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Buttercup: 5 yr old female, Blue and White Persian
Must be adopted with Summer
Yes, there is a story here. Buttercup and her exotic shorthair Persian friend, Summer, arrived in rescue in really terrible shape. They were very thin: Summer weighed 3 pounds 7 ounces and Buttercup, 4 pounds 1 ounce. Both were dehydrated, matted and filthy, with runny eyes, colds, and so forth. They seemed weary and weak with stress, depression, and poor health. We were worried about them immediately. They seemed so fragile, clinging onto life. Our hearts raced to help them.
Their recovery has been slow; we have had them almost a year. Our first goal was to get them to gain weight, which took quite a while, much longer than we expected. We gave them a smorgasbord of food choices, probiotics, Vitamin B12. We had blood panels drawn and vet exams performed. They gained weight very slowly. I think their bodies were so nutritionally depleted that they had to come a long way back to bring their organs to health. They are both small kitties in general.
After they seemed stronger, we took them to the vet to be spayed. Outraged at their condition, she offered to work on their coats at no charge while they were under anesthesia for their spays. She did not shave them but most of their hair had to come out in the “raking” combing that had to be done. They were more comfortable without all the painful hair matts but we worried about keeping them warm and gave them with heated beds and teepees.
These two little girls are bonded, and we will not separate them, so even though Summer has always been ahead of Buttercup, we did not post her for adoption until now when her friend was ready, also. Poor little Buttercup came in named “Stealth,” as though a joke had been made about her terror of humans. I changed her name the first day to let her know things were going to be happier in her life. She is such a little darling “Buttercup” seemed appropriate.
We have watched her make continual progress as her curiosity about life impelled her to make forays out of her safe hiding spots. She began to explore and enjoy herself. We were elated and we wondered if she had always been caged. We did not force ourselves on her, just let her be. She is now willing to be around us, to have our footsteps next to her. We pick her up and fuss with her, and she tolerates it, but she does not like it. Someday, she will love being petted and sitting in a lap, but she is not there yet. She is on her way though, courageous little girl. It is impossible not to love her.
Complicating her care are her grooming needs. She has a long coat which is harder to care for than most Persians’ coats. As if that weren’t enough, it is hard to keep her coat in shape because she does not like the process. It is difficult for us because we want both to brush her and also to not annoy her. A couple months ago, we used scissors to cut off about half of each strand of hair. (Cutting nowhere near her skin -- you have to be SO careful.) It did not distress her badly at all -- she almost couldn’t feel it. It made her into a little lamb in appearance with fur less likely to matt. We left her tail untouched, and in the photos of her in the hallway, you can see how long the hair is.
We sometimes call her Little Pirate because with one eye surrounded and partly covered by grey hair, it is hardly visible. You look at her and only see one eye. She has come to trust us some and lets us fuss over her. She does not panic the way she used to, so we are very pleased. She tolerates us sort of with a sweet resignation. She is on her way to liking us and is coming along nicely.
We adore her. She is such a little spirit. She has a courageous heart that makes her inclined to enjoy and expand her new life, to keep on trying despite her past. Buttercup is young and she has years to be happy and loved ahead of her.
Obviously, we need a very special adopter for her and Summer. Persians are more work than most cat breeds. Summer and Buttercup are more work than most Persians. These two need a Persian-experienced home with one or two adopters who want to give the time and effort and patience and love to allow these two cats to blossom into happiness. Summer will be easy but Buttercup has more catching up to do. These are messy cats who need someone who enjoys daily grooming efforts.
These two kitties are both cat friendly and a home with another gentle cat would not be a problem. I would not suggests a home with young children. They need to be the children in their home. They may have lived with a small dog. We want nothing that will scare them or be hard for them. They need a solid, loving, stable, quiet home with a family who wants to have the great joy of helping them and watching them continue to recover and blossom.
The last picture below was taken several weeks after they came to us, and they look much better in it than when they first arrived.
They eat wet and dry food and are litterbox perfect.
They are fostered in Santa Cruz. Contact Harriet at (831) 336-2983 or toharrietjane@comcast.net if you have questions, or send an Adoption Application. If you are unable to reach Harriet by phone or email, email us at Info@purebredsplus.org.
