd. shelter for adoption.

Pancake

Waffle

Ariel

Lief and Pancake

With their mama, Autumn, it's harder to tell if she's feral or a frightened stray. Fortunately, at the sanctuary she can take as much time as she needs to decide if she's interested in accepting any human friends.

Autumn