Jelly

Jelly (AM)

The life of a cat living in the wild is often a short one, with dangers from the natural world and from humans. Even living in the cat pens with us, injuries can happen – sweet William Shakespurr, from pen 3, was found one morning with a broken leg, probably from an awkward jump, and has had a long convalescence before he could rejoin his buddies in the back courtyard. He was fortunate that we discovered his injury so soon, and that the RAPS Hospital was at hand for immediate surgery. Other cats are not so fortunate.  We have two little tripod (tri-paw’d?) cats in the feral area of the front courtyard, and in the last few months another three cats have come in with leg injuries that have necessitated amputation.

Come too close and I'll smack you!

The first of these three is a cute little tabby who came to us from Animal Allies in Alberta. RAPS has good relationships with rescues throughout the province and outside; Animal Allies was the rescue that all the Pen 3 cats came from, as the result of a major hoarding situation. In the most recent case, they rescued a mostly feral clowder from the home of an elderly man who had passed, and managed to neuter and rehome them in a rural area. Alberta weather doesn’t allow for the same set-up as our Sanctuary, and Animal Allies relies on farmcat placement when it comes to ferals.

Oh, really? You have tasty things?...

However, one of the cats turned out to have a broken leg – in fact, not so much broken as shattered – and the vets decided that it required amputation.  The question was then what to do with her – as a tripod, she would always be a bit more at risk, but she was not tame enough to foster out. They reached out to RAPS and we took her in, with the understanding that if she tamed enough, she might be adopted, but if she remained feral, she would have a permanent home with us. She came to us with the name of Sweet Pea, but with three recent Sweet Peas – one of them resident in the front courtyard – the Sanctuary staff decided that a name-change was in order. The two resident tripods are Marmalade and Chutney, and this little tabby was renamed Jelly.  

Hanging out in the courtyard  (KN)

For a while she was resident in a cage at the back of the Single Wide; a quiet place for her to recover,  but one in which she really didn’t get the human attention she really needed – and when she got it, there was mostly a lot of hissing and swatting! Then she was moved to one of the larger cages in the Connor. This was a very successful move – there were more volunteers around for interaction, and most of the Kitty Comforters would start there with her.

Playing outside the Hill House

Everyone who met Jelly fell in love with her!  Initially she would hiss and dab at a visitor, but it was less an angry hiss than a fearful one, and with every visitor who braved the greeting and persevered with petting and treats, she became more confident and more ready to trust.  Before long it was decided that her cage would be opened, and for a few days she would scurry from the space she knew towards the door and hide on a lower shelf for a bit, and then dash back “home”. But there’s lots of courage in that little body, and it wasn’t long before she was out in the main courtyard, and then making her home in the Hill House. 

"I love you too" slow blinks

Unlike Marmalade and Chutney, who hang out with the ferals in the Old Rabbit Area and who are wary of humans, Jelly is quite happy to approach someone new and chirp at them; she loves being petted, especially when she’s in her favourite bed on the table of the Hill House, where she wriggle-squirms and makes biscuits while enjoying caresses. The feral little girl who came to us has blossomed into a people-loving kitten, and I suspect there will be some competition over who may have the privilege of adopting her at some point soon!

Watch the blog for upcoming stories about our newer tripods...

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Anne Marchetti & Karen Nicholson

William Shakespurr

William Shakespurr  (MW)

This little cutie is one of the cats from a hoarding situation in Alberta, who came to live in our Pen 3 back in 2021. The cats in this group were all young, and some were slightly socialized, but others were (and are) much warier.

Curious - but not enough for petting   (LBF)

William Shakespurr is one of the cats right on the cusp.  He’s social – but with cats rather than with humans. He hangs around with Cornelius and Jason – the latter likes attention and petting, but Cornelius is still very wary about being touched by anyone other than Lisa.  William’s very much in that space as well – he likes to be around the activity, especially if there is food being offered, but he’s not ready to be petted, and prefers to stay a foot or two out of reach.

Peeking through the cabin window  (KN)

Like Cornelius, he is something of a ham, and is ready to take part in photo-shoots as long as they don’t involve physical contact. He’s an active boy, ready to climb the structure behind Cabin 3, or even to the roof of the cabin itself. He can often be found visiting in the adjacent pens, but is not as ready as Cornelius to get as far as the Tea-Room.

Posing for Tongue-Out Tuesday with Jenkins & Cornelius   (LBF)

We don’t know who’s related to who, in this clowder, but my guess is that he and calico Baby are siblings – very similar in body shape and size, and often found together.  William’s colouring always makes me think of a bad haircut; he has beautiful tabby and white colouring, but it looks like he wears his hair in bangs.

Baby and William share a summer snooze   (LBF)

We would love to see some of these cats getting adopted, though this is such a social group that we would prefer that they go in pairs, so they have company. Sadly, though, I think it’s still too soon for William – hands are only acceptable to him if they hold chicken tidbits, and being petted is still pretty scary. Perhaps a little more time with the Kitty Comforters working on him...   

And if not – he’s always got a home at the Sanctuary.

Blog by Brigid Coult

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

To Purr or Not to Purr...

Cornelius & Holly  (LBF)

Last week’s blog reminded me of the work we had to put in with Mozart and his buddies to get them to accept human attention. Remembering them at that age also reminds me of the youngsters we have at present in Pen 3.

Garth & Sierra  (LBF) - currently in Pen 4

Dell & Gregory  (BC) - Best bros forever

Pen 3 has always been a home for ferals. It held an assortment of little tabbies, it was always a stop for visiting with Gregory and our beloved Dell, it became home for a colony of cats who originally came from Merritt. Of them all, only Dell and Gregory were truly tame; the others would sometimes tolerate contact, and a few cat-whisperers broke through the barriers with cats like Napoleon, but most of them would hide when the gate opened.

William Shakespurr  (MW)

This summer we helped out with a Calgary rescue dealing with a hoarding situation. Knowing that we would have a batch of newcomers arriving, there was a scurry to catch and transfer the remaining cats from Pen 3 to the larger Pen 4 – also home to ferals – and to clean the pen out for new inhabitants.  The transfer seems to have gone well; Pen 4 has sufficient space and hiding places that the in-comers have settled comfortably, and there appears to have been no tension with the original inhabitants.  As with all our newcomers, the Alberta cats were caged for a while for assessment and to allow vaccines to take hold.  With few exceptions, they were released into Pen 3 and given time to settle.

Jason & Cornelius  (BC)

As is most usual, initially we didn’t see much of them. Between the main cabin and the smaller houses around, there were many places to hide. Typically for cats, they were most active early in the morning, and at twilight, and Sunday visitors often saw nothing of them.  But the Kitty Comforters have been digging in, and every time I’m in with them, I see progress.  Some were instantly friendly; there are a couple (Jenkins and Lucius) who would probably be at the Adoption Centre if it wasn’t already so full of kittens!  We currently have seventeen of them – all at that tricky teenager stage where they might tame up – and they might not!

Mewlius Caesar (KN)

I’m not going to try and introduce all seventeen – but the blog title comes from the fact that someone who named them was a Shakespeare lover, so you’ll get a couple of the Bard’s cats today.

William Shakespurr (KN)

They are led, of course by William Shakespurr – actually, “led” is the wrong word, because he’s a very shy boy and reluctant to make contact, though he’s curious about visitors.  I love his markings – he looks as if someone gave him bangs with his haircut.

Mewlius Caesar & Holly (LBF)

Equally shy is Mewlius Caesar. We were a bit concerned by a potential FeLV reading of his blood-test results when he came in, and he spent extra time in a cage before a second round of tests proved to be clear. I suspect his name came from his vocalizing – he was a very loud cat to have in the Double-Wide – but now that he’s out in the pen, he’s pretty quiet again. He is easily distinguished from the others by his Groucho Marx-type moustache.

Cornelius (LBF)

There was another Shakespearean cat called Mercutio (friend of Romeo, in “Romeo and Juliet”) but he was so “ridiculously friendly” (in Valerie’s words) that he never made it to Pen 3, but went straight to the Adoption Centre and found his forever home. My favourite of these Bardic cats is Cornelius (there are two Shakespearean examples of Cornelius – one in “Hamlet” and one in “Cymbeline”). This pretty boy is a little wary, but willing to venture contact – and he loves chicken.  He also likes other cats – he can often be found hanging out with Holly (who is putting on grey fluff to challenge Mozart) or black Jason.  

More of Jason when we meet the other black cats in a future blog...

Blog by Brigid Coult

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