Dazzle

When visitors are taken round on Sunday afternoons, they are usually introduced to the DoubleWide trailer as “operation central”. This is where much of the laundry is done, this is where many of the cats that need medical care are caged, this is where the medics have their own cage, where they can keep all the tasty food needed to coax cranky cats into taking their meds safely away from healthy (and hungry) feline appetites. It’s a busy place. Many of the DW cats wander in and out at will; several have learned to open the door from both directions, and don’t have to wait for a helpful human. There’s usually a cuddle-puddle on the couch, and an active population on the cage-tops.

DW cuddle-puddle - BC

But a move on through the building to the back deck sees us in a very different space. The deck is a quiet haven for the shyer cats.  This is where Brighton and Hillie hang out, gradually getting used to human attention. Ringo spends all his daytime hours as high in the corner as he can get, safely out of reach. In the colder weather the heat lamps are on, and there’s a happy crowd of toasty cats on the mattress. At food time, some of them venture down, though others hang back until the waiter service is safely back in the main building.

Dazzle's suspicious glare - BC

Dazzle was, until recently, one of the latter. She would hover hopefully till dinner was delivered, but not get closer until the volunteer had left the deck – or she would hide under the shelf and glare. But in the last month or two, she’s not only been out more, she’s also been venturing into the main building, obviously flirting with the thought of attention from humans, tail quivering madly, but staying just out of reach.

Just a little closer...   BC

I contacted Kati, who had cared for Dazzle when she first came into RAPS care as a pregnant momma. Kati is one of our wonderful foster-parents, who will see new moms through birthing and early kitten-care. Sometimes an orphan can be added to a litter; sometimes, Kati is tied to the kitten room by the need for frequent bottle-feeds; sometimes in spite of everything she can do, the little one is too weak to survive. Kittens do much better in home-care where they will be handled and socialised, and then transferred to the Shelter for adoption.

Always more relaxed when high on a shelf - BC

Handling and socializing, of course, is a little difficult when you are dealing with an angry adult cat – and that was Dazzle.  Kati tells me that she picked up three kittens – two back and one orange – from the Shelter in May a year ago; they were only 3 weeks old. Dazzle was brought in a couple of days later, and they were never quite sure whether she was the mom. Initially she cared for the kittens, but then she turned on them and Kati had to remove them to safety. Kati shed much blood in the process of handling Dazzle until it was decided that she needed to be spayed and brought to the Sanctuary, where she continued her feud against humans, shedding more volunteer blood, given any opportunity.

You have something for me?  - MW

So it’s most satisfactory to see this new step in the relationship with this feisty little tortie. A hand held out to her will sometimes elicit a decided smack – but now it’s usually a smack without claws. Last week she came over to me and rubbed against my ankles repeatedly; I was able to reach down and give her a full-bodied stroke a couple of times before she backed off and hissed at me. Other volunteers are reporting that she’s accepting head-rubs when the mood suits her, and this week I watched as she accepted full-body, two-handed stroking from Claire.

Dazzle -  MW

There is much excitement when former ferals turn the corner and show that our patience and love is paying off. Dazzle obviously has her share of “tortietude”, and this won’t be a quick process, but it’s wonderful that she feels safe enough to relax her former wariness around us.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Pictures by Brigid Coult & Michele Wright

Lulu

Bobtail tortie Lulu is a feral who was being fed at a seniors' home. RAPS helped one of the seniors to trap her and her litter of kittens. The kittens went to the No. 5 Rd. shelter for adoption, and their wild mama came to live at the cat sanctuary.

Lulu's not all that comfortable with people and will scoot off if approached too closely. Don't worry - she's not lonely without human cuddles. As you can see in the photo below, she's happily succumbed to the charms of our Mario!

Marble

Marble came to the cat sanctuary in mid-December. She's around eight years old and was surrendered to RAPS when the senior she'd lived with could no longer look after her after a period of hospitalization.

When I went to introduce myself earlier this week, Marble was so pleased that she started kneading the air in front of her perch in anticipation. I wasn't sure how much visiting it was safe to do, as the sign on her cage door said that she could get anxious and slash out.  But she remained nothing but friendly, and when I asked Gaye later she said she hadn't had any problems with Marble since she came to the sanctuary.

Perhaps Marble was more anxious about her surroundings when she was first surrendered to the RAPS No. 5 Rd. shelter. In any case, she seems well on her way to adjusting to her sanctuary home. Fortunately for her, she does have experience living with another cat, so she already knows she's not the only one of her kind!

Nala

Nala and housemate Mooshie were surrendered to RAPS at the ages of 12 and 13 because their owners were moving. We feel for them, as we always do for senior cats who for whatever reason can't be kept by the people they've known all their lives.

Fortunately, now that Mooshie and Nala have adjusted to RAPS being their permanent home, they seem overall pretty cool with it.

While Mooshie seemed to have perfected the art of photobombing (as Martha can attest), Nala's style, in the evenings anyway, is to enjoy her comfy chair and let the cuddles come to her. She knows they will.

Updated September 9, 2012: When I posted about Nala last month, little did I suspect that would be one of my last opportunities to see her. Rest in peace, sweet girl.

Peng Peng

Peng Peng, along with cat named Eng Teng, had lived for nine years with their owner when they had to be transferred to foster care while the lady received some extended treatment. The cats were fostered by a retired RAPS volunteer for eight months. When the original owner went into an outpatient program, she didn't stay in touch with the volunteer and so Peng Peng and Eng Teng were brought to the cat sanctuary.

When Ayako and I visited last week, Peng Peng very graciously posed for a number of photos, talking to us with little "mrah" sounds all the while. The sign in the "Gericatrics" trailer with captioned photos of all the resident cats describes her as a "feisty girl, a bit unpredictable."

This made me curious about her background, and so I asked Leslie about her and Eng Teng, who I'd also happened to get a few photos of (not knowing at time that they had more in common than their similar names). She said that the loss of their home and the two moves that followed had been very stressful for both cats. Peng Peng reacted "with aggression and distrust for a while."

While Peng Peng seems a lot more ready to trust people these days, it's not fair to expect her to be completely over the big changes to her life over the past few years. I have a feeling she'll hold on to her right to the "unpredictable" label for a while yet.

Gumdrop

Gumdrop is a sweet girl, not yet full grown, who came into the No. 5 Rd. shelter. When she was taken to the vet to be spayed, she tested positive for FELV - feline leukemia virus.

Since kittens sometimes test a false positive (as was the case with Wonder), and so staff a little time pass and then tested her again. Unfortunately, Gumdrop's results once again came back positive, and so she's come to live in the Leukemia room at the sanctuary.

Gumdrop is such an obvious sweetheart that it only took a matter of hours (if that) in her new home at the sanctuary for her to start winning herself some fans among the staff and volunteers.

Judy

I had another nice visit with Jazz tonight. He's such a cuddly sweetheart of a cat that I had a hard time giving him a treat because he wouldn't stop rubbing his face against the fingers holding the treat for long enough to eat the treat itself. Later, when I put my face close to his, he leaned in and rested his forehead against mine like Bandit used to do.

Cagemate Judy, however, remained in the screened off area behind a towel. She spat at me a couple of times, but when I flicked a treat in her general direction, she didn't wait until I left before creeping forward to collect the offering. After that, she allowed me to take a few photos of her, flash and all, without seeming too bothered.

In the last shot, she seemed almost.... curious? Maybe this is another one of those shy newcomers who can be won over with a little love... and a little food.

Emily

Tortie Emily came to RAPS in the autumn of 2003 as a young cat with kittens.

She started in the newcomers area, then moved to the first pen on the left in the back yard, where she lived for a long time. Gaye remembers often coming across her contentedly lying on the porch on a summer day.

photo by Barbara

According to Marianne, Emily wasn't all that friendly with people in the early days, and she didn't like other cats much either.

These days Emily still isn't a fan of other cats, but she finds the idea of human contact much more appealing. Unfortunately, she still seems to be a bit confused about how to behave: headbutting and purring one moment, vigorously smacking the hand that pets a moment later, then just as quickly returning to rubs and more purrs. She's so pretty, though, that even if on occasion she smacks a littler harder than she means to, it's hard to stay mad at her for longer than it takes to apply a band-aid.

Psyche

 photo by Barbara

Shy, pretty tortie Psyche is the sister of Bunny, found by a Bunsmaster Bakery along with their brother Baker (who has since passed away).

Still preferring to perch up on top of the cages, Psyche didn't grow into a people lover like Bunny did. More of a people-tolerater: you may look, feed and even photograph, but push the contact issue and you may be rebuffed (as I was) with a light but assertive smack.

Garrity

Garrity is a senior semi-feral cat who I got to meet because she's been given a cage in the doublewide where she's under observation following some weight loss.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I first went in her cage to give her dinner and refresh her water, but was pleasantly surprised to find she's quite a sweetie. She's a little nervous when first approached, but soon gives herself over to being softed and even start up a pretty decent purr.

On Monday, when famous med cage interloper and med staff leg-clawer Spike had been confined to a another cage by a frustrated Leslie, he found himself bunking with Garrity. Interestingly (and rather endearingly), both cats decided to embrace the arrangement and were soon contently sharing a blanket and allowing me to stroke them both at once.

I was interested in the origins of the name "Garrity," as it's an unusual one. Marianne remembers when the little cat arrived at the sanctuary several years ago, she would get sometimes get referred to as "that ugly dark tortie." Thinking this hardly seemed right, she gave her the name of someone she used to know who had been so-named "because her last name was Smith and her parents wanted her to have a distinctive first name." Marianne says she always thought it was a great name and "somehow suited the little cat."

Garrity used to hiss when approached, but Marianne agrees she's turned into a sweetie who's "still a bit shy but fast on the purr when given some gentle pats."


Updated April 18, 2011: Her health finally failing her, Garrity left us today. She was a sweetheart and will be missed.

Sophie, Hiro and Miko

I was introduced to a wild mama today by the name of Sophie.

Sophie

She was brought in to the sanctuary as a pregnant feral and gave birth to her litter in the kitten trailer. In a room at the other end of the trailer were some older kittens who'd been trapped earlier. Describing this to me, Leslie remembers how surprised she was when Carol told her that Sophie was in fact the mother of both litters.

When the older kittens were reintroduced to their mother, who they'd not seen for a number of months, there was no question whether they remembered her or not. A cuddle-fest ensued. Most of the kittens were later adopted out, but brother and sister Hiro and Miko remained at the sanctuary. They can still often be seen nearby their mom.

Hiro & Mary

Tabby Hiro's a little nervous around people, but black Miko loves a good cuddle. Today, she spent a good amount of time wriggling around on top of the cage where she was perched, anxious to demonstrate her immense cuddleability.

Miko

Sophie's still a bit wild but, if pressed, will make an effort to allow herself to be stroked. Some time spend in a cage receiving attention from animal care staff a while back seems to have helped her get more used to people. Now, even if she does give in to the urge to swat, she will (at least in my experience) limit herself to a light slap on the wrist.

Mystery

Today I had the good fortune to be introduced to Mystery. Good fortune both because she turned out to be a love, and because my being formally introduced to her by Linda helped her to trust me a lot quicker than she might have otherwise.

When Mystery first came to the sanctuary as a kitten, she and Kia were in a cage together. Mystery managed to escape the cage much earlier than staff intended, and so while Kia tamed up nicely, Mystery remained largely feral.

Linda tells me how, during her regular visits to the singlewide trailer, she would often kneel on the floor of the back porch, knowing her many cat friends there would start drifting towards her, slowly forming into a greeting line, each receiving pets in turn as they made their way past her. Mystery must have been quite curious about the proceedings, as one day she snuck into the back of the line and accepted her pets along with the rest as they walked past Linda.

Later, when Linda would sit in an armchair in the same area, Mystery starting coming to visit her there too, joining in with the other cats who'd climb up and vie for a little lap time.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I approached Mystery myself. She was sitting on a cushion high up on a shelf, so I needed to climb a ladder to get a good look at her, let alone try to make any sort of meaningful contact. I strongly suspect Linda's presence had something to do with it, but Mystery let me touch her right away. Soon, she was quite happily rubbing her head against my hand and purring away.

Treacle

Treacle arrived at the sanctuary at the beginning of March, left by the driveway in a carrier with a note saying something about pooping outside the litterbox that had been going on for a long time and for no reason the vet could identify. The writer of the note hadn't wanted to euthanize her, so they left her there assuming one of our staff would find her and take her in. Luckily, they did.

When she arrived, Treacle was very upset. The sign on her cage advised people to move slowly and quietly around her. Leaving her home must have been a most unwelcome shock, particularly since she seems to be one of those cats who hates other cats. And her cage was right next to Rita, one of our most famous cat-haters. I hear Rita managed to pull aside the blanket keeping them from each other's view and they proceeded to try to get one another through the partition. Now Treacle's cage is fully obscured from prying cat eyes and she's a lot more relaxed.

However she might feel about fellow felines, Treacle loves people and, despite having never met me before, was delighted by my visit. She rubbed her head against everything in reach, had me watch her eat for a bit, then capsized for a good, happy wriggle. She's a beautiful girl who will soon win herself more than a few admirers among the sanctuary staff and volunteers.

Bunny

A visitor who sees Bunny scamper across the tops of the cages may come to the conclusion that her name is meant to evoke an affinity to rabbits. Interestingly, this is not so. Her name comes from a bakery, Bunsmaster Bakery, to be exact, where she was found. She doesn't have any teeth at all, something Marianne says is thought to be "a result of an early diet of bread scraps." This doesn't appear to cramp her style, but does feel very odd if she decides to bestow a few love bites!

photo provided by Marianne

"She started out quite shy, but never scary or hissy. She now loves being petted and will even come begging for attention by rubbing up against anyone sitting down near her. Once you start petting her, she does a little dance with her front paws - the 'Bunny Boogie.'"

You'll find this cute little tortie girl hanging out in the double wide, the tea room or the back courtyard.

 Bunny and Squirrel

Updated June 7, 2011: We sadly lost Bunny yesterday. She'd been feeling poorly lately and her most recent trip to the vet revealed a tumor growing so rapidly that it hadn't been visible in her last x-ray only two weeks prior.