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. 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 . 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 :-) Mimi & Little Mo - From the same 'Breeder' as Bella (with the SAME problem) :-( Two british shorthair kittens 10/12 weeks old . Both of these little girls will need eye surgery before we can put them up for Rehoming. 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!!! 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. 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