Show Us Your Rescues : Then and Now Photos

[tabbytom]

POST YOUR RESCUE KITTIES PHOTOS HERE!

Here's January. He was double dumped and was first found all alone with a gaping wound next to his anus when he was rescued off the streets and was dumped again the day he was rescued because of his injury. Estimated 3 weeks old (2015).

On the way to the vet the very next day (protesting)

Returned from the vet (still protesting )

Making himself very comfortable at home in the first few months

Through the years

This was taken last month, November 2019. He'll be 4 years old (estimated) in mid December 2019

 

[Sidewinder]

TabbyTom, you're a good person! Kudos for taking care of that little youngster... "YOU DA MAN!!!"

 

[Sidewinder]

Hey, look, my "Reaction score" (whatever that means) reads 1234, woohoo!!!

Round here, we're easily impressed by sequential numbers like this, due to the lack of entertainment in Redneck Land, LOL...

 

[neely]

He'll be 4 years old in mid December 2019

Happy Early 4th Birthday, January! Hope you get a tasty treat on your special day.

 

[aliceneko]

Aw, love these! Happy early birthday to January

This is Toffee and Fudge, around 5 months old in December 2017, and them in October 2019, aged 2.

 

[MonaLyssa33]

The first day Remy was with me on the left and on the right is me and him in the bathroom a couple of days later because we needed to hide in there so Maisie would come out and eat (because she was scared to be around me). Remy was very into lap cuddling almost immediately.

As you can see here, he's still into lap cuddling (and he is in fact in my lap as I type this).

Here's Maisie probably a week or two after she was home with me on the left. I didn't have any pictures of her up until that point because she was hiding the entire time. On the right was a couple of weeks ago when she was laying at my feet. She's made a lot of progress!

Here's Maisie again from a couple of weeks ago enjoying the freshly cleaned (and rearranged) apartment.

 

[rosegold]

Chai
Just after rescue, September 2017

While being tamed, still not letting anyone touch her... September 2018

November 2018. After eventually becoming a trusting, friendly lovebug

 

[tabbytom]

This is Toffee and Fudge,

Looks like great buddies

Remy was very into lap cuddling almost immediately.

Hope Remy and Maisie get along well.

November 2018. After eventually becoming a trusting, friendly lovebug

Thank you for your patience and love.

 

[Koveshnikov]

fine when cats let you into their hearts)

 

[mama africa]

This is Missy, in november 2015, just after she was found and cared for by my co-worker. She had infected eyes and ears, a running nose and diarrhea. She was born to a feral mom, who hid the kittens under the deck of my co-worker's sister's house. Unfortunately Missy's siblings did not survive.



My co-worker holding her


In the vet's waiting room.



I offered her a forever home when she was around 8 weeks old; she settled in relatively quickly, but she remained fearful of strangers and visitors.











She was spayed



and became more and more confident through the years.







This picture was taken a few days ago

 

[Tobermory]

Here’s my former wild child, Mocha, as a frightened feral at the shelter back in 2016 and early 2017. No one could touch her, and she sent a staff member to the ER with a bad bite wound. The staff said she was unadoptable.

“Help! Humans!”

“Don’t even think about touching me.”

I brought her home in October 2017 when she was about three, my birthday present to myself. The staff and I had a struggle to get her into the carrier without ending up in intensive care.

It took weeks of sitting quietly on the floor near her, either reading or talking softly to her before she would approach my outstretched hand. After a couple of months, she would let me pet her without running back to her “cave,” and she jumped into my lap for the first time—briefly—after six months.

It’s been two years since Mocha joined us. I still can’t pick her up and that may never happen, but she’s incredibly sweet and loving and is always climbing into my lap. You can hear her purr from across the room. She won’t get on my husband’s lap, but she follows him around and flops at his feet for belly rubs.

“Don’t move your hand, Mom. I’m using it.”

This is her “please pet me” look.

And she’s learned how to play help around the house. “I will help you tie your shoes.”

I’m so glad I brought her home. She’s returned my love ten-fold, and while Lily and Iris aren’t her biggest fans, everyone co-exists peacefully thanks to Mocha’s lack of aggressiveness and peaceful nature. She has never bitten or scratched me...or even tried.

And here we are! The camera angle makes her look huge, but she’s just a little over nine pounds, a very trim girl. Lily and Iris are 15 years old, and I’ve had them since they were kittens. I know their story. But who knows what trauma Mocha endured before she was rescued? It left a lasting mark on her, but she’s safe now and will be forever.

 

[rubysmama]

Hey, look, my "Reaction score" (whatever that means) reads 1234, woohoo!!!

Round here, we're easily impressed by sequential numbers like this, due to the lack of entertainment in Redneck Land, LOL...

Sidewinder : Reaction score is your "Purraise". You can read more about it here: All About Purraise – Cat Articles

 

[tabbytom]

I offered her a forever home when she was around 8 weeks old; she settled in relatively quickly,

Bless your heart for giving Missy a warm and fur-ever loving home and look how pretty she is!

“Don’t move your hand, Mom. I’m using it.”

Glad that Mocha has integrated well with the rest and she knows that your hand is a hand of love and that's why she love it.

 

[kittypa]

June 2016. We had to trap this little grease monkey at the local Jiffy Lube after she popped out of the engine compartment of my wife’s car. She was covered with motor oil.

She looked a little better after a bath. It was four days before she would eat with us in the room.

After 10 days we were able to pet her. She was a very cute kitten.

She will always be a little bit flaky, but she’s sweet, playful, and pretty.

More on the rest of the family tomorrow.

 

[Jcatbird]

Oh boy! Where do I start? Lol I’ll start with the last rescue of a feral colony at risk. Over 100 members, BJ was the alpha of the colony and the last cat in the swamp. The final and most elusive.

I thought he might try to eat me.

It took many months to get anywhere near him.

He often rejected my presence even after months of working in the swamp with him.

I knew there were days he didn’t feel well.

I spent many nights keeping him company.

Getting close often got a growl, hiss, swat or nip.

Once inside he still had aggressive days.

Continued rejection.

Finally small progress.

A look of understanding.

I was allowed to pick him up.

Nipping still happened. Lol

Finally a day in my lap.

Still wary.

Meeting his first cat tree. He didn’t quite fit. Lol

At last, he approached me for attention.

Once he relaxed, he melted.

He began showing his wonderful silly side.

The security inside left him feeling very content.

As he was beginning to recover from his heart worms he began to seek human comfort.

He made himself at home under the covers with me at night.

The cold outdoors left him appreciative of being warm beside me.

He likes doing high fives!

From older feral Tom to teddy bear lap cat.
He’s proof that old ferals can be socialized.

 

[tabbytom]

June 2016. We had to trap this little grease monkey

Ah.............lovely cute Figgy. Great that she did not give you the slip with all that oil but slipped right into your loving arms.

BJ was the alpha of the colony and the last cat in the swamp. The final and most elusive.

Great rescues you've got here! I'm sure you have a handful.

 

[Maria Bayote]

I first saw Bourbon in May 2017 with her look-alike which I assumed was her brother. So I initially named them Hansel and Gretel. They both came to my door very hungry.

Then they did not come back again until several months later. But Bourbon came alone this time. She would come into my flat like she had been living there all her life, to eat and sleep for a couple of hours, then leave. I always thought she had an owner.

Then again she disappeared, only to reappear after many weeks, this time she was matted and a bit thinner. So it was then I decided to bring her to the vet to check for ownership, but no microchip.

Here she was still a bit wary of me after weeks in the house:

Then slowly relaxed in my presence:

Below is taken a few days earlier:

She is still afraid of sudden loud noises, wary of strangers, but is very attentive to my moods and feelings. We have bonded deeply eversince. She is never a lapcat, but she enjoys being carried around in my arms, while we dance and bury my nose on her fur. From a mere 3 kilos she is now almost double in weight.

 

[tabbytom]

She is still afraid of sudden loud noises, wary of strangers, but is very attentive to my moods and feelings. We have bonded deeply eversince. She is never a lapcat, but she enjoys being carried around in my arms, while we dance and bury my nose on her fur. From a mere 3 kilos she is now almost double in weight.

I think she went house hunting and found that yours is the best! Thank you for taking her in

She must have some bad experience outside and therefore behave in such manner but like I mentioned, your house is still the best safe house.

 

[Tobermory]

Oh boy! Where do I start? Lol I’ll start with the last rescue of a feral colony at risk. Over 100 members, BJ was the alpha of the colony and the last cat in the swamp. The final and most elusive.
View attachment 311240
I thought he might try to eat me.
View attachment 311241
It took many months to get anywhere near him.
View attachment 311242View attachment 311243View attachment 311244
He often rejected my presence even after months of working in the swamp with him.
View attachment 311245
I knew there were days he didn’t feel well.
View attachment 311246
I spent many nights keeping him company.
View attachment 311247
Getting close often got a growl, hiss, swat or nip.
View attachment 311248
Once inside he still had aggressive days.
View attachment 311249
Continued rejection.
View attachment 311251
Finally small progress.
View attachment 311252
A look of understanding.
View attachment 311253
I was allowed to pick him up.
View attachment 311254
Nipping still happened. Lol
View attachment 311255
Finally a day in my lap.
View attachment 311256
Still wary.
View attachment 311257
Meeting his first cat tree. He didn’t quite fit. Lol
View attachment 311258
At last, he approached me for attention.
View attachment 311259
Once he relaxed, he melted.
View attachment 311260
He began showing his wonderful silly side.
View attachment 311261
The security inside left him feeling very content.
View attachment 311262
As he was beginning to recover from his heart worms he began to seek human comfort.

He made himself at home under the covers with me at night.
View attachment 311264
The cold outdoors left him appreciative of being warm beside me.
View attachment 311265
He likes doing high fives!
View attachment 311266

From older feral Tom to teddy bear lap cat.
He’s proof that old ferals can be socialized.
View attachment 311267

What amazing photos! I love seeing the change in his body language over time. And look at the change in his face and his fur from first to last! Lovely, Jcatbird !

 

[CaribbeanAzure]

Loved reading everyone’s rescue stories!

This is my baby girl, Taffeta. Her full name is Taffeta Avonlea. She was dumped off at my house in the county August 2018. We found her on our back deck. After unsuccessfully trying to get her into a rescue we ended up keeping her. Honestly she is the best cat I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. She is so careful and there is not a destructive bone in her body.

This is right after we found her. She was starving and just so happy that someone was showing her kindness.

Here she is now. She is going to be two at the end of the month.

She really loves her heated bed.

This is Curiosity. His full name is Curiosity Knickers (he looks like he is wearing knickers). He was born outside near a friend’s house. His daddy (who I am hoping to get neutered) is an unowned outside cat that lives by my friend. When he was about three weeks old his daddy brought him up to my friend’s porch for her to feed the kitten. (His mom and litter mates were at another neighbor’s house). We adopted him when he was seven weeks old in the middle of June this summer.

These were the first pictures we saw of him before adopting him.

This is him now. He is about 8 months old.

This is Marigold. Her full name is Marigold Rilla. She showed up on my back porch exactly one month later (to the day) after we adopted Curiosity. She too was starving. I was trying to keep raccoons off of our porch (they wanted to eat the bird seed) and so I saw Taffeta watching one from the sliding patio door.

I turned the outside light on to shoo it away and this horrible screaming started. I thought it was the raccoon and the raccoon thought it was me. But it was a tiny orange kitten on one of our deck chairs. I shut Taffeta up in a room for fear she would get out and ran out and chased the raccoon off (for fear it would try to hurt the kitten) and somehow I managed to snatch the kitten up. When I got her inside she went completely nuts and I thought for a moment that she was feral but she was just scared. I had her into the vet’s office the next day and she tested positive for FIV. I am ashamed to say I didn’t feel confident enough at that time to have her around Taffeta and Curiosity so I managed to get her into a rescue. But I asked the lady if she tested negative later on if I could apply to adopt her. She was about ten weeks old at the time.

Fortunately she did test negative in two subsequent tests and I was able to bring her back home three weeks after having found her. She is the most loving loyal girl I have ever met. She has the sweetest disposition. Ignore her drippy eye - the vet said she had Corneal ulcers from feline Herpes before I found her and the scar tissue makes her eye water.

The night I found her.

Now. At about 7 months.

This is D’Artagnan—- D’Artagnan Montgomery Jonquil.

He was found at the end of October. He too was dumped at our house and made his way to our porch. Once again we had a very hungry hungry baby. He had chronic diarrhea (it has since been cleared up) and he was quite timid. The vet estimated his age to be five months when we found him so he is about 6/7 months now. So there won’t be too much of a difference in the then/now photos.

First vet appointment.

Now

Everyone gets along well. Even Taffeta tolerates the littles but she doesn’t hang out with them.