Rescue is Best by University of Gloucestershire

Rescue is Best

Rescue is Best Lily Hedges

Over the past 9 months, I have had the pleasure of meeting some of the most loving animals on this Earth. Before this year, I didn’t understand the hype around cats, I didn’t think they were very affectionate, caring, friendly... but boy was I wrong. Whether the cats had been through trauma or if they’d just grown up strays, there wasn’t a fault with any of them. I want to show people what I have learnt, being around these cats who give so much despite everything has given me a sense of joy I never thought I could achieve. Trigger warning: some of the stories and images may be distressing throughout, but please rest assured all the cats are happy now. All the cats in this book have been adopted or rescued, and even though they all have different stories to tell, the ending is always the same: love.

Bob’s Story Bob found his forever home in June 2020. He’s now an extremely affectionate cat, at almosst 2 years old he absolutely loves his family: he’ll watch YouTube with them, he’l sit with them and watch TV, he’ll play with the family dog and other rescue cat. But life for Bob didn’t start out this way. Bob was found on the streets of Birmingham. He was being eaten alive by maggots, and had burns over the length of his body, either from boiling water or acid. New Start Cat Rescue got a hold of him, and took him straight to the vets where his wounds were treated. He had to have burn cream applied every day as well as other treatments, and the rescue videoed his progress for potential adopters to see.

Jenny, his human, saw the videos that were posted, saw Bob’s kind nature when he was purring whilst having his burn cream applied, and instantly fell in love. She felt a connection with him, and when she was told he was hers, she didn’t waste any time in going to get him. Just over 4 months on, Bob is the most confident, affectionate, funny cat, and apart from a few bald spots of fur, no one would know the trauma he’s been through when you meet him. Within seconds of meeting Jenny, Bob was curled up on her lap - he knew he was going home. Bob’s story touched hundreds of people, who all carry on following his journey through his blog, watching him go from strength to strength every single day. Bob is the epitome of what I am showing with this book even though he faced an extremely traumatic start to his life, where he was alone and without somewhere to call home, he has found happiness. It shines through his personality, he is extremely content with where he is now, to the point where he knows he can go outside but choses to stay inside with his family. He has chosen to trust them, to love them, to open himself up to them, despite everything he has been through. He is truly a very special cat.

Photos courtesy of Jenny Allen

Terry Terry started off life in a much different state to what he’s in now. His current owners lost their previous cat, and saw Terry had been handed in to a vet clinic not far from where they live. Unfortunately it wasn’t the same cat, but this didn’t stop them bringing him home! He was in a sorry state, he has so many allergies it’s hard to keep up with. He wears a red jacket when the allergies are bad, which stop him licking sore spots on his skin. Although Terry is an expensive cat (in his owner’s terms!) they wouldn’t change him for the world he absolutely loves a cuddle, and no matter who you are, he will come and sit right next to you for a fuss.

Stripes Stripes was 10 months old when he was adopted, just over 12 years ago. He was picked up on the streets of Wormley and taken to Bristol Cats Home, before he found his forever home in North Somerset. He only took a couple of days to settle into home life, and he’s been loving it ever since! Stripes has always been a sociable cat, he loves a fuss, but he’ll only come and sit with you on his own terms. He’s picked up some quirks over the years, every morning he’ll join his human in the bathroom, where he will do his business straight down the shower plug hole!

Furball For a 3-legged cat, Furball is one of the most energetic cats I have ever seen. She was adopted from Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary 5 years ago, when she was 15 years old. Now at the ripe old age of 20, Furball will do anything for a cuddle! She’ll hobble up to you and sit right next to you, and if you move, she’ll just follow. Before she was adopted, Furball had another home and family, but they unfortunately moved away and abandoned her. This would have been extremely traumatic for her, especially at her age, but luckily she’s now found her actual forever home in North Somerset. She needs a little extra help as she’s down a limb, so her humans have put boxes all around the house to help Furball get up onto higher furniture and be apart of the action. She is so content, which really shines through when you meet her!

Luna & Milo Luna and Milo were adopted from Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary when they were kittens, around 4 years ago. They were born strays, with the whole litter having some health issues. Luna’s the healthier of the 2, she gave Milo a blood transfusion to save his life when he needed it - he had extremely bad anaemia and his nose went white (thankfully he’s okay now!). They both have heart murmurs now, so they’re heart rates need to be checked every week - if the readings are out of the normal range (20-40), they are at risk of dying. Luckily, it’s always around the 22 mark. These beautiful cats are the heart of their family, no matter what the health issues are, they are loved unconditionally, and you can really tell Luna and Milo love their family just as much.

Gerald Gerald was rescued from Heart Rescue when he was around 10 months old, and he is now 4 years old. He was adopted into a house with 3 other black cats and a rescue dog - his humans only like to adopt black cats as they have a bad repuation of not being easy to photograph, and therefore have a harder time finding their forever homes. Gerald absolutely adores people and cuddles, he can be carried like a baby and be very happy about it. He has also formed a close bond with the familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dog, Jet, and will cuddle up to him on the sofa!

Cosmin Cosmin was adopted 3 years ago from Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary, who rescued him from the streets of Romania. He went to his forever home with only one possession: a pair of leather shoelaces! They are his favourite toy, so much so that they’ve had to be replaced as they were destroyed. Cosmin is described by his humans as “daft as a brush”, but there is “not a malicious bone in his body”.

Tom Tom started life in his forever home as a foster cat from Claws and Paws Animal Rescue during the first UK-wide lockdown due to COVID-19. His family fell in love with him straight away, and decided in August 2020 to adopt him. Tom’s life didn’t start out very well, he grew up as a stray, and was taken to Claws and Paws after he was run over. He’s now about 2 years old, and is settling in to home life very well, he’s slowly realising how comfy laps are!

Florence Florence is a gorgeous tempered cat. She was adopted from Heart Rescue when she was 2 years old, and she’s now 6. Before she found her forever home, she was living with another family in Weston-Super-Mare, but they left her behind when they moved away. She has a few things that scare her, but that doesn’t stop her being super friendly and affectionate! She’s picked up a few quirks along the way too: even though she’s given a bowl of water to drink out of, she prefers to drink straight from the tap!

Freddie Freddie was adopted from Little Paws Rescue, who brought him over to the UK from Corfu where he was living as a street cat at 4 months old. He’s now a year and a half old, and lives in his forever home with 6 other cats. He reckons he’s the boss of all of them, and decided it pretty quickly! Although he may slightly bully his brothers and sisters, he learnt pretty quickly their boundaries and respects them. He loves to be fussed, and will do anything for dreamies. Freddie is obssessed with food, he’s even been known to climb into the fridge to find something to eat when no-one is looking!

Percy Percy is a very gentle soul. She was adopted from Forgotten Felines, who take on cats who are harder to adopt. She is FIV+, so isn’t allowed to go outside, but she doesn’t mind! Before she was adopted, Percy was a feral cat living on a school field, who were going to shoot her and the rest of her colony. When she first went home, she spent the first few days hid behind the sofa as she was scared and confused, she wouldn’t have experienced being in a home before. She came out of her shell after about a week, and turned into a wonderful cat who loves a cuddle!

Tabby Tabby was found on Gumtree, where she was being sold with the intention she’d be used for dog fighting. She was tiny when she was rescuesd, she shouldn’t have been taken away from her mum at such a young age, but luckily she was healthy. She’s had a wonderful life with her forever family, she is described as being the “dopiest cat”, and loves to have a dress up! She also loves a cuddle, and will happily be carried around like a baby.

Berry Berry is 8 years old, and was adopted from Happy Landings in Shepton Mallet. He was found as a kitten in the middle of a dual carriageway - he was too small to have crawled there so he must have been thrown out of a car window. Berry likes to keep himself to himself, he isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a fan of new people or new situations, which his humans think is to do with the traumatic start he had to his life. He absolutely adores his family, however, and loves to cuddle up in bed at nighttime with his family.

Bagheera Bagheera lived in a cafe in Kefalonia before his forever family found him, where he was being abused due to the colour of his fur. He chose them, as soon as he saw them arrive he wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t leave them alone - he even followed their taxi back to their hotel! Luckily his family chose him too, and decided to take him back to the UK with them. His humans started the process to bring him home in June 2019, where they took him to a Greek vet to get his passport and jabs. He then had to stay in a cattery before he came home in August of the same year. Bagheera settled in straight away, he lives with (and is the boss of) 2 dogs, as well as his family, and he couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be happier!

Crumb Crumb was brought to the UK from Romania by the shelter World Animal Friends.She was described as “almost dead” when she was found, she was a tiny, 4-week-old kitten with a lot of health problems. She was nursed back to health, which took a long time, before she found her forever home in the summer of 2020. She’s now a healthy 1-year-and-4month old, although her eyes unfortunately couldn’t be saved due to infections. Despite not being able to see, she knows exactly where she is in her home. She climbs all over everything, but is extremely clumsy so tends to fall off them again! Crumb is a little wary of new people, but when she gets used to you, she will be all over you for cuddles and fuss.

Mac Mac was adopted from World Animal Friends, who rescued him from the streets of Greece. He was taken to a foster home where he met his best friend Gus, and ever since then they havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been able to leave each other alone, they will always be cuddling somewhere! Mac and Gus were adopted together in February 2020, where they settled straight into home life. Mac loves to cuddle with his humans as well as Gus, and within hours of being home they were already cuddling up on laps.

Gus Gus was adopted from World Animal Friends, who found him stuck in a tree blind in Greece. He was taken to his foster home in Greece where he met his best friend Mac! They hit it off straight away, and have been inseperable ever since. Before he was brought to the UK, he unfortunately had to have his eyes removed, but he hasn’t let that stop him! Within a couple of days at his forever home, he knew where everything was and was climbing on the furniture. Unlike his little sister Crumb, Gus is a lot more timid when getting down from thing’s he’s climbed onto - if he can’t stretch out and feel the ground, he’ll wait to be helped down instead of falling. Gus is such an affectionate cat, and has been since the first few hours of being home.

Poppy Poppy was found alongside her brother Leo when they were 18 days old in Thailand. Their mother was nowhere to be seen, so their new human was determined to help them. She hand reared them until they were healthy again, which took about a month. They had to be left in Thailand in a foster home until they were 6 months old, which is when their human came back to bring them home. Unfortunately at 14 months old, Leo had sudden onset heart failure and passed away. Poppy is now 4 years old, and she hasn’t had any health issues. Because she was hand reared, she’s not too fussed about being outside, so will only go out with her human - she tried to go out on her own before, but got lost inside someone’s garage for 3 days! She now has to be on the lead incase she thinks she’s brave enough to go exploring again. Poppy has a beautiful temperament, but she’s a little wary of other people so tends to only show her mum her more affectionate side.

Bagheera 14-year-old Bagheera was rescued along with her mother when she was just 5 1/2 months old from The Moggery in Bristol. Along with her mum, Bagheera loved to hunt smaller animals and bring them back home to show her new family (although she doesn’t eat them!). It took her about 6 years to warm up to people, but now she has she is not looking back! She runs straight up to new people to say hello, and loves a fuss. She’s still learning how laps work, however, and is only standing on them at the moment! Coming from a stray background, Bagheera isn’t very terratorial as she’s learnt if there’s any kind of scuffle, she needs to just run away. Her background has also made her a very serious cat, she doesn’t like playing very much unless she’s in the right mood. She also isn’t very keen on fish, but likes some yummy tuna water! Bagheera has grown into being one of the sweetest cats out there, she never has her claws out, and will only ever nibble at your fingers if she fancies it.

Scotch & Glossy Scotch and Glossy were born with their brother in July 2019 into a household full of animals. They didn’t get on with the living situation, so all 3 of them were taken to Bristol and Wales Cat Rescue to find their fur-ever homes. In January 2020, they were adopted into a loving family and have been having the time of their lives ever since! Glossy (short for Gloucester) is a beautiful natured, timid black cat who has the quietest meow I’ve ever heard. He also likes to sit on the top of the stairs and look down at what’s going on underneath, this way he can be comfortable on his own but still part of the action. Scotch, on the other hand, is a lot more outgoing, and his meow reflects this - if he has something to say you’ll know! He also likes to be the centre of attention, getting lots of fuss. Even though they are quite different, they are loved equally by their family.

Thank you to everyone who has allowed me to come to their homes, and trusted me with these stories, and a massive thank you to the following people for sharing their heartbreaking images featured as polaroids: Ellie Folkard, Jo Terry, Andrada Marinescu and Christina Innes.

Rescue is Best

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