Persian Rescue
Gallery
Persians come to us for a variety of reasons .......... Abandoned, cruelty, abuse and neglect, or just down to a change of circumstances.
With some tender loving care and our Vets expertise , where possible they are brought back to good health
and are re socialised/re habilitated and found loving new homes.
We have had some very sad cases, including a cat shot with an air gun because she got pregnant, a cat tied up in a plastic bag and dumped in a skip,
a cat that was kicked and beaten (and will have a permanent back injury)
She has 'fallen on her feet'
as the person who found her and brought her to us is going to be her new 'mum' once she is well enough to be rehomed .
CHILLY'S STORY
Chilly arrived after a phone call from another rescue.
He had been living life in a barn/shed
with little or no human contact and I was told he was viscious and nasty.
As you can see from the photo he was matted solid and this is where he lived before coming to us.
I brought him home and straight away lifted him out of the carrier and started to groom out some of the
mats.
He was hand shy and was ducking his head and hissing at me, but not struggling or scratching at all.
I groomed most of his back out and between his ears (that were full of ear mites) and
I opened his mouth and popped in a flea tablet and could see that his mouth was full
of rotten teeth.
We booked him into the vets for a dental and he was on antibiotics for a couple of weeks to help heal
his infected mouth.
He was still like a frightened little rabbit in the headlights, he would hiss and spit every time
you approached him, but once you put your hand on his head he would purr.
I knew that there was a beautiful friendly boy wanting to come out, but was just too frightened to trust me.
It took weeks to gain his trust and then I could pick him up and cuddle him and he would rub
round my legs and be all soppy.
He’s had his vaccinations and been microchipped and now after 10 weeks in our care he’s ready to
go home with Sue to Suffolk.
Sue has cleared her calendar to help him settle in and give him all the T.L.C he needs, and she
is prepared to wait for that fist purr and hopefully things can only get better
for Chilly and his new play mate Dusty (the resident cat) who hopefully
will not have her nose put out too much.
'AROLD
Harold - Elderly Silver Shaded Chinchilla
Late last week I received a call from the P.D.S.A in Leicester to say they had a cream female Persian found as a stray around 5 years old.
I went out tonight to collect her to find that 'she' was a 'he' (neutered) and wasn't cream but a Chinchilla ! :-)
He has had a dematt bless him and he’s a real character.
He’s in need of a dental but is eating for England so looks like I have a new elderly resident.
I think he could be around 14/15 years old and his eyes are cloudy but he doesn’t miss a trick and the teeth he has left need to come out.
I’ve given him the name Harold (Arold Steptoe) because he is scruffy but I think we will have lots of
fun with him because he’s already met my dogs had them all sitting in their beds too worried to move.:-)
He’s strolling around already as if he owns the place !!
I’m going to get him blood tested for Felv /Fiv tomorrow ( 8.12.11) and then let
him meet my cats that should be fun!!!!!!!!!!
''GRIZABELLA's STORY' - as told by ''Quosi Modo'' ;-)
(i.e Patsy with a stiff neck/back who has been sleeping on the sofa with Grizabella for the past 7 days waiting for these babies to arrive !)
Grizabella is a Selkirk Rex variant who came to us with some other cats from a breeder who is sadly about to lose his home
She came in 'pregnant' and among the other cats that came in with her is the possible father ......
but as to ''Who’s the Daddy'' we don't know !! It could be a Selkirk Rex Blue colourpoint (Paddy that we rehomed recently)or a Black Norwegian Forest Cat '' Harry''.
With luck we will know when the kittens are born, as because Grizabella is cream/white if Paddy
is the dad all the kittens will be 'dilute' colours,
but if we get any black/red/tortie (i.e dominant colour kittens) we will know
Harry ( black ) is the Daddy
We have been waiting for a week for these kittens to enter the world. Grizabella is huge and very uncomfortable bless her but still PREGNANT !!!!!!!
I have spent every night on the settee with her since last Tuesday and she is
lying spread out on my windowsill in the lounge all fat and content !
I get comfortable on the sofa and she is fast asleep and within minutes. Then she is up and down in and out of her kittening pen scratching up all the bedding, so up I get expecting
her to start to produce ...... but nothing !!!
She is so big and round now , and her kittens have moved down and are all lined up underneath ready to come ...... and still we wait!!
It is the ''not knowing'' when they are due or what we have instore that is frustrating. We have had her scanned and expect 6 kittens but she is lop sided so we think she will have an odd number so 5 or 7 ??.
Monday afternoon (21/11/11)
Sheelagh and I are worried now because a few years ago we had a little girl Chloe that carried 2 litters together at the same
time and her first litter was born premature and her 2nd litter died inside because they weren't born quick enough . Sometimes this happens when a cat is mated
over many days during her season i.e at the beginning and again at the end
(a season can go on for 5-10 days resulting in different sized kittens) and it could even be by 2 different fathers too !
As Grizabella lived with entire males this could be the case so we do not want her to be at any risk at this stage.
We are off to the vets at 2-50pm with her to get her checked just incase.
Keep your fingers crossed because my bed is calling me now but I can’t leave her incase something starts during the night and she may need help or need rushing to the vets.
We will update again later.
Update
We have been to the vets she has been thoroughly checked over and everything is going well .
She has started to dilate and her milk is coming in, she has been scanned and the kittens are full term and nice big babies and her temperature has started to drop, so all this means she is preparing to go into
labour ........ it could happen anytime within the next 24 Hours. (HOPEFULLY)
It’s getting really exciting now but means yet another night on the settee.
UPDATE 23-11-11
Finally the babies have arrived. She had 6 big kittens but one was born dead.
3 x Cream males, 1 x Blue-Cream female, 1 dilute tortie + white female
As all the kittens are dilute it looks like 'Paddy's the daddy' :-)
Bella has now settled down and is washing them - so fingers crossed ;-).
UPDATE 24-11-11
Got up this morning to find another 'blue-cream' girl had been born overnight. She was all cleaned up and in the pile.
Here they are :-)
UPDATE Jan 2012
Grizabella’s (Bella) kittens will be 6 weeks old on Wednesday 4/1/12 ......
where have those weeks gone ????
We had a few worrying moments will them in the beginning and had to bottle feed them,
but once they all got strong enough to ''latch on'' they were off getting fatter every day.
They are all eating solids and all litter trained and are right little monkeys now !! :-)
They are big strong kittens and are like a herd of elephants in jack boots in my spare bedroom !!
Bella has been a fantastic Mum and loves her babies, she has her paws full now though bless her.
They have all got new homes and are ready for viewing, so their new owners can come and meet them all
at the weekend and choose their kittens
 
  
Patsy
SUGARS STORY
Sugar was originally one of 60 cats that were rescued from a house
in Bournemouth,,,,,, here's her story from the day of arrival at Rushden Persian Rescue ......
Sugar
requires surgery on her eye as soon as our vet thinks she is able to withstand the anaesthetic
Update on Sugar ...... 18-9-11
She has spent the day and night in the vets to try and finally get the diarroah under control.
She is now being treated for irritable bowel syndrome and is responding well as we were beginning
to think we would lose her.
She cannot have the operation on her eye or be spayed until we build her up but I think there is
light at the end of the tunnel now and she will soon well enough.
Sugar has the sweetest nature and with twice daily baths and tablets and pastes and all the medications we have given her, she has never once struck out or bitten or scratched us bless her.
She has a lovely home to go to and the lady who is going to adopt her is very understanding of what she is going through. We don’t know yet if she will need cortisone injections and prescription food for life or if once under control it will never happen again but at least she now has a fighting chance and will be a much loved pet.
UPDATE 28-9-11
Finally our little Sugar is well enough to have her surgery . ( scheduled on 3rd Oct)
She will be spayed and also have the remnants of that eye removed because it weeps
constantly and is painful for her .
We have struggled with her and we really felt at one time we would lose her,
but because of our vets determination and our care she has come through.
Her weight is up to 2.47 kg now which is wonderful and she has a very healthy appetite.
We are feeding her I.D at the moment because this is suiting her fine.
She has a real cheeky character and has been ''calling her head off'' for the boys,
so another good sign she is recovering well.
We are very proud of this little girl because it wasn’t pleasant for her being bathed 3 times
a day and being covered in poo at times because she didn’t have strength to get herself
in the litter tray,
but our patience , T.L.C and veterinary care has pulled her through.
I will update again next week hopefully with good news that the surgery is all over.
Once again Thank you for all the kind donations which have helped and will help this special little girl and let’s hope she has a long and happy life in front of her.
DEVASTATING NEWS
Sadly I had to have our little Sugar put to sleep 11/10/11
.
She has been with us 7 weeks and was doing really well , but this afternoon she ''wasn’t right''
and hadn’t eaten which was not her because she loves food, and then a few hours later I found her with a smelly/bloody discharge from her rear end.
I took her to the vets to be told that she had cancer of the gut and her intestines were all breaking down .
I can’t believe after all this time she has died because she sailed through her surgerys,
the eye and spey site had all healed, and she was getting stronger every day.
Sugar was very special and I’m heartbroken because I thought she would live a long and happy life .
NARLA
Narla seal Bi colour Ragdoll 5/6 yrs old
She came to us through our vets and the R.S.P.C.A
After a Road Traffic Accident
she had a very serious fractured leg and needed her leg amputated
immediately, so we have funded her treatment
she had been found lying in a garden in the pouring rain bless her and we don’t know how
long she had been there but was very thin and soaking wet .
She has now used up one of her ''9 lives'' and is fully recovered and gone to her new home
THUNDER & MISSY
We have donated them to Victoria House Residential home in Rushden.
They are very lucky cats because they will be thoroughly spoilt by the residents and staff .
We took them there on Monday (14/3/11)and they were very happy and relaxed
Thursday - Just spoken to Laura at the home and they have settled fine and
are enjoy the attention and are wandering around visiting all the residents .
Update 29-3-11 .... I took Thunder and Missy for their 2 nd
vaccinations today .They have been at the home for almost 3 weeks now and I can’t believe how settled and happy they are. The staff and residents love them to bits.
The staff have had a collection for us and managed to raise £98 to help towards other cats that come into our care. THANK YOU
STEVIE & BEKI
Stevie - Red Silver Tabby longhair and Beki - Red and WhiteTabby
Sadly Stevie was born without eyes .
.
These 2 kittens came in 'together' from another Rescue and cuddle up together, so we found them a LOCAL home as a 'pair' so that they can continue to use 'our vet'
as the Rescue will remain responsible for Stevies veterinary care for the rest of her life.
RAFFLES
Raffles is a cat that we have tried to trap for at least 9 months !!!.... He was a stray .... matted solid and living rough.
With the help of a cat lover we managed to trap him on Monday.(21/2/11)
We took him straight to the vets where he was Felv/FIV tested and thankfully negative, dematted, castrated,had 2 teeth removed and his ears cleaned out because of very bad ear mite problem.
We think he ‘s around 5/6 years old and has been out for at least a year. He’s in a foster home now being treated like a king and enjoying every minute. Hopefully when he more human friendly we will be able to rehome him.
GUCCI & CHANEL's STORY
Gucci managed to escape out of her former home and 'meet' a moggie and managed to get herself pregnant !!
While she was out she somehow broke her tail.
She was left without veterinary care and part of her tail rotted away and dropped off.
This little girl has been like this for at
least 17 weeks! The pain must have been unbearable - how she carried on I don’t know ! :-(
She is a lovely little girl who had a litter of kittens but she lost all but one little girl (Chanel)
Gucci was really matted underneath so her baby (Chanel) was lucky to be able to suckle but she a plucky
little girl and a survivor.
Depending on what the vet finds, Gucci is having most or all of her tail removed on Thursday 14th Oct 2010
Hopefully Charly our vet will be able to remove the tail on Thursday and Gucci will be on the road to recovery very soon.
Please keep your fingers crossed for her and her baby
Update 20-20-10
Gucci has now had her surgery to remove her tail, and as you can see is healing nicely.
Update April 2011
Gucci & Chanel are now called Bijou and Baby and have found a loving home 'together' as a pair
You can see from this picture that Bijou’s stump of tail is now covered in hair and much more presentable.
The loss of her tail doesn’t seem to cause her any problems. She is a delightful friendly cat and reminds her new owner of a previous blue/cream
favourite they
had over 10 years ago. Baby is now quite
grown up, very friendly and inquisitive. Both of them use the catflap and wander around in the garden.
A BIG thank you to Phil & Melissa Budden for giving them both a super new home
JAMIE & FUDGE's STORY
Jamie is a Black smoke Persian Male aged 6 yrs old and Fudge is a Tortoiseshell Persian 5 yrs old
I collected these poor cats on a Sunday evening and was shocked at the state of them.
If you include the Rescue and his new loving home, Jamie has had
6 homes in his short life and he is only 6 years old!!!!!!!
They were sold by their original breeder to 'breeder B' ... this breeder sold them on to Breeder C and they subsequently sold to Breeder D .
Their last owner had been in and out of hospital with a back problem before handing them over to the Rescue,
but they were badly neglected,
and the owner herself said 'she had let the cats down' but in the end did the right thing as she couldn't cope and handed them into the Rescue.
Jamie was underweight and matted solid and was very smelly with poo
in his matted fur,feet and paws
We couldn't even get the clippers through the matts so had
to carefully cut the coat off as best we could with scissors before the clippers
could do their job !!
Jamie has now been neutered and has a lovely new home with Caroline and Michael who are very experienced Persian
owners and will give him time to come out of his shell and learn to be a cat again .
Here is Jamie bathed and shaved off. He also needs to gain weight as he was badly under nourished.
He is now living with Caroline & Micheal under their kitchen table and doesn't venture out unless ''picked up''
for a cuddle . He 'walks around in squares' but hopefully with TLC he will soon begin to explore his new home and live a happy life
Fudge had a 'limp' and when we asked about the limp the lady said she had no money to take
her to the vet !!!
Upon examination, we found pus on the foot and found that Fudges claws
(which had not been clipped or worn down due to normal 'wear and tear' )
had grown around and back 'into the pad' , through the bottom of her foot and
straight up through the top of her foot!!!!!!!
Fudge has been neutered now and her foot is healing nicely and she is once again putting 'weight' on it.
She has had her first vaccination and is ready for the best chapter in her life in her new home.
UPDATE - Jamie (now TOBY) April 2011....
This is Toby our gorgeous Persian (formally Jamie) who you rescued from a cage. He is the most loving and affectionate Persian ever! He talks to us and ‘demands’ to be picked up and cuddled and he loves us to walk round with him in our arms!
Keep up the good work
love
Caroline & Michael
xx
 
BREEDERS /VETS & EARLY NEUTERING
Being a Persian & Pedigree cat rescue we get to see the 'worst side' of breeding pedigree cats and
the suffering that can be caused by cats ending up in the wrong hands.
Obviously there are many good, reputable breeders out there,
who love their cats/kittens and are careful where they home them and are there at the end of the phone/computer to offer support and advice if needed to the new owners. ..... But
sadly not all are. Some sell to 'anyone as long as they have the money' and some sell cats for breeding
to total 'novices'(like Jamie & Fudge) either expecting to /or being told 'they can make money'
You only have to look at the adverts on the Free Pet sites ... you see 'pedigree kittens for sale ' NO PAPERS' or adverts for Half Pedigree kittens
being offered for sale to see that if you re-home ex breeding cats as pets and don't neuter them, or
sell your pedigree kittens as 'PETS' , and they are not neutered , they can end up in the wrong hands ,
perpetuating
this kind of thing,and ultimately the cats and the rescues pay the price.
If only breeders would 'follow up' sales on cats sold for breeding and ask for
a current photo, do home visits or at the very least offer advice/help/support to the owners of the cats they have sold , it
would save the Rescues a lot of time and money (not to mention the suffering caused to cats like Jamie & Fudge !!)
If more vets and breeders would 'Early Neuter' their pet kittens it would help prevent these kittens
being used by 'backyard breeders'. Most vets like to neuter
at 6months of age..... this can be TOO LATE !!! We had a case last week of a
4month old kitten in 'Call'
( in season) .. had she been a free roaming pet she
would no doubt be pregnant by now and would have delivered her litter by the time she was 6m old!!!
We neuter ALL our kittens (Pedigree AND NON PEDIGREE) at 3m of age before they are homed. This helps prevent unwanted pregnancies,
catching sexually transmitted diseases like Feline Leukeamia and Feline Aids (which can be fatal)
''
After neutering the kittens bounce back in no time
and 'early neutering' is something we wholeheartedly recommend .
KARA's STORY
Kara when she first arrived
I had a text from Annette from Animals in Need on Monday 19th July 2010 ...
Someone had rang to say a very pregnant Persian was in their back garden.
I went to the address straight away to find NOT a Persian, but this poor Siamese that
couldn’t stand because she was so big. She was skin and bone and had obviously been living as a stray for some time
We managed to catch her in a trap quite easily because she was so hungry ,bless her.
I stayed up with her all night she was restless and uncomfortable and I thought she would have her kittens very soon.
In the morning at 8am Sheelagh (a volunteer )came in and I told her '' I’m really not sure about Kara''I just had a feeling something was wrong,
but she was eating well and just sleeping
We did the usual cleaning feeding and watering for all the cats and then decided we would take
her to the vets. She looked so thin and we didn’t think she would have the strength to push her kittens out
when the time came.
When we got her to the vet he said she would need a c-section in about an hour but they needed to rehydrate her first
It was touch and go but they delivered 6 healthy kittens and one dead one, but mum 'Kara' wasn’t out of the woods yet !!!
She was exhausted and all her strength had gone to her babies and she had nothing left for herself.
This morning (28th) Kara came home and she’s doing well, eating small meals and has shown an interest in her babies
but she is far too weak to deal with them, so Sheelagh Katie and myself are ''milk maids''
for the next few weeks 'hand rearing' the babies
until they can eat on their own.
2 hourly feeds are taking their toll but we are big strong girls and the kittens need us now.
This is what we signed up for when we became a Cat Rescue charity :-)
Please keep your fingers crossed for our babies and we will give you updates on Mum as well.
The photo is of the smallest kitten we call Monkey because of how he looks -
but he’s still fighting so hopefully he will make it.
Sadly Monkey lost his fight to live despite our best efforts.
UPDATE 29th July 2010
Kara came home last night and this morning she was shouting for her babies so we tried her to see if she would cope with them, although she hasn’t any milk to feed them, she is
busy washing them and keeping them warm and we are so happy to think she has them with her and she’s very proud of her kittens and growls at us when we get them out to feed them. :-)
Sheelagh and I are a couple of Zombies but the babies are well fed, contented and growing fat and round
KARA UPDATE 23rd September 2010
Kara back to full weight
Kara is now looking for a new home
KLA HAN
Kla Han is an 18m old Blue Point Apple Head Siamese. We heard from another rescue that he had
been hurt in a road traffic accident and had a fractured leg/pelvis. If he wasn't 'claimed'
by his owners he was going to be put to sleep, as the cost of the surgery was very expensive.
We put an appeal on our site
to try to raise some money to help him and today (Sunday 25th July 2010)
we picked him up from Colchester ''Vets Now'' .He travelled well and will be
going in to Swanspool vets in the morning and Herman is doing the operation on him.
Kla Han is the name Denise and Lorraine (Rescue in Colchester) chose for him.
It’s a old Siamese Cats Name meaning very brave. And we think he has been !!!
We would like to thank Denise and Lorraine for helping him and for insuring
he was handed over safely.
We will ensure he’s giving the best possible treatment to get him back to full health and when recovered find him a super new home.
Without your kind donations this wouldn’t have been possible and we are very grateful to you all for that
Please keep watching the site to monitor his progress.
Many Thanks
Patsy xxx
28th July 2010 - UPDATE .
Kla han has had his surgery and had his pelvis and leg pinned. He is still at the vets,
doing really well, but because of bruising he’s struggling to 'pee' on his own yet but has improved and all the nurses have fallen in love with him.
He will be back here in a couple of days
29th July 2010
Kla han has come home today bless him .
He’s doing really well and able to pee on his own now. Although his scar is a big one,
he’s comfortable and eating well. He’s on cage rest for 10 days until his stitches come out.
6th August 2010 .
He had his stitches out today and we are upping his exercise walking
around the garden he’s enjoying himself although it’s early days he’s getting really strong
on his back end now and has now been rehomed .
RAFA's Story
Part 1
Photo of Rafa at Rushden Persian Rescue Sept 09
On Sept 9th 2009 I received a telephone call from the PDSA asking if Rushden Persian Rescue could take a Turkish Van from them. He was a 1 year old neutered male known by them because they had re-homed him 8 months ago as a 16 week old kitten. Rafa was originally taken to the PDSA with a crushed toe and his then owners couldn’t afford to pay the bill so he was signed over to them for re-homing. His toe was removed and he was neutered and re-homed
8 months later he was brought back to the PDSA because he was attacking everybody and everything, and the owners couldn’t get near him.
He was placed in one of the PDSA's little cages in the Kennel area with dogs and cats in the same room but on a different side; his stress levels must have been through the roof and he had stayed there for a week.
I collected him within 25mins of the phone call. I arrived to be taken through to this noisy kennel area with dogs barking and whining and at the bottom was this beautiful Turkish Van boy snarling, spitting and shaking with fear, with huge eyes looking at me.
The nurse put on her gauntlets and grabbed a few towels, threw them over him and dropped
him into my carrier. I signed the relevant paperwork and carried him out to the van.
As I put him in he came to the front of the carrier I pushed my finger in and touched his face – that was the last time I could touch him for a week – he was a nightmare, nipping my ankles and spitting and swearing at me as soon as he set eyes on me. I would go into his pen with a broom just to push him back gently to change his litter tray and take him food and clean water, it was draining … I was really so worried he would spend the rest of his life like this.
I had Feliway plugin spray, Zylkene capsules, Rescue Remedy and all sorts,
just trying to cut down his stress. One vet suggested Valium for him –
wouldn’t have minded some for myself !!
I was getting nowhere and I needed some help.
I rang Jenny Eales who bred Turkish Vans . She wasn’t in at the time but her husband said she would ring when she returned.
I poured my heart out to her explaining what he was like and could she suggest where I go from here. After putting the phone down I felt relieved that he would come right in time. I spent hours with him and didn’t seem to get anywhere but one day I was on my hands and knees washing the floor in his pen and he licked my hair – a breakthrough, what do I do – I stupidly went to stroke him back and he flew at me biting my arm and hand. I could have kicked myself. The next day I went in talking away to him as I was washing the floor, he licked my hair again! This time I just carried on but still talking to him. Then he jumped down next to me (I froze thinking this is it, he could rip me to shreds!); but instead he rubbed his bottom against my arm and walked over my legs and rubbed his head on my arm; still talking to him I tried to move my hand but he was ducking and snarling; I was on my hands and knees and he was mad at me everytime I moved he went to attack. I slowly shuffled out of his cabin and into the run. He wasn’t happy when I finally got to my feet but he wasn’t attacking so I decided I was going to sit with him most of the day everyday until he would accept that I wasn’t going to hurt him.
It was one evening when my son came home from work and was round the pens replacing a bolt for me on one of the doors – he then came into the house and said that big white cat with the ginger spot on his head - isn’t he lovely and fussy!!!!!
“You what! ....which cat” ?? I said” …. “The one in the end pen”. We both went back round there to see him and lo and behold Rafa liked Aaron stroking him and making a big fuss. Bingo a turning point at last but what was he going to be like with me. I joined my son and we stayed with him rolling and stroking him it was great.
I rang Jenny to let her know he had finally turned the corner and would be looking for a home very soon …. she had someone in mind already .
On the 7th October Pippa arrived to meet Rafa I prayed he would be on his best behaviour. He needed to move on with his life and start with a loving home and someone who understood the breed as well and could be patient with him when he was stressed and unsure of himself .
They loved him and understood what he had been through and were willing to give him time to settle. I was so pleased because he was going home but deep down I would miss him because he had been a big part of every day for the last month.
Rafa was truly a beautiful cat and yes he was hard work but one of the most rewarding cats we have had come in to our rescue.
Patsy (Rushden Persian Rescue)
Rafa's Story - Part 2
Our two elderly cats (both came to us via the CTVCA (Classic Turkish Van Rescue Association) as rescues) had relaxed into a pleasant and calm routine after the sad demise of ‘boss cat’, our ginger Tom. Lots of snoozing, eating and pottering about shedding white fur filled their days. Then the phone call came; we have a rescue cat in need of a home with other cats and plenty of space. How could we resist? We had the ‘vacancy’, the space and the required feline company and soft hearts. Little did we know who and what lay in store.
Off we went to the wonderful Rushden Persian Rescue in Northampton and met Rafa whose story you have just read. He was so friendly and clearly in need of the home we could provide. His sad story, clear need and our experience of rescue cats only served to encourage us to ‘do the right thing’ and offer to adopt him. After all we were veteran Turk owners and knew all about them and their needs; or so we thought.
Patsy and her team at Rushden had done a lot to calm Rafa down and build up trust but the journey to London and the new environment rattled him and our first few days were marked by some savage attacks and a number of painful bites. The two old ladies went in to shock and made their displeasure felt by retreating huffily to their favourite lairs and occasionally making a foray to show this young upstart who is boss. It is amazing what a pint size old lady with 3 teeth can do to assert herself. And the fur flew. But the days went by and everyone calmed down.
With persistent reprimands for bad behaviour and rewards and cuddles for good, Rafa learned to trust us, then love us, and is now a super, affectionate member of our feline family.
He’s not ‘cured’ yet though; he is still nervous and on the defensive if too many people are around and moving around a lot. And for some reason he’s nervous of strange men; “my, what a fine cat…” a male visitor will say as he bends down to stroke him. “No, stop, don’t do that…” we cry, sometimes too late before the teeth have sunk in to hand or ankle. And other visitors we find with Rafa on their lap purring like an engine, soaking up the affection – more typical Turk behaviour. Weird.
The old ladies are now more tolerant of the teenager, but our oldest cat who is half Rafa’s size is definitely the boss and can bring him into line with a well placed cuff of the paw.
I’m not sure we will ever get rid of Rafa’s nervous lashing out and inability to know where the behaviour boundaries lie but in the main he’s settled down well and is a much loved member of our family and a fitting successor to our late lamented Tom.
We and he are proud to have been selected as Classic Turkish Van Cat Association
Rescue Cat of the year 2009 .
As you can see from the photographs he likes his trophy very much.
On Rafa’s behalf, thank you.
A settled Rafa with his new owner and his trophy :-)
BELLA'S STORY
This dear little mite came in to our care on Wednesday 21st Jan 2010 after travelling with 8 other cats
(all youngsters and some 8/10 week old kittens )
that came from a BREEDER in the Doncaster area and were turned into a Northern Rescue and eventually
found their way to us
Her eye was so painful and had been for most of her short life of 14 weeks. :-(
I took her straight to the vets and she had her eye removed first thing Thursday morning.
She's on cage rest although she comes out to play when someone can sit with her
(because we then allow her to be without her 'bucket collar')
. She is the most adorable kitten and has a wonderful home to go to.
I wanted you all to know that this is the life of "some" pedigree cats !!
It is very plain to see that these poor kittens were not worth anything to this breeder
and that she/he just allowed them to suffer . Our vet told us this was an 'hereditary' condition ,
and that Bellas suffering could have been prevented and her eye SAVED
by early veterinary intervention.
Some of the other kittens also have the same eye problem
that will require the same surgery :-(
Rather than pay for veterinary treatment these babies were dumped into rescue, where WE have to pick up the very expensive bill
caused by the BREEDERS neglect !!!!
I would also like to mention out of these 8 cats, there was Bella with her bad eye,
one was put to sleep with F.I.P (she was only about 10 mths old) and the other a 2 yrs old had
pyometra (a life threatening womb infection)
While ANY breeder can have the above problems happen to their cats, most reputable breeders do their
utmost for their cats/kittens welfare, and seek veterinary attention as soon as a problem is noticed !
There are 'good ' and 'bad' breeders , and it is VERY important that when buying a pedigree cat, you do your research, ask questions,
take up references (your local CATS Protection League or Rescue will 'know' some of the local breeders to avoid !
Bella is now looking great and is enjoying her painfree life at last
Watch out for her updates as she progresses
FEBRUARY 2010 ....
Bella is now healed and the fur has grown back over the operation site.
Here is a photo of Bella taken at her first day in her new home :-)
Bella as she is now as an adult
OLIVER'S STORY
Some of you will remember Oliver the Big White boy with the poorly purple ears
Oliver aged 6 yrs old, came to us from Whittering Quarantine Cattery in Peterborough.
He had arrived in England from Dubai and had completed 6 months Quarantine and came to us
because 5 months into his stay there, his owner was posted aboard again and felt it wasn't fair on Oliver to travel again.
On the day of his arrival 4th April, I noticed he had purple ears and they were very swollen so booked him in to see David our Vet to be told there were polyps in both ears and he could be deaf.
Oliver was coping well and his ears didn't bother him, so it was decided to try and rehome him and if he needed the surgery later on we would pay for the operations.
A few weeks later he went home with Pat and Jim and settled well and for about 2 months enjoyed life. Then he started shaking his head and finding it very uncomfortable so they took him back to David to see if it was time to operate.
His first ear was stripped of the polyps and 6 weeks later the other ear was done and Oliver coped very well because it must have been very painful for him. Although he looks the same from a distance he has now a little hole in the side of his head just below his ears on both sides.
The bill was a bit scary at the time around £400 per ear but that's rescue and him being only six years old we had to help him as he has the rest of his long life ahead of him.
A few weeks later I get a call from Pat and Jim to say " Oliver can hear at last " :-)
David our vet felt that the heat in Dubai and the long flight was the cause of his polyps so he is not going to fly again but Oliver's travels haven't stopped . He is at present travelling France and Spain for 6 months in a motor home and is living the life of a King, and will be back in England in March 2010 and we all look forward to seeing him for his regular bath and groom.
We will always be grateful to Pat and Jim Beresford for falling in love with him and spoiling him rotten
WOOLIE'S Story
This poor girl was brought to the Rescue very
badly matted
and very smelly as her
owner was ill and could no longer look after her.
We started to shave her down and then found the
cause of the smell.
She was infested with maggots!!!
We all know that Persians need regular grooming to keep them ''looking nice'' and of course for the cats comfort ,
but it is also CRUCIAL so that the skin has air circulating around it and can breathe.
If the fur becomes matted to the skin or
'poo' gets stuck in the fur,
the skin becomes smelly and 'sweats' .
These moist smelly
conditions are just what flies look for to lay their eggs.
The eggs hatch and the maggots eat their way into the cats body!!!
Woolie is now healed and has gone to her new home
Woolie is now called 'Jasmine' by her new owners Wayne & Wendy. She is still a 'madam' when it comes to being groomed, but not suprising after
what she has been through, but they are doing a great job and we are very grateful to them for giving Jasmine a new life with them.
These are some of our past Rescues - they have now been placed in new homes
 
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