PENN THEN...

Penn was one of 14 Ragdolls that were dumped at a local shelter. They were from the home of an aged breeder who was no longer able to care for them. These were some of the younger cats from adult cats breeding out of control. When we went down to look at the cats it was hard to even distinguish them as Ragdolls. We knew when we walked out the door that most of them would be euthanized if we didn't take them. We found the four shyest cats that looked like they "might" turn out to be Ragdolls.

Take a look at Penn's picture above from the shelter. He was emaciated, and looked like a shorthaired cat or one that had been shaved. Two things saved his life: his ear tufts which wouldn't have shown up on a short haired cat, and his tail. A short haired cat's tail is very distinguishable from a long haired cat. The hair is different even on a sickly cat like Penn. Even though he was shy there was something in his face that begged us not to let him die. So Penn got to come to Rescue. These pictures were taken in June 2008 while he was still at the shelter.

These photos above were taken mid July. Again, for Penn's before, during and after phases. These pictures are taken one month later. As you can see he's still one ugly boy. His eyes are sunken in and he's got the gaunt look of a starvation victim. We did start to breathe a sigh of relief at this point, though. The high quality diet is already putting on weight and helping his coat. He came in covered in black scabs and crust and those are starting to disappear. We could see small signs of "ragdollism" emerging. He would have been wormed once by now which is allowing his fur to grow in and we can tell he's at least going to be a medium haired cat. We really hope he doesn't stay that ugly, but if he does we'll love him anyway and maybe find him a home with a blind person. He's also gone from being hand shy and terrified to being handleable and occasionally friendly.

By November Penn is starting to look like a new cat. You can barely
recognize him above from the bag of bones we pulled out of the shelter. He is loving, playful and his coat looks like it's going to be lush and medium length. His tail is finally starting to bush up. We just might find this cat a home!

and PENN NOW...

Now look at our boy! Now THAT is a Ragdoll! With his tough start he's never going to be the giant cat he should have been, but he's most definitely recognizable as a Ragdoll. If you compare his November pictures to the January pictures, most of the visible change is in his tail. Take a look at that beautiful plume. Although hard to detect, his overall coat length is getting longer. We're also feeling the change. His coat is like silk, and very full. Our job is not yet done. He does have some eye drainage that we'll be checking out with our veterinary ophthalmologist. He may require additional medication or he may always need his face washed. Regardless he's to the point that he could go to his new home just about anytime.