Photos historiques du Sanctuaire des chats
Et encore un message de Brian Caines qui revient avec de nouvelles photos de chez René (scan par Hélène). C'était vraiment une époque que je n'ai pas connue. J'étais arrivé aux alentours de 2000 et il n'y avait déjà plus de chatons.
Hello All:
When I last visited Rene I borrowed a few more historic photographs from his wonderful collection which I attach for your enjoyment. Thanks to Helene for scanning them.
Cheers,
Brian
Cat Sanctuary 1988 I can't remember who sent me these photos. Do you??
Blanchette and kittens: Before 1998 (circa 1988?) Photographer unknown
Kittens circa 1988 (The photo paper has ad for the Olympics games-definitely not Montreal or Vancouver. I deduce Calgary.) Photographer unknown
Ti-Gris as young cat ??????? Date/photographer unknown
PomPom 1996 (photo Rudi Haas)
Rene & Blackie Fall 1997 (RH)
Blackie Fall 1997 (RH)
Les chats du Parlement dans Le Devoir
En fouillant un peu, j'ai trouvé cette article publié dans le journal Le Devoir. Avec une inévitable photo de Fluffy. ;)
Journée du 7 juin 2011 - deuxième partie
Cette partie est surtout consacrée à montrer l'étât des lieux. À première vue, la place parait mieux aéré et ensoleillé. Par contre, la fameuse branche où se réunissait les pigeons a disparu. Cette branche qui passait par-dessus la clôture à fait le malheur de plus d'un imprudent. Il faudra m'expliquer ce phénomène. Pourquoi les pigeons choisissaient toujours cette branche qui n'était pas plus ou moins bien que la multitude d'autres sur place?
L'énorme arbre, qui abritait cette fameuse branche, servait aussi beaucoup d'endroit de repos pour les raton-laveurs.
Du côté gauche, le canon de midi à disparu. Il a été déplacé car toute cette partie sera rénové et consolidé. L'endroit s'enfonçait.. En fait, on dit que c'est toute la colline qui s'enfonce.
C'est rare, mais il y a encore des moineaux sur place. Bien que très tolérant, les chats courent toujours instinctivement après les moineaux et les lièvres. C'est pour cette raison qu'ils sont plus visibles devant le Parlement.
Sparky/Spot en train de voler la nourriture placée pour le raton-laveur devant lui... Observez bien!
Journée du 7 juin 2011 - première partie
Je suis retournée au Sanctuaire du chats pour les besoins d'un reportage pour la radio de Radio-Canada. La journée bénéficiait d'un temps parfait. J'ai pu apercevoir que les dégâts des deux dernières tempêtes avaient été nettoyées. Les arbres et les branches arrachés ont été coupés. Cet émondage a rendu la place plus espacé mais elle a perdu en ombrages.
Bugsy est un des chats qui me connaissent le moins mais il est quand même assez sociable.
Max en action.
Fluffy avec tout son poil. On se demande s'il faut encore le raser cet été.
Bébé, toujours autant attirée par mes Temptations et mon sac.
Une des deux mères raton-laveurs qui mangent régulièrement au Sanctuaire. Elles n'y amènent pas encore leur famille mais cela devrait être pour bientôt!
Photos historiques, dernière partie
Hello All:
The last of the historic hotographs including those that Rene's daughter has collected for him.
Have a good weekend,
Brian
Big Mama and Blanchette. Fall 1999. Photographer unknown. Note that Big Mama's ear is not yet frostbitten.
Blanchette and The Kid. Undated but before 2003. Photographer Rudi Haas (RH) Blanchette, like Bebe, loved a lap and The Kid would could lie on the bench for hours having his belly rubbed. He and I were great pals. 
Cardinal in berry bush. 1997 RH. 
Coco, PomPom and Brunette. Undated. Photographer unknown. 
Intimate moment with Fluffy, Blackie and Blanchette. Fall, 2000 Photographer unknown. 
Orange cat in tree with pigeons. RH 1997 There used to be a lot of pigeons, as well as gulls, at the sanctuary in the early years. Rene fed them any left over dried food and the birds spread the word. Public Works asked that he no longer feed them. The gulls were especially loud and aggressive and they bothered the Hill visitors and regulars. 
Rene and Brian. RH 1996 When I first started visiting the cat colony there were a number of cats that Rene had named after politicians. This photograph shows Brian (how did I ever forget about him?) who Rene said was the father to a number of the cats. He was named after Brian Mulroney. There was also a Joe (Clark) and a Ti-Gars (Jean Chretien), although I do not remember what they looked like nor what happened to them. 
Rene and kittens. March 1994 Photographer unknown.
Rene & the gang. Early 1990s. RH. I remember Rene being surrounded by his favourites when he arrived at the sanctuary each lunch-time. They came out to greet him and they waited to be petted. The calico in front is LaPune and the orange cat lying on the ground behind Rene is The Kid. I believe it is Brian at his side with Coco in front (or vice versa!).
Rene and Charlie. Undated. Photographer unknown. Rene loved the squirrels and the squirrels loved Rene. He named all the squirrels, ground hogs and raccoons "Charlie" because he couldn't tell one from the other.
Sanctuary Winter 1990-91 Undated. Photographer unknown.
The gang with a raccoon. Undated RH Klaus: Do you remember the name of the black and white kitten on the platform??
The gang with Silver. Undated RH Silver (in the foreground) was Number 1's daughter who was stolen. 
Ti-Mine May 2000. Ti-Mine was abandoned at the sanctuary as a kitten around 1998. She was a lovely cat with a sweet temperament, quite like Bebe. She wasone of Rene's favourites. In early 2000 she began to lose control of her back legs. Lammert and I took her in but her condition became much more serious and after consulting an AVAH vet we had to put her to sleep. It broke our hearts; we grew so attached to her. We loved to sit in the back garden with her where she enjoyed lying in the warm spring sun. We miss her still.
Et one more time
Je commence en à venir à bout.;)
Hello All:
More old photographs of the gang. I have provided as much information as possible. There are more photos to follow.
Enjoy,
Brian
PS. I have changed the year on the historic photos of the sanctuary before the construction of the condos from Sanctuary Before 1997 to Before 1998. As the condos were built in the Fall of 1997, it is possible that some of the photographs were taken in 1997. Pedantic I know.....!
Blackie sitting on storage bin with Blanchette and her son Brownie outside. No date, but before 2003 when she disappeared (I believe stolen) from the sanctuary.
Cardinal at sanctuary. No date. No photographer identified.
Old shelters. Photo taken by Rudi Haas (RH) before 1998.
Cedar waxwing at sanctuary. No date. No photographer identified.
Lulu. 1996 Photo taken by RH
Reds and raccoons at the old shelters. Photo taken by RH before 1998. 
Rene and kitten. No date. Photo by RH.
Rene checking Blanchette. No date but taken before her 2003 disappearance. Photo by RH.
A series of photos of the Whites taken in the fall of 2002. The third white kitten is in the background at the left in photo 11-look closely. Photo 8 by RH. Others unidentified.
The gang. No date. Photographer unidentified.
Sweetheart and offspring. Photo taken December 1996. Photographer unidentified.
TiGris (?) and Monty (?) in bin. January 1997 Photographer unidentified.
Tigris February 1999 Photo by RH.
Ti-Gris playing. No date. Photo by RH.
Encore des photos historiques
Et encore via Brian Caines. ;)
Hello All:
Ten more photographs of the sanctuary taken by Rudi Haas, a regular visitor to the sanctuary in year's past and a good friend of Rene's. He gave me a group of pictures a few years ago which I promptly misplaced. I found them a few weeks ago while looking for something else.
This one seems to have been taken before the structures were constructed as they are not visible. I hope the unidentified orange in the foreground caught a pigeon!
CoCo looking out from one of the sleeping boxes. Before 1997
Ebony (in foreground) and Number 1, her mother. (Rene had forgotten why her gave her that name.) Number 1 was chased from the colony before I started visiting. She lived in the plinth of the Queen Victoria statue. She was very skittish and would often hide. But eventually she would stick her head out from behind the lion so I could feed her treats which she loved. Rene and I caught her by mistake; she went into a carrier that we had set up to catch another cat. I was able to take her to AVAH right away to be fixed; just in time as the vet said that she would not have been able to survive another pregnancy. Trying to get her back into the carrier two days after her operation was a nightmare. She flew about the small cage holding room like a banshee. Luckily I had the top-loading carrier. She jumped into by mistake and I was nimble enough to close it with my foot. (For once I was not my normal klutz-self.) A few years after being spayed, she disappeared. I have a feeling in years to come, some archaeologist will find her skeleton in the remains of the statue.Ebony and two sisters were Number 1's last litter. I believe Silver was stolen; her sister (name forgotten) was quite feral. She was injured and wandered away to die. (We were unable to catch her, not for lack of trying. Sometimes animals can be their own worst enemies.) Lammert and I adopted Ebony in 2001.
Another of Rudi's photos of the gang being feed. Taken in 1996.
Prince and Sweetheart
Princess, a female orange. She was shy but she had her favourites. I was not one of them!!
A lovely photo of Rene. This is how I like to remember him at the sanctuary.
The Dowagers (left to right) Blanchette, La Pune, Princess, Big Mama, an unidentified calico (there were so many of them!)
The Dowagers 2: Another unidentified calico, Blanchette and a very young Ti-Gris.
La piece de resistance! A photo of Brownie (and Ti-Gris?) taken in the early 1998 by Heather Ross for Centretown News to accompany an article on the sanctuary in the February 6, 1998 edition. The story is still on-line but the photograph is not on their site, unfortunately. The quality is quite poor as I made a photocopy of the newsprint photograph before having it cropped and scanned. But it is still beautiful.
There are a few more photos to scan and send. Later. Have a good weekend,
L'histoire des condos à chats
Message de Brian Caines
The cat condos were built by Maurice Gulka and René in the fall of 1997. The design was based on the Parliament buildings (I am surprised at the number of visitors who make the connection) although the planned "peace tower" was never built. I have no idea why they choose pink as the colour to paint the condos. I am amazed at how well the condos have stood up to the elements although they have certainly reached their "Best By" date. René entered into a formal agreement with Public Works allowing him to care for the cat colony after the construction was completed in late fall, 1997 . The attached photos are from a group of over 30 were taken by M. Gulka during the building of the shelters. They were scanned by Daniel T, one of the Caregivers.
The cat sanctuary; shortly before construction. It gives a good view of the "lay of the land".
Many of the original cat structures were taken away just before the building began, but a couple were left so the cats could have shelter during construction. This is a photo of the last remaining original structure at the sanctuary. It is still located where this photograph was taken; next to the fence, just to the west of the walkway to the condos. Although it on its last legs a few cats still will still use it during the summer months. 
The construction including photos of René and Maurice.
Suite....
The Oranges, Winter 1996 (Don't they look alike?)
The Kid, circa 2000. The Kid disappeared not too long before the White Mother had her four kittens. Rene started to call the red kitten, Kid, so we added Junior to his name to distinguish the two.
Blanchette, circa 1988. She's almost the reverse of Brownie. Brownie had a twin brother who was adopted by a construction worker.
Rene and an unidentified calico kitten, July 1996
Rene and Bebe, Fall 2001; soon after she was abandoned on the Hill. Rene loved her so much I did not even suggest taking her to the OHS for adoption!
D'autres photos historiques
Un autre message de Brian Caines. Quant à moi, je ne vais quasiment plus voir les chats du Parlement. À chaque fois cela me déprime de voir mes amis félin partir l'un après l'autre.
Hello All:
A few more historic photographs for your viewing pleasure. This group were taken about the time I started visiting the sanctuary in the early 90s, but before I started helping Rene. He was in excellent health at the time so we chatted while he fed and cared for the gang. There were close to 30 cats, Rene always said "twenty-eight"; many of them were very shy so I would only see them fleetingly. The condos were not built until a few years later. At that time the cats lived in small wooden stand-alone shelters that were scattered among bushes where the platform now stands. The last of these shelters is just to the west of the platform walkway. The photos of the original structures will be sent later.
During the winter, Rene often fed the cats on mats on the walkway as it often was quite treacherous on the sanctuary side of the fence. They don't call it Parliament Hill for nothin'!!. Most of the toms were orange (as were one or two of the queens) and many of the other females were either dark calicos or tortoise shells. The only cat born at the sanctuary that continue to live there are Brownie and Ti-Gris, all the others have gone to kitty heaven.
There are a few cats in the photographs whose names I have forgotten, or never knew. However, The Kid my favourite, is in a few of the snaps as are some of the other orange cats, CoCo, Prince, Princess and the black tortoise/calicos; LouLou, PomPom, LaPune, LaPatte and dear Brunette. It seems that most of the cats and certainly the gals were related but I never could figure out the family tree! I have also attached a lovely photo of Blanchette, Brownie's mother, as a young cat. It was taken before I started visiting the Hill. She was somewhat roly-poly when I first met her and, like Brownie, she loved a warm lap. She was a favourite of all the visitors and she disappeared in 2003; stolen I think.
And lastly, two photos of Rene that will put a smile on your faces. He loved calicos.
Brian
PS: Where there is a definite date (eg. Winter, 2006) the date was taken from the photograph. When there is a "circa" I have estimated the time the photo was taken
CoCo, July 20, 2004
LouLou, circa 2000
PomPom, La Pune, Princess and others, Winter 1996
Rene and CoCo, circa 2000
The Gang, 1996 (That's how I often remember them.)
Les quatre chats blancs
Un autre message de Brian Caines. Je dois en avoir encore deux ou trois en réserve/retard. Celui-ci conserne les chats blancs. Beaucoup d'entre nous ne se sont apperçus que les trois chats blancs étaient en fait quatre. En passant, si vous avez aussi des documents inédits sur les chats du Parlement, je peux les passer sur ce blogue.
Hello All:
Rene's daughter made up three albums for him; two of which are of photographs of the Cats of the Hill over the years; many I remember, some I do not. I borrowed 27 of them and I had them scanned to a DVD. I will be emailing them to you over the next while, starting with this group of the White Mother and her four lovely (and much-loved) offspring. I am sending these photos of the Whites first since the White Mother has so recently left us. One of the photographs has the notation "taken 2002" and that seems to be about right.
Unfortunately, the only photo of the White Mother, Thumbi, Six Toes, Snowball and Kid Junior together is somewhat blurred. But it is still lovely. The white kittens are wearing collars in two of the photos. I put a collar on a kitten after she was spayed so I could tell "fixed" from "unfixed". I soon learned the collars posed a hazard outdoors so I removed them and began marking the fixed kittens with a blue marker. It worked, but I had to keep marking them. After three or four days they cleaned the mark off and I had to catch the kitten to do it again. Such fun. I vowed that if there were more kittens I would have their ears clipped after being fixed. There were no more kittens born at the sanctuary thanks to AVAH.
Six Toes and Snowball
Kid Junior and Thumbi
Two Whites and some of the gang. Recognize any?
Rene and the family
Cheers,
Brian
Bien avant mon arrivée
Ces photos (provenant d'un courriel de Brian Caines) dâte de bien avant ma découverte des chats du Parlement. À L'époque, il n'y avait pas les petites maisons en bois bien solides de maintenant. En voyant ces images, je m'emnuie de Tiger et de son habitude de se faire les griffes sur ma jambe droite.
Hello All:
The cat condos were built in the fall of 1997 by René and Maurice Gulk who volunteered to help him. Two of these photos were identified as being taken in 1995. The others were taken before the condo construction. Unfortunately, the photos not have any date so I have identified them as pre-1997.
Coco: Sanctuary before 1997
I believe it is Brunette eating with LaPune (the mother of most, if not all, the calicos) walking in the background. Before 1997
The orange and the calicos waiting to be fed . All related? Sanctuary before 1997
The orange and the calicos enjoying a meal. Sanctuary before 1997
René and Princess ". I thought She often resembled a teddy bear. Sanctuary before 1997
"Buddhist Shrine". Sanctuary before 1997 One day in the mid 1990s I was sitting on the bench when a visitor came over to speak to me before visiting the cats. He asked if it was a Buddhist shire in the bushes. He thought that the ornaments hanging in the trees were Tibetan prayer flags!
Unidentified orange cats Before 1997
The tigers. Definitely taken before I started visiting the sanctuary, beginning in 1993 or thereabouts. . I cannot remember these fellows at all. And I would; orange cats are my favourite variety.
René at work. Pre-1997
René sporting his disco shirt. Polyeste.> Gotta love it. Definitely Pre-1997
A view of the compound from the rear. Photo taken by M. Gulka in 1997, just before construction
Summer 1995: Lulu, The Kid (that's my boy!!), PomPom (background) unidentified (foreground)
Winter 1995: Coco in foreground
More photos to follow.
Mise à jour avec un mois de retard
Première d'une série de plusieurs photos et textes anglais de Brian Caines. Ce premier texte donne une idée de la situation actuelle aux Chats du Parlement. Pour ma part, j'y suis de plus en plus rarement à cause de mon emploi, et le fait que la majorité des chats qui me connaissaient ne sont plus là.
Hello All:
The twenty-ten year-end update on the cats. Some good news and some sad. There has been a slow reduction in the number of cats residing at the Hill sanctuary. When I first began helping Rene, the now-retired Catman of the Hill, there were over 30 cats in the colony. Thanks to the on-going support by Alta Vista Animal Hospital (AVAH), the numbers began to slowly decrease. (The impact of a spay and neutering program is amazing.) For the last few years, the colony remained stable with no more than a dozen happy cats at one time. However since my July 2010 update we lost four cats:
Lewis was the first to leave. He had been abandoned at the sanctuary the previous winter, and because he integrated before we could catch him we decided he could stay. He loved climbing trees. One August morning while Laura and I were feeding the gang, Lewis climbed onto a branch just above us, lost his balance and while falling, broke his hind leg after it hit the overhang. We rushed him to the emergency at AVAH, and after treatment, Laura took him home. Since he was able to get out of a number of casts, his vet attached a fixator, a steel bar that was 'fixed' to his leg by 6 screws drilled into the bone. That did the trick. While he convalesced he and Laura bonded and he decided to stay and enjoy an easy indoor life. Which he does!
Photo 1: Lewis sporting his first cast.
Blackie, the oldest sanctuary cat, was also adopted in August. As he aged, he required more medical care which became increasingly difficult to provide effectively outdoors. In addition, we worried about his living at the sanctuary during another long, cold Ottawa winter. As a result, Leyla asked to adopt him. Even though he spent his life on the Hill, he quickly became a house cat, and he’s now the lord of the manor.
Photo 2: Blackie relaxing on a duvet on his first day as a house cat.
Sadly, the White Mother (WM) was killed on November 1, the day the Caregivers and the Alta Vista team got together for the vaccination of the colony. What started out as favourite annual group activity turned into a calamity.
The WM was killed by an off-leash dog. She was sitting on a stone wall enjoying the sun as the dog rounded the corner, with its owner nowhere in sight. As she facing in the opposite direction and because she was becoming deaf, she neither saw or heard him. The dog attacked before anyone could react. She died immediately. We were dumbstruck and horrified.
I notified the RCMP immediately. I was later informed by an Ottawa by-law office that this was not the first attack by this dog, and that he was not muzzled as the city had previously ordered. As the attack occurred on federal land the city is unable to lay charges. Although the RCMP do not enforce municipal by-laws, I hope they are able to sanction the irresponsible owner. In the meantime, I understand the dog and owner are barred from the Hill. It was ironic that just before the attack, Lara, the cats’ vet, and I were discussing the WM’s condition. The Caregivers were concerned because of her hearing loss and increasing frailty. We hoped a medical examination would assist in making a decision regarding her care. Sadly, the examination was not to be. Alta Vista Animal Hospital had her body cremated, and on November 28 the group gathered on the Hill to spread the White Mother's ashes on her favourite sun bathing spots around the Hill.
The White Mother was pregnant when abandoned on the Hill in 2002, and she had three white female kittens; Snowball, Thumbelina and Six-Toes, and one orange male tabby, Kid Junior.
Eventually all but the Kid moved from the sanctuary; Thumbelina to the look-out close to the Noon-Day Gun, the other three to a heating vent behind the Library of Parliament. Sébastien rescued Thumbi in December, 2006 during one of the worst snowstorms on record, and adopted her. Six-Toes disappeared, and the White Mother and Snowball remained in the vent where we cared for them. With WM's death we decided that Snowball needed to be adopted as she could no longer live alone, and she was reluctant to return to the sanctuary. Sébastien gladly took her in and he now cares for the WM’s two remaining family members. She and her sister are adjusting to being together but there continues to be a few spats over territory. They’ll work it out. Cats always do.
Photo 3. White Mother and Snowball (in front) at the vent. Photo courtesy of Elephant Mauve Website:www.elephantmauve.com
Photo 4. Some of the Caregivers and AVAH team after the scattering 
And last but not least.... Bugsy, an unfixed male, who was abandoned on the Hill over three years ago has finally integrated with the colony. It was a long process, as he distrusted the Caregivers, and he would often disappear (hide?) for weeks at a time. Gradually, he became less suspicious of us and he began to visit to the sanctuary. Even though he was not welcomed with opened paws by the other cats, he finally decided to stay. We were able to catch him to have him neutered and vaccinated on October 15. This has really helped speed-up his integration. He still can be somewhat aggressive with the volunteers, the result of abuse I believe, but he now allows us to scratch he head which he loves. Success is sweet.
Photo 5: Bugsy after surgery cared for by AVAH technician.
As the remaining cats are getting older, we monitor their health daily. It is a relief to know that they will continue to receive excellent health care. And should there be a crisis, someone will gladly care for them. They are very lucky cats!
Bébé, Brownie, Bugsy, Coal, Fluffy, Max, Ti-Gris, Spot and all the volunteers wish you a Happy New Year.
PS. Best quote by a visitor: Dogs have masters; cats have servants.
Des nouvelles en retard
Très en retard, vu que ce sont des nouvelles de juillet.
Le texte et toutes les photos proviennent de Brian Caines.
ELEPHANT MAUVE:
On July 2, 2010 Andrea and Tom from Elephant Mauve, Montreal visited the Hill to meet the cats. The cats and the humans spent a sunny morning together at the sanctuary discussing whether the Canada Day (July 1) fireworks have any negative affects on the felines. You can read about the visit on the link below. When you scroll down to the bottom of the page you will find portraits that Tom took of the gang. If you click on the word gallery in the text you'll be taken to even more photographs. The video is quite informative although I agree with my partner when he says that Laura and I sound like a nattering long-married couple!
http://www.elephantmauve.com/julyaugust-2010.html
Our thanks to Andrea and Tom.
CATS OF THE HILL ON JAPANESE TV:
On July 16 Laura and I met with a 4-person Japanese TV crew and their escort/translator from Sekai Fushigi Hakken Television. The group produces a entertainment/academic quiz show that has been shown for the past 20 years, and it's one of Japan’s most popular weekend programs. The working title for the segment they are filming in Canada is “Europe Across an Ocean” and it will feature European-influenced parts of Canada. During their Ottawa stay they visited the the Parliament Buildings and the cat sanctuary as well as the Rideau Canal. Da puddies are in good company. The program is also filming in the Ontario wine country (and Niagara Falls, of course), Toronto and Kingston as well as Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax and Lunenburg. Surprisingly, they did not mention Prince Edward Island, although I cannot imagine a Japanese TV show not visiting PEI while in the Maritimes. Especially when the host interviewed me with her hair in pigtails under an Anne of Green Gables straw boater!
They were quite interested in the idea of the cats being used as mousers so I am interested in how the program will approach the question. In addition to requesting a DVD of the show, I asked to be advised when they upload the episode to their site as I'll never know from looking at their web-site:
http://www.tvu.co.jp/
FLUFFY IS NO LONGER FLUFFY:
As of July 29, Fluffy is back on the Hill after an adventure not of his making. Last week Laura and I decided to groom the old boy as he was somewhat unkempt. When I tried to comb out a large knot I pulled off some skin. YIKES! We treated him with antiseptic cream, but because the wound was not healing as quickly as we had hoped, we took him to Alta Vista Animal Hospital to be examined by Lara, his vet. While examining him, she found that his teeth were in terrible shape, so she decided that while under anaesthetic she could kill three birds with one stone; he had dental surgery, his wound was sutured, and he was completely shaved.
After spending a few days at the hospital (spa??) where he charmed everyone, he returned to the Hill. He is doing well. I have noticed over the years that Fluffy and Brownie are the most photographed Cats of the Hill. I believe that Fluffy will take the lead because of his new look.
Photo 1. Before: Fluffy fluffy: Fall 2009
Photo 2. During: Fluffy and Chantal, AVAH
Photo 3. After: Fluffy no longer fluffy 
Nettoyage de mai 2010
Un texte et des photos de Brian Caines, reproduites avec sa permission, décrivant le nettoyage ayant eu lieu en mai et juin.
Hello All:
The cats made it through a relatively mild winter (for Ottawa) with flying colours (and no frostbite), and the Caregivers didn't fare much worse. With every spring, the group gets together to change the straw in the condos, scrub them down for painting, general repair work and clean the area around the compound. I am always amazed at the debris that accumulates over the winter. Where does it come from?? I often think of a saying from my Newfoundland childhood: In the fall you throw a hub cap in the ditch and come spring you'll have a brand new car wreck! That just about sums it up.
Daniel P., our resident builder, came with his crowbar to take apart two of the stand-alone condos that were donated to the sanctuary a number of years ago. They didn't stand up to elements very well, and although the cats did use them from time-to-time we thought it best that they be removed. Now they are gone the cats are quite happy to have the extra space on the platform. Brownie had to make a bit of an adjustment to their disappearance. Normally, he would jump from the platform to the stand-alone condos to the overhang where we would put out the food. Without the condos, he could no longer jump directly to the overhang, and he had to wait for us to put the food down for him. The wait was unacceptable. He soon figured out how to get to the food more quickly by climbing a near-by tree to the overhang. The big lug will do anything to avoid exercise!
The permanent condos have just about reached their "Best By" date. Last year, Daniel P. added additional wood to the bottom of the two front condo structures because of rot; and this year he did the same with the back condo. With any luck that should slow down the deterioration of the structures.
We also scattered the ashes of Brunette, the dowager of the colony, who we had put to sleep late last fall. They were placed under the walkway where she liked to hang out. She not only felt safe there, but she was also in a good spot to watch all the activities going on around her. It was a sad moment as we all miss the old girl.
Cheryl and Suzanne, two Montreal fans of the cats were in town recently for the Ottawa Race Weekend, and they joined us for the morning. They both ran the marathon early Sunday and they both made it across the finish line. Congratulations. As we didn't have the time to paint the condos after the clean-up (three hours of work was enough), Laura and I got together on June 4 to complete that task. Nice and easy.
Clean-up: Abigail, Brian, Cheryl, Daniel P., Daniel T., Klaus, Lara, Leyla, Lia, Lorraine, Suzanne and Sally (MIA: Helene and Laura)
Cheers,
Brian
Si vous avez d'autres photos et textes inédits sur les chats, ce blog peut être intéressé à les montrer.
À bientôt!