Front Courtyard Sweet Pea

Sweet Pea (MW)

In 2016 we were contacted by workers at a shelter on the Sunshine Coast that was closing down. Like many such organizations, it was set up privately, and was mostly a labour of love for the founder.  It focused on rescue, but was not organized for continued funding or for succession planning.  As the owner’s health declined, it became obvious that things couldn’t continue, and her friends called us. Over the course of the following year we took in more than twenty cats.

A wet-day excursion  (KN)

In the back courtyard we established the first colony in Pen 6; we knew their records and that they knew each other, so they didn’t have to be caged initially – the pen was their cage till they settled. These included PawPaw, Simba, Blue, Laredo and many others. Also from there was the one-and-only Honey Bear, a snowshoe Siamese with electric blue eyes and a neurological problem. In subsequent months more cats joined the front courtyard, this time via a short cage stay. These included Sparks, Wickem, Gidget, Figaro, Reefer, HunnyBun and Sweet Pea.

Hiding out in a cat-tree  (GA)

Many of them were already seniors when they came to us and have since passed; Sweet Pea is one of the last cats of that group of refugees; she, Reefer and Figaro still roam the front courtyard. She was a September 2017 arrival, and is now about 14 years old – she arrived at Happy Cat Haven as a kitten. All three cats came to us as ferals, but the two boys have become used to petting and treats, and have merged well with the general population. Sweet Pea remains on the feral end of the spectrum, but she doesn’t really like to be alone and needs other cat companions. 

Cuddles with friend Libby - now gone  (LBF)

She’s our third Sweet Pea – the first was a well-loved messy little manx with a sweet trill of a voice; the second was one of the Kootenays cats who was recently adopted out. In a courtyard with a lot of black cats and tuxes, it’s easy to identify  this Sweet Pea by her thin white moustache marking. 

On the climbing frame on a wet day  (KN)

She can usually be found around the covered courtyard that is known as the Old Rabbit Area, but when there are visitors, she emerges to hover around the climbing platform – especially when volunteer Allison is there on Sunday afternoons. She is still wary of touch, but she trusts Allison and will come to her for petting and treats, and she has a few other volunteers she will approach for attention.

Sweet Pea  (MW)

She’ll often be found lurking under cover, watching everything that goes on. A little patience, a treat or two, and she will dare to emerge for her share of petting.  I suspect she’s never going to be really comfortable with contact, but she now knows that nobody will hurt her, and she’s seeing some of the benefits of life at the Sanctuary.

Blog by Brigid Coult

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

Hope and her BFFs

Hope  (MW)

Just as we tend to self-identify as extrovert or introvert, so many of the Sanctuary cats appear to be cat-social or loners – and all quite independent on how they interact with the humans around them. In the front of the Connor House, in the front courtyard, there’s a particularly bonded little group that centres on sweet Hope.

Carly grooming Hope  (DW)

Hope has lived with us most of her life. She came in about 14 years ago with her family: mama Joanie, brothers GusGus and Domino, and separately, dad Hudson. The three kittens were past the easy socialization stage, and took a long time to settle with us – GusGus was one of my beloved sponsor cats, and shy in all his dealings with us. Hope came to enjoy human contact, and was routinely introduced to visitors as “the cat with the softest fur” – her coat is very smooth and soft, and especially now that she enjoys coming up for lap time, she’s a pleasure to stroke!

Hope (KN)

The Connor is Hope’s home, and in recent years she’s laid claim to the table at the window – so much so that we’ve all got in the habit of setting up “Hope’s bed” once everything’s been scrubbed down in the morning cleaning. She gets the best light, the view through the window into the porch area – and a quick way out when the window’s open – the first encounter with people entering the building, and the first chance at the plate at feeding time.

Carly being Hope's bed (CT)

The advantages of this position haven’t been missed by a couple of other cats, and Hope usually has feline company. Interestingly, it’s usually an either/or situation – it’s rare that we’ll see all three cats together.  It reminds me the trio of Capilano, Chinook and Walker, who lived in Pen 5 – Walker was attached to both his buddies, but Capilano and Chinook didn’t care much for each other. In the Connor we will often find Hope with Celine or Carly – but only rarely with both together. 

Hope & Carly, watching the action outside  (GT)

Carly and Celine came to us from the same farm-cat situation in the summer of 2016; both were pregnant and had their kittens under fosterage, and then came to us in the fall. Caged in the Connor, when released they decided to stay in the area that had become familiar.

Sometimes the buddy is the bed - 
or is this a quick snack?  (CH)

Carly (Carly Simon) was the more daring of the two, and explored her way around; Celine (Celine Dion) retreated to the cage-tops and lived with the shyer cats. Neither girl was much interested in human contact initially, but over the past seven years, both have opened up to us.

Hope & Celine on dinner-watch  (JR)

On visiting days Carly is frequently found out on the north side of the courtyard, and defends her place on the bench from other cats; she will come for lap-time, but doesn’t much like the competition. Given her reluctance to share bench-space with other cats, it’s interesting to see that Carly likes to share with Hope – I guess in this case, the space is clearly identifiable with Hope, and Carly can’t claim it, so she might as well share peaceably!

Carly & Hope (GT)

Celine is less social, but can often be found sharing Hope’s bed, and the petting from visitors that results from the position. She’s come a long way from the wary girl who used to peer down at us from the cage-tops; she will still visit up there from time to time, but now prefers being in reach for treats and attention.  

Hope & Celine  (KN)

All three are former ferals who are now “tame” – but not adoptable: Hope, because of her age and the fact that she has lived here nearly all her life; Carly and Celine because though pettable, they prefer feline company to that of humans, and a change in situation would almost certainly revived the scared ferals within.  For these three Best Feline Friends, the Sanctuary is home.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Colin Hume, Karen Nicholson, Jill Rabin, Gurpreet Tagger,
Cheryl Townsend, Debbie Wolanski, Michele Wright

Bricklyn

Bricklyn (KN)

It’s very easy to overlook yet another black cat or another tabby among a hundred other cats in the Cat Sanctuary front courtyard – but somehow, the striking-looking Bricklyn also gets overlooked.

Bricklyn (BC)

I have to admit, for many years she worked very hard at it! Bricklyn came to us in August 2012, trapped by Carol at BC Brick. She came to us with kittens, and was fostered out until the kittens were old enough to go to the Shelter for adoption. Like Autumn, who came around the same time, the kittens were ready for new homes, but no way was Mama going to approve of this new life. Autumn was a particularly angry girl for a while, joining the ferals in what was then the Val Jones corner, but within a couple of years she’d changed her thinking and began enjoying contact with humans.

Autumn, scared - in 2012 (PH)

Autumn the flirt, now  (KN)

Bricklyn was also not ready for human contact, and certainly not for adoption, and she vanished into what we call the Old Rabbit Area. This is a covered courtyard, with all the shelves draped so that scared ferals can remain out of sight. In theory, we’re ready for ferals to be ferals as long as they please, but we do try to bring them round to our way of thinking – and that can be very hard when they have such a great place in which to hide!

Bricklyn, seen only at a distance  (MW)

So for years, all we got was the occasion flash of Bricklyn emerging and vanishing again. Cats are crepuscular, meaning that they are most active at dawn and dusk.  Like many of the shyest cats, she could often only be seen by the early morning or late evening staff and volunteers. She hung out with similarly shy cats, like the older Lora and Lorelei, and as they gradually allowed more contact with us, Bricklyn would look on but not venture any closer.

Bricklyn (BC)

She’s now around 14 years old, and I don’t know whether it’s part of the aging process – as some cats become senile, they forget that they’re scared – but more and more we’re seeing less feral fear from Bricklyn. She can be spotted exploring around the north side of the courtyard, and sometimes venturing onto the climbing frame. She is cautiously interested in us (especially if chicken is offered), but not ready to accept food from the hand or to allow touch. But if she thinks the chicken donor isn’t noticing her, she can get quite vocal.

Bricklyn, hoping for handouts  (BC)

Bricklyn’s also something of a cougar, flirting with the younger male cats. She particularly likes blond Leo and big Kenji, and will head-bunt them happily. They have many other friends with whom to interact, and sadly, the older lady is not big on their radar – but she doesn’t give up hope!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Phaedra Hardman, Karen Nicholson and Michele Wright

Brunet and Blonde, revisited

Lindor in regal mode  (MW)

It’s interesting to look back at some of our cats when they arrived with us, and see how they’re doing today. Five years ago Lindor and Parker came to us – they just happened to arrive at the same time and were put in adjacent cages to acclimatize.  

Exploring on the cage-tops  (BC)

Black Lindor came to us from the Shelter with a reputation for ambush attacks from the shadow of his cage; Debbie was on staff there at that time, and said that it took some care to be cleaning in the cat room without becoming a Lindor target. There are many cats who come from an experience of freedom and don’t do well within the confines of a Shelter environment. Many of these do much better when they arrive at the Sanctuary and have more space to move or to hide in, according to their needs. 

Snoozing on the table puts you closer to the treats  (KN)

Once released from his cage, Lindor made himself at home around the DoubleWide and the back courtyard. He’s a beautiful fluffy boy, but the fluff extends between the ears – he’s not the smartest cat we’ve ever had!  Initially he was a bit reactive, and we all gave him some space. He’s not particularly cat-social, though he doesn’t really mind other cats being around – he just doesn’t socialize with them. What he has discovered is that when humans sit down around the courtyard table for coffee, there are sometimes goodies on offer!  We are told that cats don’t taste sweet stuff – but Lindor leads the queue when Timbits come out, and can often be found trying to cat-burgle his way into the box.

Big and fluffy  (KN)

He likes attention – he’s not really a lap-cat, but he loves to be petted, and he has joined the ranks of the cats wearing a bandana during visiting hours as a signal that he is adoptable.  If you’re into big fluffy cats, he’s a winner!

Parker doing a little exploration  (KN)

His blonde counterpart, Parker, had been surrendered for aggressive behaviour, and sadly, that has not changed much. Occasionally she can be seen out in the courtyard, but the upper shelves of the Laundry Room are very much her turf, and she defends them against all invaders.

This shelf is Parker's favourite perch (MW)

Her blonde prettiness is irresistible to the uninitiated, but it only takes a smack or two to realize that the collar this girl wears is not just decorative – it’s a real warning. She does have some favourite humans who are permitted to offer petting when she’s in the right mood, but most volunteers have learned to be wary around her, and that contact with her is likely to produce blood.

Hard at work, being fluffy and cute  (KN)

I usually do DoubleWide feeds from the sink, and most of the time it’s black Cole sitting there and stealing the first bite on every plate – and Parker is at floor-level, growling to keep other cats away from her plate. Just occasionally, Parker beats Cole to the top of the washing machine, and then I find myself being very cautious as each plate is filled and moved. This level of aggression is often seen in feral cats and is usually fear-based; Parker’s not a feral, and she fears nothing; this is straight dominance, and letting everyone know that what Parker wants, goes! 

Good-naturedly posing as the Easter bunny (KN)

I wonder how these two would have made out in a jurisdiction where there wasn’t a no-kill Sanctuary option. As it is, they both have space and time to meet their needs – Parker has her shelves where she can get away, and our patience with her swatting; Lindor has attention and love and the possibility of eventually finding his own home.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright

Owen

Owen  (KN)

Of the little colony of cats who came in from the Kootenays last year, the majority remain shy and wary of much contact with us, though most of them no longer confine themselves to Pen 8, which was their first home here. Just two of them really embraced Sanctuary life:  little SweetPea built on the socialization she had from foster-mom Kati, and showed herself willing to be petted and cuddled;  it wasn’t long before she was adopted. (Her sister Curious is still not happy about much in the way of human contact.)

Owen  (LBF)

Handsome Owen has always been the most outgoing of the remainder of the colony. Though he enjoys his cats-only bonding time with Basil and Percival Snugglebutt, he has embraced his inner Ragdoll and loves lap-time and treats with staff and volunteers.  

Hanging out with Percival Snugglebutt  (LBF)

When the Kootenays cats first came to us, we were told they were Ragdolls. In fact, we rarely have purebred cats of any sort at the Sanctuary – most of our cats are mixed-breed, and many have come to us as a result of not being spayed/neutered, so we never know quite what genetics are in play. In appearance, Owen, and many of the others, have a more Himalayan appearance – paler long-haired body, dark face and legs – but without the smooshed-in face of the purebred Himalayan. Owen steps outside the norm with snowshoe paws, and his body-coat is darker than the classic Siamese/Himalayan shading.

Owen with shy Bailey  (LBF)

Owen’s not the largest of the group – that’s probably shy Basil’s role – and none of them are really at Ragdoll size, though cats from feral beginnings are often smaller because of early malnourishment. But Owen obviously likes people; he asks to come up on a lap, is easily handled and loves his treats and fussing.  

Independent and confident  (BC)

He has now joined the ranks of the “bandana cats” wearing an identifying scarf on visiting days, and we would love to see him adopted to someone who recognizes his cat-colony background and who can give him time to settle into new surroundings with a family to love him.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Brigid Coult & Karen Nicholson

He did it!  Owen was adopted by Mel & Scott, who also have Bagheera, Aphrodite (Dottte) and Scooter in their new Alberta home. Happy new life to you all!

Lulu

Lulu  (KN)

Looking over the crowd gathering for chicken-tidbits-dessert last week, I was surprised to realize that I’d never blogged little grey/white Lulu, who is another of our chickaholics.

Lulu  (MW)

Like Woody, who I introduced in August, Lulu came to us from Kitty Cat P.A.L.S. (Prevent a Litter Society) in the Comox Valley. Woody and Heidi came because they were FIV+ cats. Lulu and her buddy Scooter came a year later – they weren’t FIV+ but they were neither so feral that all that could be done would be to release them to a barn-cat program, nor tame enough to adopt out. We hoped that time with us would give them options.

Lulu exploring  (KN)

Lulu and Scooter had the usual caged period with us, giving them the chance to get to know the humans who would be caring for them. Once the cage door was opened, Scooter went to the cage tops and joined the look-but-don’t-touch semiferals there; she would smack at hands offering petting and treats, and it took some time for her to accept that she liked both.

Scooter on cage-tops  (KN)

Over the past few months, Scooter’s confidence blossomed with the encouragement of Kitty Comforters Mel and Scott, and I am delighted to report that not only did she relocate to the back courtyard, but that her confidence increased to the point that she has been adopted by them, with shy black Bagheera. Watching Scooter enjoy cuddling with Scott made us all so happy!

Tyson & Lulu - BFFs  (KN)

Lulu, from the beginning, was more of a flirt with cats and humans alike. She made herself at home in the DoubleWide and then in the back courtyard; she accepted gentle petting, though she was never willing to lap-sit or to be picked up. She adores black Tyson, who is one of our adoptables, and we hoped that his calm ways might rub off on her, but she remains arm’s-length flirty with most of us. For a while, she and Tyson were often found together; now it seems to be just occasional visits.

Lulu (KN)

Around a crowd of cats she remains a little wary, hovering at a distance, but quick to venture forward if she sees an opening to claim a tidbit. She will allow a little stroking, though like many cats, prefers head and chin-rubs to full body petting. She’s probably six or seven years old, and technically probably past becoming adoptable – but then, we might have said the same of Scooter, so there’s always hope!

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Karen Nicholson & Michele Wright

Tashie

Tashie  (JN)

Tashie has been with us at the Sanctuary for a year now – she was surrendered for “inappropropriate urination” through the Fraser Valley Animal Hospital, and brought to us by one of our RAPS vets. 

Tashie (BC)

We think she’s around 16 years old, and she’s found her home in the SingleWide community with some of the other oldies.  In many ways, the SW has taken over the place held by the Moore House as a senior cat refuge; we have many other old cats around the complex and we wouldn’t relocate them from the places they love, just based on age, but it’s a good place in which to introduce older cats coming to us for the first time.

finding a convenient pile of laundry  (BC)

Tashie had her introductory cage time in the adjacent office, and when it was time to join the main community, it took awhile to convince her that she couldn’t just return to the office. Now she no longer hovers at the door, but has found her favourite places to snuggle out of the way. Like most of the seniors, she sleeps a lot, and is happy not to be disturbed;  when active, she enjoys a little human company, sharing the armchair and occasionally occupying a lap. It’s at times like that, that we become aware of her aging – like many senior cats, her weight has decreased and petting reveals the bone structure of her body. But she still has spring to her; she hops up to a higher level with ease, and her appetite is good.

Tashie  (KN)

Her facial ‘tache markings are obviously the source of her name. Louise tells me that she appears to use the litterboxes well for the most part, but like pretty Celeste outside the DoubleWide, she pees in them, but deposits her poop elsewhere.  Aw, Tashie – it’s a good thing that you came to us – we just do another load of laundry! 

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Joanne & Karen Nicholson