The Cats of Parliament Hill Blog
by
Klaus J. Gerken
Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, North America, Planet Earth,
the Sol Planetary system, the "Milky Way" Galaxy, the Local cluster of Galaxies,
the Universe, and whatever is beyond or ever was before.
Latest update: Saturday 18 July 2009
Preamble
IMPORTANT NOTICES
31 December 2010: I have posted an update on the cats by Brian Caines.
18 July 2009: Since I am updating this blog so rarely these days, if anyone
would like to be put on a mailing list advising of updates, just send an
email to kgerken@synapse,net with the subject: "CPH ML add" and I will do so.
*
Please under no circumstances abandon cats or kittens on the Hill or by the
Cat Sanctuary. The cats will not readily accept newcomers and for the most
part chase them away. Nor is it a given new cats will find the Sanctuary in
search of shelter and food. Most abandoned cats are very disorientated and
will just randomly wander off finding starvation and death - especially in the
winter. If you can no longer care for your cat, please take her to the Humane
Society where she can be well taken care of and put up for adoption. This is
what we do for any abandoned cat we find. And it causes us great grief when we
cannot capture one - which happens way too often. And if you give kittens as
a gift for Christmas, ensure the person or the household you give them to can
provide for them. If not, then you should reconsider your priorities. No
kitten deserves to be abandoned like an unwanted toy. Owning a pet is a
serious responsibiliy. If you don't share that feeling, you shouldn't own a
pet. It's as simple as that. Abandoning your pet is a criminal offence with
up to 2 years in jail. Perhaps you who would be so callous should think about
that. Treat your pets well, and they will reward you with unconditional love
for the rest of their lives. Should we all care so much as they care for us.
Klaus J. Gerken
Before you abandon a pet you can no longer care for, please contact these
organizations:
Previous logs are available at the Library and Archives Canada:
All photographs by Klaus J. Gerken unless otherwise stated.
Comments are always welcome:
Please send any comments to kgerken@synapse.net
(We reserve the right to publish any comments on this blog).
Invitation
I would like to invite anyone who has recollections or photographs of the
colony before the present condos were built; especially any recollections
or photographs of Irene Desormeaux before Rene Chartrand took over caring
for the cats, or even prior to that, to send them to kgerken@synapse.net .
We are trying to establish a definitive history of the cat colony for a book
to be published in the next year or so.
A Brief History of the Cats of Parliament Hill
There is a story that Colonel By brought hundreds of cats
with him when he built the Rideau Canal in 1826, to take care
of the rodent population, but unfortunately that cannot be
confirmed. What can be confirmed is that cats were employed
in the Parliament Building (as in many other building) as pest
control until 1955 when they were replaced by chemicals. Until
1970 ground keepers fed the cats in various locations, when
Irene Desormeaux began feeding the cats where the existing
colony now resides. Rene Chartrand began helping her in the
mid-nineteen eighties and began building some wooden structures
(some of which can still be seen) for the cats to keep warm in.
In 1987 when Irene passed on to take care of stray cats in a
greater colony beyond this world, Rene took over and loyally
fed the cats to this day. In 1997 Rene and a friend built the
existing structures. Brian Caines began helping about that time,
and I began helping out in 2003. That year brian and I decided
to put together a support team to ensure that Rene would be ok
(he's in his mid-eighties now) and that the cats would always
be well provided for. We now have a team of eight caregivers
who volunteer their time to this amazing cause.
*
The cast of characters:
Irene Desormeaux (Who started it all in the 1970's)
Rene Chartrand (Who took over when Irene passed on in 1987 and maintained
the colony till he retired November 2008 -- he built the
shelters in 1997.)
The Volunteers (in alphabetical order):
Lia Alfonsi
Ben Asselstine
Sebastien Badour
Kathryn Bunn
Brian Caines
Leyla Di Cori
Heather Ferguson
Klaus Gerken
Laura Jaremkow
Lorraine Milobar
Helene Pomerleau
Sally Sax
& Christ Oliver - Author of "Fish Lecan, Maria Dorfinkley et les Chats de la
Colline du Parlement" and the blog below:
The Alta Vista Animal Hospital (For medical care).
Purina for cat food.
And a host of many others.
And the cats:
Current residents:
The white mother and her brood:
Snowball (AKA Six Toes - lives with the white mother on the east side of the Hill)
Blackie
Fluffy
Brownie
Brunette
Ti-gris
Bebe (Integrated 2000)
Bruno (2003/4 - adopted by myself Feb 2004 - and flourishing)
Spot (Integrated 2004)
Max (Integrated 2005)
Past Residents:
*Coco (RIP 2005)
*LePune (Lost 2003 and perhaps sister to Brunette and Lulu)
*Big Mama (RIP 1985? to 2006)
*Thumbelina (Adopted by Sebastien Bador 2008)
*Kid Jr (lost 2006)
*Blanchette (lost in 2003)
*Lulu (lost 2004 and sister to Brunette)
*Smokey and her three kittens living in the West Block ( put up for adoption
fall 2004 because they could not integrate, no matter how much Smokey tried)
*Monty (lost 2004)
*The black and white we never got to name who only stayed a month (summer 2004)
*Samantha (Lost Nov 2004)
*Shadow (Integrated 2005 - but probably there earlier and the father of
Smokey's kittens)) - Put up for adoption March 2008 because of special
medical needs
*Penelope (Abandoned Christmas 2005 - taken to the Humane Society Feb 2006)
*Lillian-Wentworth (Integrated 2007 - Believed stolen from the colony Spring 2008))
*Phoebe (The new white - taken to the HS by Brian and Laura 18 June 2007)
*Hero (15 years old - abandoned - taken to the HS for adoption)
*Mike the cabbie (Abandoned July 2007 - Named by Joanne Stanbridge) - Taken
to the Humane Society 24 July 2005.
*Great Tiger (abandoned in the heaviest snowfall of the winter - rescued
by Laura and taken to the Humane Society for adoption - March 2008)
Bugsy (Betsy) (2008) Hangs out with the whites.
And so many others who just walk in and out or are adopted when we can catch them.
The Blog
December 31 2010
Year end update.
From Brian Caines:
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.
Lewis sporting his first cast.
Blackie relaxing on a duvet on his first day as a house cat.
White Mother and Snowball (in front) at the vent. Photo courtesy of Elephant Mauve Website: www.elephantmauve.com
Some of the Caregivers and AVAH team after the scattering.
Bugsy after surgery cared for by AVAH technician.
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