A Brace of Bengals

the regal Bengal look... - MW

Most of the Sanctuary cats are “moggies” - the English descriptor for a cat of indeterminate breed. Short-haired, long-haired, tabby, black, orange, white, and any number of combinations – we have them! Cats of specific breeds are usually in demand, and when they come to a shelter, they often get adopted quickly. That is, unless there’s a problem of some sort – and that problem is usually pee-ing!

Zulu - BD

Currently we have two Bengals living with us. I missed meeting their predecessor Zulu, who was known for his penetrating voice – especially when food was concerned.

Lucky - MW

Lucky came to us about three years ago, and has settled well.  He’s an established personality in the back courtyard – until recently he lived mainly in Waldi’s hut, opposite the tea-room, but he can most often be found now in the tea-room itself or in the double-wide laundry room. And the attraction of those two places? That’s where the sinks are – and the possibility of someone turning on a tap! Lucky adores running water – either running fast, in which case he drinks from the stream – or running in a trickle, in which case he sticks his head under the water and lets it get him really wet.  It seems to be a common passion of many Bengals, and may be part of the reason that they are also known for their bad bathroom habits.

The view's better up here...   PH

Lucky’s a friendly boy; like Hannah, he will sometimes appear on an unsuspecting shoulder, though the favoured shoulders have come to expect him.  He’s a favourite of Michele’s, and she has many lovely pictures of him.

Wonderful eyes - MW

A good stretch...  MW

He was joined at the Sanctuary last fall by Dandelion.

Dandelion - MW

Once again, the peeing problems were just too much for Dandelion’s owners – and their final decision (which they struggled with for some time) was confirmed by his determined bullying of their smaller female cat. Bengals tend to be sleek and muscular; Dandelion is the most overweight Bengal we’ve ever seen.

Dandelion - PH

For the first part of his stay with us he was caged, as all our new cats are. His owners had told us he was fussy about his food, but he calmly ate everything that was offered. We decided that along with other overweight cats, his health would be best approached by encouraging more exercise, rather than caging him and limiting his food.  However, since release, he has found a few corners to claim and is usually found sleeping peacefully, ignoring the other cats around him.

Wake me when it's springtime...  BC

We hope that when the warmer weather comes, Dandelion will join Lucky in roaming the back courtyard, and perhaps regain a trimmer outline!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Barbara Doduk Phadra Hardman, & Michele Wright

Five from Five Road: 1 - Lucky

Cats who are unlikely to be adopted from RAPS’ City Shelter on Number 5 Road are sometimes transferred to RAPS’ Cat Sanctuary. Two possible reasons for a cat being considered unadoptable are bad litter box habits or bad attitude.  Fortunately for such cats,  neither of those issues is a problem at the  Sanctuary, where a loving home is available for cats who, for whatever reason, have run out of other options.   With plenty of space there for them to enjoy, plus patience and love from staff, volunteers and visitors alike, some cats have been known to overcome the behaviour that made them unadoptable! 
This is the first of a series of stories about five cats who were recently transferred to the Cat Sanctuary from the Richmond City Shelter, where they were considered unadoptable. 

Lucky, a purebred 8-year old  Bengal, has litter box “issues” so his chances of being adopted were not good, despite his handsome appearance and cheerful nature.   He spent his first few weeks at the sanctuary in a large, walk-in cage while he got used to us and vice-versa.  His good looks alone were enough to get him some attention at first and, when he turned out to be such a nice boy, he won everyone over. 

Many Cat Sanctuary volunteers will remember Zulu, another Bengal who lived at the Sanctuary for several years.  Lucky is just as exotic-looking as Zulu but not nearly as vocal!

Almost as  soon as Lucky was allowed to venture out of his cage, he decided that being outside was just too good an opportunity to pass up.  He’s still exploring the back courtyard but, at least for the time being, seems to have chosen the first pen on the right as the best place to be. 

I tracked him down there recently and we had a very pleasant visit.  Although he was much too interested in everything around him to settle down on my lap for more than a few seconds, he was happy to climb up onto my shoulder where he could get a good view of what was going on in the pen behind me.  There’s still just so much for him to see and do in his new home and he seems very happy to discover it all!  

 

Blog by Marianne Moore

Pictures by Michele Wright

RAPS Alumni: Eira

Beautiful Bengal Eira was brought to RAPS in 2006 when her owner had to return to Wales and wasn't able take her.

all photos provided by Linda

Not being a big fan of other cats at the best of times, Eira was not terribly happy to suddenly find herself at a shelter with hundreds of them. She became very depressed and wouldn't eat -- to the extent that Carol became quite worried about her welfare and was most anxious to get her placed in a home as soon as possible. On top of this, Eira soon proved herself easily a match in volume for our other resident Bengal at the time and reigning King of Loud Meows, Zulu. Between the two of them, with Eira in a cage in the doublewide and Zulu hanging out in the adjoining laundry room, nobody was going to be allowed to forget that there was a new Bengal present.

When it looked like Linda, already sponsor to a number of sanctuary cats, would now be able (thanks to a change in strata rules) to take one cat into her home, Carol - forgive the pun - pounced on the opportunity. Although willing to try and help out, Linda wasn't initially sure this would work since Eira had thus far not seemed particularly interested in her. In the end, she agreed to try taking Eira in as a foster cat so that she could at least live in a home until someone was able to adopt her permanently.

On the day Linda was supposed to take Eira home, Carol suggested trying to give Eira some of the chicken that Linda had brought for her various sponsor cats and other cat buddies in the singlewide. Eira promptly devoured practically all of it. 
Successful feeding of the cat who's been too depressed to eat: Check.

Upon arrival at Linda's home, Eira immediately set herself to the important task of Investigating.

 
This included checking out all the best places for high-up perching.

athletic Eira on top of the door and very pleased with herself

No hiding under the bed for this one!

That night, when Linda went to bed wondering with some trepidation what Eira had in mind to get up to between then and the morning, Eira answered the question by crawling into bed with her, cuddling up close and going to sleep.

When Linda next spoke to Carol, she was able to tell her that Eira had found her forever home. Kristen, Eira's original owner, had left contact information with Carol and was delighted to receive an email from Linda letting her know that Eira was safe and loved in her new home. Linda and Kristen have continued to keep in touch.

 "guard cat" saves Christmas

Do you have a RAPS cat sanctuary alumni living with you? Adoption or fostering, we'd love to hear the story! Just send an email to the Neko Files at nekoraps@gmail.com.

Good-bye, Zulu

I'm sorry to have to report that we lost Zulu, our vociferous Bengal, last night. I heard from Debbie that "he passed in his sleep while cuddling with his buddies."

photo taken November 30, 2009

Although he did seem to look skinnier than ever when I saw him last week, it never quite clicked that we might be due to lose him so soon. I guess it never does. Even as recently as Saturday I'm told he was up to his usual old tricks and managed to steal a sizable portion of Ann's hamburger.

Zulu of old

photo provided by RAPS

We loved you Zulu, for better and for worse, for meow and for mooch. Your voice, for so long heard from one end of the sanctuary to the other, will continue to ring in the ears - and the hearts - of all those who knew you.

Zulu & friends

photo provided by Michele

Zulu

A first meeting with Zulu quickly reveals the following information: Zulu is very skinny, very hungry and very loud. It's kind of a domino effect, with each one causing the next, although you could argue that the volume has as much to do with his breeding as it does with his desire for yet another meal.

Zulu is a purebred Bengal. His owner must have parted with some serious $$$ for this striking cat and, one imagines since she then had him declawed, even more $$$ on her furniture. I heard that Zulu had developed a peeing problem which led to him being surrendered. This is different than PeeWee's case where she just can't help it; this was serious peeing with intent.

What I didn't know until I saw Barbara Doduk's Blog entry for Zulu, was that the inappropriate urinating culminated in a shot aimed at his owner's head. And the surrendering? Not to the shelter but to a vet clinic which was asked to euthanize the unmanageable cat. It was the clinic staff who asked RAPS to take him instead.

And we're all very glad they did.

Zulu guards a fork, just in case it might find its way to a can

You may come accross Zulu snoozing or sunning himself, at which time he's a mellow guy, friendly without coming across as overly needy. What he's most well known for, though, is a will-yell-for-food miaow that feels like it must belong somewhere between "subway train" and "power tools" on a decibel chart. That said, he's not only motivated by food (just mostly). Sometimes he just wants to be a purring cat in a basket, softed by a sympathetic hand - though he's quite willing to make some noise if you're slow to comply.