Changes

Beautiful Plateau  (BC)

As we all know, cats do NOT like change!  Especially for feral and fearful cats, coming to the Sanctuary can be a difficult experience – more contact with humans than they find comfortable, handling by medical staff, unfamiliar food, cage-stays – it’s not surprising that when we release them from their cages at the end of their initial stay, many of them vanish into hiding in the courtyard, or high up on cage tops.

Still fearful   (KN)

Beautiful Plateau was mentioned only in passing when I introduced Westin and Wyndham, who came from the Commuter Colony in the early months of 2025. They were two of the tamer group of refugees – likely strays rather than ferals – and both have made themselves at home with us, and are favourites with weekend visitors; we hope that both will find homes eventually. Plateau went first to the Adoption Centre; we couldn’t believe that such a gorgeous boy wasn’t a stray, and hoped that he would tame up. But Plateau was terrified; he flattened himself on the floor of his cage and reacted aggressively out of fear; when he was moved to the Sanctuary, his behaviour didn’t change, and when he was finally released he vanished so completely that we feared he’d escaped altogether.

You can't see me...  (BC)

Very slowly, we began to see this lovely boy ghosting around in the early morning and late evening hours. Initially he based himself somewhere in the back of Pen 5 – we think he hid under a pallet – occasionally he would emerge into the breezeway, and climb into the shrubbery to hide. Gradually he relocated closer to the main courtyard, usually at the back of Pen 8, where a number of other ferals went, and where there are number of boxes and kennels in which to hide.

Much more calm  (BC)

Then another set of changes – we were sent a group of cats from a hoarding situation on the Island, with Pen 6 already full of our Newton Hoard, we had to empty Pen 8 to accommodate them. Initially there was confusion, but gradually the cats who had established themselves in Pen 8 relocated nearby – mostly around the back of Waldie’s Hut, or in the shelving in front of the SingleWide deck. Plateau remained mostly a loner; there was mutual tolerance with the others, but he didn’t seem to interact with them much.

Still prefers to be alone   (BC)

Another month, and more changes: the DoubleWide, which has been the centre of activity for more than 20 years is really showing its age. In an ideal world, a devoted donor would step up and replace it; in practice, it’s Ken that steps up with a plan to refurbish it, and deal with some of the problems of wiring, insulation and rot – not to mention years of cat-pee! The main rooms are stripped; cages are relocated anywhere space can be made for them; the Med-Cage is relocated to the SingleWide – and every cat who has based themselves there (mostly on the cage-tops) has to relocate too. There are a lot more cats wandering around the back courtyard – some of them adjusting well, others obviously not really happy. The courtyard reminds me of when I first came to the Sanctuary and our cat-total was around 700!

The spectator at the edge...

Interestingly enough, Plateau seems to be taking this in his stride and adjusting well. Increasingly he is emerging earlier in the day, as long as things are fairly quiet and there are few people. He makes eye-contact and listens when I talk to him; he’s not ready to accept actual touch yet, but will accept chicken tidbits as long as nobody else gets pushy about it. He’s not ready to stand up to Mandarin or Walker or Motley when they make first claim, but he’s ready to lie in the sun and bask while others move around him. He reminds me of the early days of Bello, who was brought to us as “too feral to tame” and who has gone last week to his own loving home.

Sitting near Motley - a budding friendship?  (BC)

I think our initial assessment was probably correct – this beautiful boy is a stray rather than a born-feral – but his experience of living in a colony with other ferals, in a situation that was full of fear and danger, swung him back to the feral instincts that underlay many cats’ behaviours. Long-term RAPS people will remember our beloved Dell – so terrifying in his initial time with us, and then so loving when he realised he was safe with us. Plateau may not know it yet, but the best is yet to come.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult & Karen Nicholson

The Hotel Cats

Westin waiting to be noticed  (KN)

In the couple of months before the RAPS rescue team tackled the Newton Hoard, which was the topic of last week’s blog, they were focused on the problems of two other colonies, not far away, but totally unrelated to the Newton cats.

Wyndham is little suspicious  (BC)

Colonies develop because cats are, in their own way, social animals. They may not have a pecking order; there is rarely an established alpha male, though there may well be a matriarch, but they feel safer together, and female cats will sometimes cooperate in kitten-care. A colony may be all-feral, usually the progeny of a few cats, interbreeding, and if they’re lucky, extending through generations (though the survival rate of kittens is usually poor). They may be strays, encountering each other and deciding that being together is better than being alone. Or they may be dumped cats – those whose owners don’t want to surrender them formally, and just leave them where they see other strays.

A suspicious Westin in the wild - not yet ready to be trapped (LBF)

Lisa and Ken found this colony in December near a Surrey bus stop and named them the Commuter Colony.  They were living in unsafe conditions – there was traffic around and several cats had already lost their lives to cars. They were wary – they already knew that life was dangerous, and no matter how often traps were set, the most savvy of the cats avoided them.  It is rarely safe to just set a trap and leave altogether; the trapper needs to wait just out of sight so that they can run in and cover the trapped cat, who will usually calm down somewhat when in darkness. And the team was dealing with the worst of winter weather – rain and snow and ice – not comfortable for either humans or cats.

Learning that being outside can be good!  (HM)

Over a period of weeks, often one cat at a time, Lisa and Ken trapped 14 cats from the colony. Some have required medical attention, none have been happy campers. Fosters stepped in to take those who needed extra care – Lisa has a youngster who is recovering.  Because of the Newton hoarding situation, further trapping needed to be put on hold while RAPS dealt with the immediate crisis, but Lisa and Ken have continued to feed the remaining cats – there are probably about six or so, and they will be brought in as soon as we have space for them.

Handsome Westin (BC)

Naming, in this case, was the trappers’ privilege, and they followed two lines. The first was topological – Mountain, Plateau, Volcano and so on. The other was hotels: Kimpton, Sheraton, Westin, Wyndham... Sheraton is remaining in Lisa’s care and will bloom as one of a large foster-family. Kimpton is still caged, and I will hold off profiling him till he’s out. He is one of what’s known as the popcorn cats – very hissy/spitty!  Hampton has been adopted, as have the other two youngsters, Ramada and Ridge who are now happily living with former RAPS volunteer Claire Fossey. My current obsession is the other two boys, Westin and Wyndham.

Treats?  (KN)

Mmmmm....  (KN)

Westin, a solid tabby boy, was caged in the Hill House, and was not happy about it. We are always careful to give new caged cats places to hide, and we try not to take those hiding places from them.  Sometimes a caged cat will emerge all by themselves, but Westin took full advantage of drapes and dark shelves, and though he would sometimes react to a play wand, he did NOT want to come out.  When his door was finally opened, he did what most Hill House cats do, and moved next door into the Old Rabbit Area.  All our areas have shelves and comfy beds, but in the ORA, all the shelves are draped all the time – very comforting for cats who don’t want to be seen.

Westin happily relaxing  (BC)

At least once a week, I try to go and sit in the ORA for a while – usually with treats, because a little bribery never hurts. And among the hopefuls emerging for handouts was this handsome boy I didn’t initially recognise – never having seen him when he wasn’t hiding in a dark corner. He actually wasn’t that interested in food – what he wanted was a little attention, initially just gentle petting, and then he indulged in some enthusiastic leg-rubs.  Since then, Westin has become braver and braver, exploring the range of the courtyard, and establishing his favourite places and people. He seems to recognize my voice, because he will often come and find me, and will occasionally do a little lap-sitting.

Wyndham preferred to stay out of reach  (KN)

In the New Aids pen, Siamese-mix Wyndham followed a similar path – staying out of sight at the back of his cage while he was in his initial neuter/vaccinate/assimilate period, and then on release, climbing to the cage-tops and the upper runs to avoid contact.  But like Westin, it didn’t actually last long;  we have some wonderful New Aids volunteers, and in no time at all Wyndham was making friends – human ones, at least – he’s still a little wary with the other cats. The Siamese runs clear in him, but he’s obviously got other genes – he’s long-haired in a shaggy sort of way, and has the same chunky body as Westin.

Like Westin, Wyndham loves leg-rubs  (HM)

There’s no question in my mind that these two boys are probably strays rather than ferals. We don’t know why they’re strays – did they escape? were they dumped? - but they obviously recognize that humans mean them no harm (Lisa is a little miffed that Westin thinks she’s a Scary Person because she trapped him!).  Right now they’re listed as non-adoptable, but given time to settle into Sanctuary life, they could well join the roster of adoptable cats. Yes, Wyndham is FIV+, but that’s not a barrier to the possibility of a long life in a loving home.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Brigid Coult, Henrie Morgan, Karen Nicholson

October 2025: I am delighted to report that Westin has gone to his forever home today - happy days, sweet boy!