Poor Pansy needs help

Oh wow... eyes you could drown in, what a sweet face. Pansy is the perfect name for her, she truly does have a flower face. When she's settled and being happy takes it effect you're going to see her coat start to shine and that gorgeous colour she is will deepen right out. She's already beautiful but just wait! She really is going to be something special when she's had time to recover.

I'd like to thank Sam for posting the pic of Pansy, it's very kind of her and much appreciated.

Thank you Ranger, <<eyes you could drown in, what a sweet face. Pansy is the perfect name for her, she truly does have a flower face. When she's settled and being happy takes it effect you're going to see her coat start to shine and that gorgeous colour she is will deepen right out. She's already beautiful but just wait! She really is going to be something special when she's had time to recover.>>

Yes, already her coat is improving. Also her little pink paw pads are starting to appear - they were black before from years out doors. Doesn't she have the sweetest face, you can see why we fell in love with her. She has more energy now and can climb the stairs without help.

Last night her coat was full of dead fleas, I must have combed out 50 of them . Poor girl would have been alive if she hadn't been treated.

This site is the best - such friendly, helpful people, I feel right at home. Pansy and I send a hug to all of you.

It is heartbreaking that the lady would have mistreated her in such a way. Why in Gods name would she put a Persian cat outside? They aren't meant to be outdoor cats. She has an adorable face. You may have to get all of her hair shaved off, in order for it to grow back again. I'll bet it was extremely uncomfortable for her, having all of those clumps through out her hair. That lady should have all of her cats taken away. If she abused this little Princess the way she did, she can't be that good to the others, either.

I'm glad you were there for Ms Pansy.

Hi Hope,

I agree about the previous owner's disgusting treatment of Pansy. She can't even look out of a window now without shaking. I have a cunning plan ...

At the moment she hasn't given her address or phone number but if she gets in touch again (which Lincoln Cat Care have asked her to) she will be asked for both in order to sign Pansy over to us. When this happens I then ring the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals and report her. They have the power to prosecute people like her. We're playing it very cool at the moment in order to get the information out of her, if she senses we're out to get her, she'll disappear. I worry for those other poor souls in her care.

You're right about Pansy's hair. She's booked into a salon for Friday to be clipped and shampooed. She'll feel better then. We've straightened out her back,front and sides, just her tummy is impossible because it is so bad.

Thanks for your kind thoughts.

Oh Lord she is in bad shape! Looks very familiar and I am always amazed when I find that these beautiful cats are left outside, or found outside.

Does she have a covered place she can hide in? I know with Starlight, he liked to go inside a covered litter box I bought, I just didn't put litter in it. It was brand new, and I piled lots of soft bedding in it for him, and when life got overwhelming for him early on, he would bolt inside and peer out of the darkness at us. But after he came out of his shell, oh my! What a delight and a clown he was!

I don't know if the link to his thread contained the end of the story- the forums crashed and we lost so many posts before we came back online- but here is his story in a condensed form:

Starlight

Hi,

<<Oh Lord she is in bad shape! Looks very familiar and I am always amazed when I find that these beautiful cats are left outside, or found outside.>>

Yes, she's a poor thing, still very thin and, although her fur is much better than it was, it's still a long way from perfect. The fur on her neck is very thin and under her tummy is a solid mass of lumps. Her eyes still weep and her nose is a bit squeaky when she breathes.

<<Does she have a covered place she can hide in? >>

Yes, she's chosen under my desk rather than the special box I prepared. She goes there to be out of the way. She doesn't like being alone so if we go in the lounge, she follows and can go under the sideboard. Like Starlight, she also goes under the bed in the spare room sometimes. However, now she is more settled, she spends most of her time on my chair in front of the computer or on the scanner. She's also found a nice spot on a sofa with soft toys all around her and a little table in front. I don't drag her out if she needs to be secure, I don't want her thinking I'm a threat. Unfortunately, she's never been called so she just looks at me like I'm mad if I call her for some reason. I solved that problem by calling her name and getting her saucer out for din-din time, now she's beginning to understand.

<<But after he came out of his shell, oh my! What a delight and a clown he was!>>

I know what you mean - she came upstairs last night, all full of herself and started rolling around on the landing. She grabbed my hands with her paws and put them in her mouth. I went and got her favourite toy and we spent ages with that. Then I discovered all the flea dirt had hatched and her coat was full of dead fleas. She was very patient while I picked them all out. I must have got 50 out and more again this morning. How she ever managed to sleep when she lived rough I don't know, she must have itched unbearably.


<<I don't know if the link to his thread contained the end of the story- the forums crashed and we lost so many posts before we came back online- but here is his story in a condensed form:>>

I read the story on the forum but couldn't resist another look at this site. What a great little guy Starlight is! I recognised your descriptions of the terrible smell, the clumps, the gooey eyes and the absolute terror. Aren't they amazing for surviving like that and then turning into such lovely and loving creatures? Humans would winge for the rest of their lives. I think one of the reasons Jack is so good with her is he is a rescue dog and when we got him, he was starving, had worms and was covered in fleas.

Like Starlight, Pansy was close to death when we found her - unable even to stand. She only managed to drag herself along the ground, we thought her back legs were deformed.

She still has a shaking problem but the vet thinks that it may be a brain injury. It's worse if she concentrates or is frightened.

Did Starlight do this- If Pansy wakes suddenly from a deep sleep, her eyes are full of terror and she trembles. Then she sees where she is and settles down again. I wish I could give her sweet dreams.

Your story of Starlight is a real inspiration to me, thanks for sharing it.

Oh my goodness she's gorgeous!!

I'm pleased your treading carefully with her so as to get the info you need to report her to the RSPCA, because these people will come down hard on her

This is such a brilliant story -Pansy looks the sweetest cat - I once had a cross Persian called Rosie who looked a bit like her. Good luck at the groomers!

Hi,

Thanks susan and Jenny. She IS so sweet, you're right. She now knows our routine very well and wherever we go, she's right there! Grooming is tough, as it hurts her but we do a little at a time.

Hi, I need advice, please.

I am taking Pansy to a Grooming Salon on Friday to be clipped and washed. Knowing her history, I doubt she has ever been to one before, so I would like to make it as painless as possible for her. The Salon has been recommended by the vet and they sound very nice. They say it is better if we leave Pansy rather than staying with her and that if she becomes distressed they will rest her for 20 minutes or so before continuing.

Is there any way I can prepare Pansy? Do you think she'll cope with it alright? She's very docile and aimiable now but I don't want to freak her out.

Should I warn the salon about her tremor?

When I bring her home, how should I behave and what will she need?

I'll feel a whole lot better if I have some idea what to do and what to expect. This is all new to me - and her.

Thanks.

Personally, I would insist on staying with Pansy just because she is so fragile. But that's me!

I wouldn't want to leave her either, BUT i know it would upset me to see her if she's scared and that would probably make the cat worse?!.

Do you think you could handle it if she was?

I would tell them everything about her just so they know.

When you bring her home i'd just let her go where she wants because she may just want to hide away for a short while until she feels calm enough to come back out.

What a doll! Good luck with dealing with Pansy's old owner. Our Emma was found on the street in the middle of a Chicago snowstorm, having just given birth to kittens (Lord knows what happened to them) and was probably tossed out by her owners because of her pregnancy. Fortunately for the previous owners, we never found them..because I probably would have thrown a molotov cocktail in their window! Just kidding...sort of.
It's been a slow road to complete health, and a slower road to helping her adjust to our household. She was found in February, and came to our house March 1st. She's finally a normal weight, and her coat is taking on a great shine.
I'm sure with your obvious love and devotion she'll be thriving in no time--its amazing how resilient these babies are!
Keep us posted!

Thanks the advice. It's difficult thinking of her going through stress when she deserves peace now but it has to be done. My first thought was that I must stay with her but the lady said that there's not a lot of room and often the cats and dogs are worse for seeing their owners all concerned. it's true I would be ooohing and owwwing for her. I might take her in, she how she responds to the place and the people, then if she's shakey I can stick with her. When we get home, we'll leave her in peace till she comes to us - probably to ask for food.

I'm still finding dead fleas, poor love.

Thanks for the kind words, OllyExtra45 - poor Emma! My mother was talking this morning about tracking down the owner and strangling her! I know what you mean. I'd like to keep the woman outside in the cold and toss her a scrap now and then. After 5 years, I could ask her how it felt ... !!!

Originally Posted by Pansy's Pal

My mother was talking this morning about tracking down the owner and strangling her!

Click to expand...

I'll jump on your mums bandwagon!!!

Hi,

Another question - Pansy and Jack get along very well but occasionally, Pansy turns and gives Jack a hiss and swipes at him with a paw. He never responds, never growls or snarls although, potentially, he could kill her.

I just wondered if there was a way to discourage her from doing this without actually punishing her? All we do at the moment is to make a big fuss of Jack. He seems fine about it all, bless.

All ideas welcome.

Honestly, I'm not sure there's much you can do to "discourage" Pansy from giving Jack a little swipe now and again. Maybe there are some things you could do to get her to associate Jack with positive things? Perhaps giving her a special treat when he's near her, or giving her a good pet or brushing so she associates him with all those nice things?
It's also possible she's just determined to be the "top" animal, which isn't really a problem--there's going to be one dominant animal and one not so dominant in a two animal household--and its actually better that it is Pansy since she can't inflict as much damage to Jack as he could to her in the heat of battle. If no one is getting hurt in their little squabbles, then you're doing ok.

Our Emma has decided to be top cat in our house, which was sort of surprising to us since she is so much smaller than our cat Oliver (her 6 lbs to his 13) and Oliver was with us for 3 and a half years before we got Emma. She's just got a little more spunk in her than he does--probably because she was a "street fighter" for Lord knows how long, and Oliver has been a spoiled rotten prissy little Mama's Boy kitty since he was 4 weeks old!

Just try to keep an eye on them to make sure Jack doesn't decide to "strike back" one of these days, because that could get ugly. Definitely keep them apart when you are not home, or not within eyesight of them.

Good luck! I keep scrolling back to Pansy's picture because she has such a lovely face!

It is sweet though how Jack doesn't respond to it

Thanks very much for your ideas OllyExtra - I especially like the one about associating her with good things around Jack. We're very fortunate with both of them, that's there's been so little trouble really. We will watch over them very carefully!

Jack likes to go out and about with me, he's been constantly by my side for 11 years so I don't propose changing that, which means I don't have to leave him alone in the house with Pansy. That works out well.

Bless you, Susan, she is lovely isn't she?

BTW Check out the new Pansy thread ....!