Capital Cats
Eleven mostly feral cats from Victoria are being welcomed at RAPS this week! Meet each of them …
We are welcoming 11 cats from Victoria – part of 300 animals rescued from a shocking hoarding situation in the capital city.
Every cat (as anyone who has lived with one knows) has a distinct personality. We are fortunate that the partner agency on the Island has provided us with detailed bios for these 11.
Meet them …
And please remember … we can provide a forever home for these animals only because we have the support of devoted animal allies like you!
Peanut
Domestic shorthair, Brown Tabby with white, 22 months olf, neutered male.
Peanut is a character! This guy is probably the most confident of all of the cats, but he’s also a little bit cheeky and is difficult to handle. He is predictable once you know him, but unpredictable enough that I haven’t felt comfortable sending him to another foster or putting him up for adoption. Peanut is very food-motivated and comes up to me right away any time I enter the foster room, in hopes of getting a treat. He will purr, take treats from my hand, rub on my legs, and I can sometimes get a single pet in. He loves playing with wand toys, especially Da Bird (he’s a great hunter). You can tell that Peanut likes attention and really wants to connect, but he’s unsure how to give affection. He will nip at your hands, he’ll smack at you (with his claws – usually – in), and he’ll do things like grab your socks and try to pull them off your feet. He’s just a bit socially awkward and doesn’t yet understand “acceptable” ways to interact with people. If you try to do anything to him, such as pick him up, trim his nails, look in his ears…. so help you God. He is by far the most difficult when at the vet. Many of the cats are scared and will do Ok if covered with a towel to keep them calm. Peanut is outright aggressive and needs to be sedated for almost any procedure.
Poppyseed
Domestic shorthair, Black, 24 months, spayed female.
Poppyseed is a nervous girl but, rather than hiding, she’s more likely to stand her ground and hiss at you. She is very food-motivated, and if you have food she will be in your face. She can sometimes get a bit aggressive about food (she will swipe at you if you don’t put it down fast enough). She is always the first one ready at feeding time and will push the others out of the way to eat. If you don’t have food, she will stay just out of reach (she really likes high places) and if you get too close she might hiss. She has never struck out at me (other than when she gets pushy about feeding time). Poppy will, on occasion, allow a pet if she’s eating, but doesn’t enjoy handling. If she is cornered and you reach to pet her, she will try to run away. If she can’t (like if she’s in a carrier) she will allow pets and handling and has never tried to bite or scratch. She was actually in a foster-to-adopt home, but it fell through (through no fault of her own – it was an extenuating circumstance with the adopter) so Poppy had to come back to us.
Minnie
Domestic longhair, Grey, 22 months, spayed female.
Minnie is one of the more forward cats. She is always milling about and is happy to be close to you. She will rub on your legs at feeding time and will allow a pet or two. She is happy to take treats from your hands, and is quite chatty (especially when food is involved). However, if you try to pick her up she will bite. Like Peanut, she is also not a fan of handling at the vet and needs very good restraint for things like nail trims. Although she is fairly forward and is very sweet when she wants to be, we have not put her up for adoption because she is very willing to bite if you try to pick her up.
Cordelia
Domestic longhair, Brown Tabby with white, 2 years, spayed female.
Cordie was the last cat rescued from the hoarder, so she has had the least amount of time in foster care so far. She’s a bit of a funny duck. When she’s at the vet she is very docile. I was able to put her on her back like a baby and kiss her head. I thought she was going to be very easy to handle … until I got her home. I started out by having her in a folding wire pen in the foster room while she recovered from her spay and was re-acquainted with the other cats. When she was in the cage, she was incredibly aggressive. She would lunge at me and it was very difficult to even get food or water into her at first. Once I let her out, she turned into a scaredy cat. If I’m in the foster room, she is usually hiding. On occasion, she’ll be brave and will come out for food (or just not run away when I enter) but those days are very rare (although they are becoming more frequent). Most of the time, I don’t see her. Despite this, I feel like Cordie is simply a traumatized cat with really great potential. There is something about her that is really sweet and innocent, she’s just very fearful. I really think at some point she’s going to make a breakthrough and will learn to enjoy human touch. However, if you reach for her now, she will get you!
Athens
Domestic shorthair, Black & white, 7 years, spayed female.
Athens is the oldest cat that we took from this hoarder. She is a nervous girl but she’s not been aggressive at all. She will stay just out of reach, and likes high places. If you get too close to Athens she will hiss and then run to hide; she has never struck out at me. Athens has been with us the longest and is absolutely no trouble at all. She just does her own thing and has no interest in being handled by people. She would really love to spend time outside. Athens doesn’t show aggression, but you can see that she just isn’t interested in spending time with people. She was for adoption previously and was in a foster-to-adopt home, but she spent as much time away from people as she could. It was just obvious that she does not enjoy human affection or attention and would prefer to be on her own (with kitty friends).
Amiga
Domestic shorthair, Black & white, 2 years, spayed female.
Amiga is a very sweet but shy cat. She is adoptable to the right home (and she’s been on the rescue’s website for a while but with no inquiries). However, she will be more interested in providing companionship to another cat than being cuddly with a human. Amiga tends to keep to herself and spends time in her safe hidey holes. She can be pet once or twice while she’s eating and has never shown aggression. She is a sweet cat who will do well with the right environment and the right people. We know that Amiga is terrified of dogs.
Chiquita
Domestic shorthair, Grey tabby, 2 years, spayed female.
Like Amiga, Chiquita is a very sweet but shy cat. She is adoptable to the right home (and she’s been on the rescue’s website for a while but with no inquiries.) However, she will be more interested in providing companionship to another cat than being cuddly with a human. (I know this is a repeat of what I said about Amiga, but it is also true for Chiquita.) Chiquita is more social than Amiga is. She is often out and about and will sit near you, but is leery of being pet. She will allow some people to pet her and I think would be very adoptable to the right home. She will sit right next to me or in front of me and purr, she just prefers to stay slightly out of reach. She has never shown aggression but if she’s at the vet she will turn into a popcorn, bouncy cat as she panics to get away. Chiquita has a “squinty” eye, which has been examined by the vet many times. We actually thought it was entropion originally, and scheduled her for surgery to repair it. However, it was actually determined that there was an injury to the muscles of the upper eyelid that causes the eyelid to droop. It does not bother her (there has never been any redness or discharge and she doesn’t rub it), she has no entropion, she does not need any treatment and her vision is not affected. We know that Chiquita, like Amiga, is terrified of dogs.
Pearl
Domestic shorthair, Grey & white, 2 years, spayed female.
Pearl is very nervous of people but has never shown aggression. If she is cornered and has no choice, you can pet her and she allows it. However, if she has the choice to move away from you when you try to pet her, she will. She has always been really shy and keeps to herself. She enjoys the company of other cats and is always hanging out with her friends, Amiga & Chiquita. She actually helped communally raise & nurse Chiquita & Amiga’s babies (the 3 adults all raised the 2 litters together as they were born 5 days apart.) Pearl has been listed for adoption and would do well in a patient household where she has other cats to be her friends. It’s difficult to tell if she’ll ever learn to enjoy handling. She hasn’t had any inquiries due to her shy nature.
Devon
Domestic shorthair, Dilute Calico, 12 months, spayed female.
We believe that Devon is Cordelia’s baby. She was born outside, so was feral when we got her. This entire litter has been in foster care with a few different people who are very experienced with ferals and they have taken an exceptionally long time to come around. Devon will now approach and take treats or Churu from her favourite 2 people. There are a few people who she really likes and will roll around, purr, and get pets from them. However, if she sees anyone other than those people, she’s gone. She will hide and you can’t find her (even in a small room). If you try to pick her up, she will panic and bolt. If anyone other than her 2 favourite people are around and you try to approach her, she will act like a feral cat and popcorn around the room. She could be adopted into the right home, as long as there are other pets there. Interestingly, she really loves the foster dog. She will eventually come around and will be great with “her people” but it will take her a very long time (maybe 6 months) to start to come out of hiding and seek out human affection from new people.
Tempest
Domestic shorthair, Brown tabby, 12 months, spayed female.
Tempest is Cordelia’s baby and Devon/Calamity’s sister. Like Devon, she was born outside, so was feral when we got her. This entire litter has been in foster care with a few different people who are very experienced with ferals and they have taken an exceptionally long time to come around. Tempest has been the slowest to come around out of all the litter. She will now come out of hiding if we’re in the room and will sit and watch from a distance. She is not comfortable being touched. If she sees anyone other than the 2 people she knows well, she will hide. If you try to pick her up, she will panic and bolt. Like her sibs, if anyone other than her 2 people are around, she will act like a feral cat and popcorn around the room. She is very willing to bite! If she’s in a carrier or hidey house and you reach for her, she will allow you to pet her. She will only bite if you grab her or she’s in panic mode.
Calamity
Domestic shorthair, Tortoiseshell tabby, 12 months, spayed female.
Calamity is Cordelia’s baby and Devon/Tempest’s sister. This entire feral litter has been in foster care with a few different people who are very experienced with ferals and they have taken an exceptionally long time to come around. Calamity is the “middle child” in terms of behaviour. She comes up to us sometimes but for the most part keeps her distance. However, if she’s in the mood and treats are out, she will allow some petting. Sometimes she even purrs, but it’s not a guarantee. If she sees anyone other than her two people, she will hide. If you try to pick her up, she will panic and bolt. If she is around anyone other than her favourite people, she will act like a feral cat and popcorn around the room. She is very willing to bite! Like her sibs, if she’s in a carrier or hidey house and you reach for her she will allow you to pet her. She will only bite if you grab her or she’s in panic mode.
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These snapshots of 11 special cats are an intro to the personalities you will probably see soon at the RAPS Cat Sanctuary.
Your support makes it possible for us to save animals like this and provide a forever home – either with a family (after a time of fostering) or at the Sanctuary, our “Kitty Club Med.”
Please give if you are able.
