Tabby beauty

Cadbury  (KN)

We all have our favourite types, when it comes to cats – as well as our favourite individual cats.  Some people favour the ginger ones, or the black ones; some look for the cuddly ones or the spicy ones.  I have a weakness for the long-haired tabbies, especially the sad-faced ones. I loved Dickens, who I got to know early in my time in the Sanctuary, and I still miss my beloved Skittles, who began as a feral and became a loving lap-cat.

Skittles & Cadbury - brother-love  (KN)

Skittles came from a group we called the Candy Cats, and the others are all still around – tabby SweetTart in with the barn-cats, Purdy, Hershey and Butterscotch hiding out in Pen 8, and the beautiful Cadbury, based in Pen 2.

Our beautiful boy  (MW)

Cadbury is one of those cats that the camera just loves – you almost can’t get a bad photo of him.  He and Skittles were particularly close in their early days in Pen 6, but Skittles gravitated towards people, and Cadbury remained very shy. 

Keep your distance, please   (MW)

He is something of a loner – he shares the cabin with a pretty cat-social bunch, but he can usually be found on his own shelf, keeping himself to himself.  He’s not hissy-shy; he just pulls away from contact until he’s certain that he’s safe.  Sometimes he can be very affectionate, but he rarely solicits petting.

Showing off his highlights  (LBF)

He's one of those fortunate long-haired tabbies that seems to be able to keep his fur in good condition. With some of the others the med-staff have to go in and shave mats off - or, in a worst-case situation, give them a complete lion-cut.  No such indignity for Cadbury - he keeps himself well-groomed, and his wonderful neck-ruff is like a halo.  In company with pretty Autumn in the front courtyard, Cadbury's ruff becomes more blond, and it looks like he's been to the salon for highlights.

Is this my best side?...   (LBF)

Unlike a lot of the other back courtyard cats, he’s not particularly food-motivated, and when treats are on offer and the others crowd around, he stays out of the way. When I clean the Pen 2 cabin on Friday mornings, I bring a baggie of dental kibble, or some of my own cat’s “healthy” food as treats, and the other cats get very excited;  Cadbury holds back, though he’s happy to crunch in, as long as nobody else is crowding him. 

Wand-play  (KN)

He comes across as a solemn, serious boy – but he can be playful with the right incentive: a grass stalk or a feather wand will have him batting at it like a kitten.  But it needs to be solo play; when someone else wants in on it, Cadbury backs off and lets the more assertive cat win. Looking at his photos, I realized how few of them had other cats in them; he’s an expert at finding comfy places to settle where he won’t be disturbed by the rest of them.

finding his quiet place  (LBF)

The back courtyard is home to about 200 cats – probably more, when the weather is fine and the inside cats all come out to explore. Cadbury still manages to be The Cat Who Walks By Himself. Like most introverts, he needs a lot of alone time to support him through the times of togetherness. We’re glad that he has that choice.

Blog by Brigid Coult

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

Blog 300

Daisy the unique - lover of everyone  (MW)

In the summer of 2014 I took over the Neko Blog from its creator, Claire Fossey, and moved it from being (initially) a series of 2 or 3-times weekly vignettes built around Claire’s photographic close encounters with a variety of RAPS cats, to a weekly feature that used the work of our many talented photographers to explore the situations of some of our cats in more detail. I had hoped that it might be something I could coordinate rather than create single-handedly, but though I have had some wonderful contributions from the late and beloved Marianne Moore, Pauline Chin and several other contributors with whom I co-wrote or ghost-wrote material, I discovered that keeping it a weekly regular event  required regular solo writing.

The yin and yang of Yogi and Wobbly Bob  (VL)

More than seven years later, this is my 300th solo blog, and I had to think about whether I wanted it to be just another cat-profile, or how I might approach it.  Having discovered the Sanctuary in the spring of 2010, I’ve encountered my share of cats with a variety of purrrsonalities.  And its those cats who’ve kept me coming back, week after week, and kept me writing their stories – both for other volunteers, and for the many people who may not be able to visit in person, but have come to know the Sanctuary through the blog, through Facebook and Instagram. So here, for my 300th blog, are some of the cats with whom I have had deep attachments.

Tigger  (MW)

My volunteer shifts in the first few years were mainly in the front – either the main courtyard or in the Leukemia area, which we called Old Aids. Tigger was an early encounter.  A front courtyard icon, he was a loner, as far as cat society went, often found contributing to what I called Pooh Corner. But a little attention was welcomed, and once Tigger had established you as one of His People, he would come trotting over, and reach up, asking to be carried. His favourite carrying position was upright, over the shoulder, and he would dig his claws in to hold himself in place – I have more than a few T-shirts with Tigger claw-holes on the back. 

Kojak - the opposite of his namesake  (MW)

Kojak did not want to be friends for some time. He was a stray cat who found us but took a while to walk into the trap; he proved to be leukemia positive, so had the sense to come to the one place where he would be safe.  He didn’t feel safe for some time; I have memories of cleaning in Old Aids, while one of the med-staff tucked herself into the cage with this hissy, defensive cat, gradually acclimating him to human contact.  Month by month he emerged from his shell, encouraged by tidbits initially, and then by the lure of love and laps. 

Heart-cat Skittles   (BC)

Other RAPS cat-loves have come and gone – Skittles transformed from feral to friendly over the course of a year, and adored his lap-time; Shadrack was a wary cage-top feral when I arrived, and a devoted chickaholic in his last few years. I was one of a number of people who adored handsome Dell – so fierce when he came to us, and such a cuddle-bug in the end; sneezy Yogi, and needy Emery, gentle Gilbert and grumpy Leland, and many more, are all part of what is at the heart of the RAPS Sanctuary for me. 

Our sweet lion, Dell   (MD)

We have been able to be a home for cats who would probably not have survived otherwise: disabled WobblyBob, crippled Terry, genetically challenged Daisy who loved everyone, and many cats with Manx Syndrome.

Sylar - wondering whether to get closer  (KN)

But it’s not just retrospective – every week I try and find out something about a new cat, by observation or by picking the brains of one of the med staff. Because I work in several areas in the Sanctuary, I have the chance to get to know a wide variety of cats, and to establish relationships with them. Little old lady Sara-Lee is a regular companion – on a lap at coffee break, or helping quality control at feeding time. Grey Sylar hears my voice, and though he’s still not ready to be touched, he’s now venturing close enough to accept tidbits from my hand. 

Treats, please?   (KN)

I can’t enter the SingleWide without Bossanova’s pleading eyes asking for attention (and chicken). I am loving getting to know the cats who came to us from Alberta – especially now that Pen 3 is open, and they can explore, and become braver by the day.

William Shakespurr, Jason, Golden - Pen 3 cats  (LBF)

And I feel blessed to work with so many wonderful people who risk all the scratches and scars that come with dealing with scared cats, who scoop poop and clean up messes, who turn up to work on Christmas Day, or who brave rain and snow and heatwave to make life more bearable for these sweet creatures who depend on us.  There are volunteers who are new, and for whom everything is a discovery, and there are volunteers who have served for a long time, and who continue to serve faithfully because they won’t let the cats down. 

Sara Lee loves Sanctuary life  (LP)

There are Kitty Comforters with their endless patience;  photographers waiting to catch the perfect “catness” of a model; students learning new things; people who bring in donations of special foods or furniture or cat-toys – there are so many generous hearts on this team. Volunteering at the RAPS Sanctuary is a privilege, and one I value immensely – and I look forward to sharing more cat profiles in future blogs.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Brigid Coult, Melanie Draper, 

Vicky Lo, Karen Nicholson, Lisa Parker, Michele Wright

Oodles of Orange

Billy, Buffy, Kumquat (LBF)

Pen 6 has become an important area of transition at the Cat Sanctuary. It’s a fairly small pen, but right at the beginning of the back pen complex – so there is lots of activity around.  Five years ago it was designated as the home for a colony of cats who had come to us from a Sunshine Coast shelter that was closing. We remember those cats with love – especially sweet Simba, and PawPaw

Simba and PawPaw (MW)

As they acclimated, or were moved to other areas, or adopted, we were able to move them out, close the pen for a clean-out, and prepare it for the Candy Cats’ arrival in the fall of 2017. With the exception of sweet Skittles, who has passed, these cats are still with us.  No orange cats in this bunch – the closest we have is the hint of gold in the agouti colouring of shy Hershey.

Hershey (LBF)

Two years later, the Candy Cats were moved out to make room for another influx of cats when RAPS trapped a total of nearly 60 cats and kittens from one colony.  Most of the kittens were fostered and adopted, but we had a group of teens who were too old to tame easily.  Most of them were black or tortie, but orange Mercury proved to be a very shy twin for Sprocket, living in the back courtyard.

Mercury (LBF)

These cats were very skittish for some time and it wasn’t until the following year that the determined work of the Kitty Comforters began to pay off. Most of them have relocated to Pen 1, and will likely remain semi-feral, and wary, but Aphrodite, the boldest of them, has found her own home where she can be tortie queen.

Aphrodite (KN)

And now Pen 6 is full again – and this time it’s an influx of (mostly) orange kitties from outside Kamloops, from a situation where TNR was needed, but in the end, the rescue felt that the cats really needed rescuing – and so they have ended up in our care.

Kelvin & Billy (LBF)

For the first few weeks there were just seven of them – Persimmon, Kumquat, Billy, Kelvin, Buffy, Goldie and a lone tabby, Juniper.  

Persimmon (KN)

Persimmon is the bravest of them, coming to investigate a visitor, talking and flirting. She’s something of a show-off on the shelf along the front wall.   Where Persimmon is, Kumquat is not far behind. Though he’s not ready for me to touch him, I know he’s allowed ear scritches from other volunteers. Kelvin will come and sit beside me, as long as I don’t reach out.  

Goldie, Kumquat & Billy (KN)

The others are all still very wary; they can be touched when they're tucked away in their cabin beds, but they now prefer to take cover in the many hiding places we’ve left in the pen. They particularly like the playhouse in the southeast corner of the pen, and are equally charmed by the prospect of playing on the tarp that protects the playhouse roof

Buffy (and Kelvin) camping on the tarp (KN)

They have just been joined by another five from the same colony: Cheddar, Creamsicle, Chamomile, Barley and Chaga (two more oranges, two greys and a black) - more introductions to follow in a subsequent blog!
We're all looking forward to getting to know them better as they become more relaxed in their new home.

Persimmon is already relaxed! (VW)

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Karen Nicholson, Valerie Wilson, Michele Wright

We Miss Them So

 It’s been a very hard few weeks at the Sanctuary.

Puffin - MW

Many of our cats are moving into their middle or senior years, and, as with humans, life expectancy varies.  We talk about the senior cats (14 years is the equivalent to 70 or so for a human) and the SuperSeniors (15+). And as with humans, there are some that stay strong and healthy well into old age, and those who are taken by known and unknown factors much earlier.

Fable the valentine - MW

A lot of our cats are in those early senior years, and despite the work of our wonderful med staff, many manage to hide their symptoms when things begin going wrong with their bodies. Cats are hunters in the wild, but they are also prey of other creatures, and any prey animal knows that it has to hide weakness. It is not unusual for a problem to be noticed, and the cat gone within a week – once they show that something is wrong, it is too late to do anything about it.

Spooky helping with morning chores - KN

We are a no-kill organization – but that just means we won’t use excuses of behaviour and health to justify the unnecessary death of any creature. To my mind, that’s a very different business from what is true euthanasia – the release of a creature from a pain that cannot be endured. However necessary it is, though, it’s hard on staff and volunteers alike, on the hospital techs and the vets, and on those to take a beloved friend on its last journey.

Skittles - KN

So, though I prefer to write about the lives we cherish at the Sanctuary, this week’s blog is a picture tribute to Puffin, Chateaux, Fable, Janine, Spooky, Ninja, Minnow, Skittles, Zimmer, Darwin and Shadrack, all gone within a few very emotional weeks. The back stories for many of them can be found elsewhere in this blog.

Puffin - MD

Puffin, in his early days with us, had a reputation for biting – he was very much a do-not-touch-me cat. He mellowed somewhat over the years, and more recently he befriended several of the volunteers, and was an altogether more approachable prospect. We will miss the King of the Front Courtyard.

Chateaux - MW

Chateaux came to us with his brother Shadow – one to the FIV cats in New Aids and one to the FeLV cats in Old Aids.  Both boys were very shy. Chateaux was never a people-fan, but he loved his buddy Neptune – as big and black as himself.

Fable - MW

Fable came with his brother Vesper – either or both of them stress pee-ers. The two were bonded in their early days; more independent in the last couple of years. Fable adored people and took every opportunity to climb into laps.

Janine - KN

Sweet Janine was one of the shyer front courtyard cats, and the brother of friendly Jamie. She had just started to hover around when the humans she knew were working.

Spooky - MD

Stubby-tailed Spooky had had several bouts with health issues during her time with us – mostly respiratory problems and eye infections. Her recent gastric problems were probably cancer. Most cats seem to have resting bitch face - Spooky's markings always made her look as if she was smiling.

Ninja - KN

Ninja had been with us for years – basically a victim of black cat syndrome and never getting adopted. As a younger boy he lived up to his name, sprinting and climbing; he was a gatecrasher, darting in to gated pens when he could sneak past; in the last year he was a permanent resident in the bathroom of the volunteers' Tea-Room.

Minnow - MW

Pretty calico Minnow was part of a group of cats that lived together in Pen 2 for a while. Her  sister cats chose to stay with the Pen 2 crowd, but Minnow wanted more out of life, and could be found both inside and outside in other areas.  Outgoing and confident, she tolerated both cats and humans.

Skittles - BC

Skittles was my own love, moving from being a spooked feral to a cat that adored lap-time and cuddles. His brother Cadbury is warily accepting of petting; the rest of his clowder don’t want to be touched. Skittles was a gentle giant, interacting easily with humans and cats alike.

Zimmer - MW

Sweet Zimmer showed in face and body the rigors of a life as a feral cat. For much of his early time with us, he was seen only as a worried face looking down from cage-tops; in his last years he made up for it with a warm bed, many human friends, and much love.

Darwin - KN

Darwin came to us relatively recently with seizure problems, and needed a longer cage-stay to make sure we really had it under control. Visits to him in his cage were at floor-level, and were much appreciated - he loved to be cuddled, given half a chance. Release allowed him to explore and make more friends. In the end, though, it was a mouth cancer rather than a seizure that necessitated his passing.

Shadrack - BC

Shadrack is another big loss for me. I first got to know him as a shy cage-top cat in the Double-Wide, wanting attention (and chicken) but wary of venturing down.  Over the course of the eleven years I've known him, he's become a confident explorer, a lap-cat, and remained a determined chickaholic. 

Ninja in his active climbing days - MW

In the past year, we have adopted out many of the Sanctuary cats that had formerly been labelled as “unadoptable”, to loving, cat-savvy homes who have been able to deal with the behavioural issues that had kept them with us. We’re sad to see them go, but excited for them as well.  

Fable and Vesper were always together
when they first came to us - MD

But the departures such as the ones we’ve had in the last couple of weeks are hard on everyone. We have to hold faith that we gave a better option for most of these cats, for life would have been harder and shorter in the wild or at a facility that was not no-kill. They have known love and safety with us, and our lives have been richer for time with them.

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Brigid Coult, Melanie Draper, Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright

Meowvember furry faces

November is the month when guys who can, grow their facial hair, and then shave it off at the end of the month to raise funds supporting men’s health issues. In the feline world, facial hair is not limited to the males.  Obviously some cats are furrier than others, but it’s not just the quantity of face-fluff that’s noticeable, but also the markings.

Magpie - KN

Last time I wrote about Meowvember, we admired the defined ‘tache of Magpie, who usually hangs out around pen 8 and Waldi’s Hut. Magpie is no less hissy, but some of us have now been introduced to Sweet Pea, in the front courtyard, with similar markings. Sweet Pea has been with us a while, but is very feral and wary, and prefers not to be seen (unless you carry chicken!)

Sweet Pea - KN

Digby, Smoochie, Mya, Salish, Comet and Rocky all featured in the Meowvember blog back in 2017, but since then we’ve an assortment of new facial markings to join the ‘tache club.  One of my favourites is sweet Winston, who lives in Waldi’s Hut – he’s still a little shy, but loves being petted when he knows he can be safe with you

Winston - KN

Spirit and Tootsie are both one-sided ‘tache wearers – Spirit (front courtyard) on the right and Tootsie (back courtyard) on the left. 

Spirit (right) and Tootsie (left) - KN

It’s easy to tell them apart because of where they live; distinguishing facial markings are more important with sisters Sandy and Pebble in Pen 4. Pebble quite likes human company and presents herself for petting; her twin sister Sandy is more likely to greet you with a claws-out swat in true feral fashion. Pebble’s marking is on the left of her nose, and Sandy’s on the right.

Many of the tabbies in Pen 8 have facial markings that help us distinguish them. Johnny is the alpha, hissy boy, with a single smudge to one side of his muzzle; his sister Hailey carries little balanced patches on both sides. 

Johnny & Hailey  -  LBF

Fellow feral Selena is the only one in the pen who now approaches to ask for petting; her markings cover both her muzzle and her chin - ‘tache and beard.

Selena   -   MD

My favourite boy Skittles not only has a hint of ‘tache markings, but he also has a serious quantity of facial fur.  But it’s all his – he is not going to be shaving it off at the end of the month!

Skittles  -  MW

Our magnificent Dell has relocated to the Single-Wide (for insulin injections), and will also not be doing any shaving at month-end.  Dell has wonderful fur, and usually an impressive set of whiskers – we noticed that some of his whiskers were much shorter than they should be, and guessed that his little tabby girlfriends in Pen 3 had probably been doing some over-enthusiastic grooming. Now that he’s made himself at home in the SW, we hope he can regrow his nibbled whiskers.

Dell - with nibbled whiskers - KN

Blog by Brigid Coult

Photos by Lisa Brill-Friesen, Melanie Draper, Karen Nicholson, Michele Wright