Rookie

Rookie came to the RAPS cat sanctuary at the end of April as an unneutered stray who'd been hanging around the home of volunteers Barbara and Waldi. He was found to have torn ligaments in his knee, so is doing a stint of cage rest while he heals up. This has given him a chance to get used to his surroundings at the sanctuary without being overwhelmed by too much too soon, and it's given sanctuary staff and volunteers to get to know him a little.

He seems like a very nice boy, and it sounds like he's already won himself a few human fans at the sanctuary.

My buddy Colin

Colin came to us in 2010 as a stray who seemed to want to be friends but just hadn't got the hang of interacting nicely with humans. He'd dance and rub, but then would often get confused about what to do next and would start wildly smacking his visitor. I took a shine to him early, despite the smacking, and kept visiting him as he gradually began to learn better manners.

When I give the cats in the doublewide their dinner once a week, Colin is invariably waiting for me. While I'm opening cans and putting the food on plates, he's there rubbing against my legs and playing around my feet.

Initially, I thought he was just hoping to get closer to the food, but I soon discovered that he wasn't interested in joining the mooching crew on the table. He just wanted to be patted on the head as often as he could inspire me to do so.

I assumed this was a regular thing for him with all the people who came into the building, but Leslie surprised me by noting that she only sees him come out like that when I'm there. I'm not able to come to the sanctuary as often as I used to be (hence fewer blog posts these days), and with only a few hours of kitty visiting time a week, I don't expect the cats to necessarily single me out for special remembrance among all the staff, other volunteers, and visitors they may see from week to week. So it's nice to know that my little buddy Colin doesn't forget about me so easily.

He still has moments when he forgets his manners and gets a bit slappy, but all in all we get along fine. He's my little buddy, after all.

Don't worry, though -- he's hardly lonely when I'm not around. In addition to other human friends he's made over the past few years, he's always got his Salty.

Tuzzi

Tuzzi (as in Bertuzzi) is a delightful 11-year old boy who came to live at the cat sanctuary earlier this month. He was unable to adjust when a baby came into his life, and responded to the intrusion with a compulsion to pee everywhere. After trying everything they could think of to solve the problem (including a visit to the vet to check for possible medical causes), Tuzzi's people made the tough choice of surrendering him.

I'm sure many of us wish we could just explain to cats who feel compelled to express themselves this way that it's just not going to work out the way that any of us would hope... but sadly, we can't.

On a brighter note, Tuzzi's friendly personality has already won him some human admirers at the cat sanctuary. It's not the same as being in a home and part of a family, but at least he won't have to worry about feeling friendless.

Springtime at the cat sanctuary

It's that time of year again -- the days are getting longer, the weather's starting to get warmer... and the sanctuary cats are starting to spend more of their time enjoying the outdoor areas at the RAPS sanctuary. Here are a few photos of them enjoying a pleasant evening this week.

our new greenery in the front courtyard is starting to show us some green

Lana, Salty, and Mistletoe

Sadie

Tiger
~sttrretcchhh~

Peppercorn

Jellybean

Jellybean came to RAPS as a feral cat and for a long time didn't want to have anything to do with humans. After losing a good deal of her sight, though, we became a bit harder to avoid.

Jellybean still manages to get around the doublewide, snoozing in various spots on shelves or high up on top of the cages. I first got to know her a little when Leslie asked me to start giving her a plate of her own at dinner time because it wasn't as easy for her to go and get wet food from one of the big plates we put out. Jellybean accepted my food offering, but clearly wasn't comfortable with any contact, so I didn't push it.

It's only fairly recently that I tried again to reach out and touch and discovered that Jellybean has gotten more comfortable with the idea. These days she often sits on top of the cages, and so if I want her to actually get more than a few bites of her individual serving of wet food before other cats move in and eat it right out from under her, I have to stand guard until she's had her fill. This has led to experimental patting, stroking, and even a few forehead bonks. And before I knew it, we'd gone from Jellybean wanting nothing to do with me to Leslie calling her my new best friend.

Update: Jody

When I posted about Jody back in February of 2010, she was known for loving humans (particularly ones who will rub faces with her and receive kitty kisses) and being annoyed by other cats.

Not much has changed. She's still living at the sanctuary, and she still loves giving kisses and the odd love bite. I've tried presenting her with something seemingly non-biteable like my forehead to give her kisses to, but if given enough time she generally tries giving one of my eyebrows an affectionate nibble.

This past Monday night was all about hand kisses.

Some cats are fun to do update posts about because they've changed so much over time (like Little Lizzie from last week). Others are fun to re-post about because of how very little they've changed over a number of years. Like Jody, who's gone on being true to her feistily sweet self.

Update: Little Lizzie

When I posted about Little Lizzie in July 2012, she was one of our look-but-don't-touch kitties. And even looking at this pretty girl (who came to us as a wild kitten) would often set her to flight.

As sometimes happens, though, time spent in a cage for some special treatment (in both the medical and the cuddles & extra-tasty food sense), gave her a chance to get to know the med staff at the sanctuary and learn that humans could actually be rather nice. Now she's out of her cage but has opted to stick around where she can continue to receive attention from her human friends.

When Leslie showed me the tortie cat parading around for attention, I asked her how long Little Lizzie was likely to keep it up. Leslie said she could keep it up all day. Indeed, as long as Leslie stayed in sight, it only took a glance to get Little Lizzie preening and dancing around in search of pats.