A Star Is Born - Cleopatra’s Story

We knew Cleopatra was special from the moment that we met her.  She is a Sphynx - which is a rare breed of hairless cat.  When she got here she was so cold she shivered all of the time. We got her a nice little sweater to wear and we put her on a heating pad where she snuggled up for days until she finally felt warm again. Day by day she came out of her shell and worked her magic on us - till we all fell in love with her. She's such an over the top friendly cat with an amazing personality.  When Linda, her foster mom, came to get her it was love at first sight. Linda is a retired breeder and used to show cats on the CFA (Cat Fanciers Association) show circuit. She felt that with Cleopatra's personality and looks she would be a great cat to show in the Household Pets category of the TICA (The International Cat Association) shows. So Cleopatra first role would be as a "spokeskitty" for Purebreds Plus Cat Rescue. Next up for Cleopatra was TV fame!  Petfinder.com sent out a notice for a nationwide pet search for a special kitty. They were filming a show for Animal Planet in Hollywood and were looking for a Sphynx that had been rescued. We sent pictures and a biography of Cleopatra and she was chosen for the show! With less than a week's notice, Linda and Cleopatra hit the road and headed out for fame and fortune. Cleopatra was a huge hit. Everyone loved her and she gave sloppy kisses to everyone she met. She spent the day doing girlie stuff, went shopping, got a new outfit from the producer, and schmoozed with the little 6-year-old boy who was the supporting actor for her stardom. Please keep an eye on our website to see when Cleopatra's Animal Planet debut will be.  We don't know what Cleopatra's next adventure will be - but we know that she has a great home and is content with her happily ever after!

The Story of Our Own Santa Kitty Claus

An older gentleman was traveling in his motor home when he had a stroke, ran off the road, and was severely injured by both the stroke and the accident. When he was found, there was a cat in the motor home with him. A lovely Sealpoint Ragdoll named Claus. When the family called Purebreds Plus and asked us to take him, they said the owner had lots of junk in the motor home and wanted to know if we'd like to take the cat stuff. Kitty Claus came to us with his own bed, a couple of small bags of food, and a large opened box of cat litter. That evening as we were settling the cat in, we looked around for cat litter. The first box we came to was the donation that came with Claus. As we went to dump the litter, we realized that the box was very heavy.  A little bit came out and then something stuck in the opening. We reached in to unplug the blockage and found a plastic bag. We started to pull out the bag. It was pretty heavy. Once we got it out, our jaws dropped and our voices went up an octave. The bag was filled with old silver coins! Reaching back in, we found another bag, and another bag, and another bag...the entire box of litter was filled with bags of silver coins.

To be honest, it did cross our minds that those silver coins could pay an awful lot of vet bills, but we decided to do the right thing and call the relatives who had dropped off Mr. Claus. They were very happy with our phone call. It turned out the elderly stroke victim was completely broke and his stay in the care home was going to be many thousands of dollars per month. They also realized the need to go back through that "motor home full of junk" and look more closely at its contents, instead of taking it all to the dump as they'd originally intended. While doing that they found paperwork to two large storage units, and more coins that had been stashed. When the relatives came to pick up the silver coins, they gave us a $200 donation and allowed us to keep two of the silver coins as mementos of our exciting story. When we get a cat into Rescue, we always know that there will be a little baggage coming along with it. Usually that means sickness or behavior problems. In the case of a cat named Claus, there was $11,351.00 worth of baggage in the form of help to the owner that loved and cared for him for so many years. What a truly amazing gift.  As the Holiday Season approaches - how fitting for us to tell you the story of a cat named Claus. He came into our lives and gave back to the people that needed it most. Won't you extend the season on giving spirit to the many needy cats in our care? There is no better way to celebrate the true meaning of this holiday. Claus has a new home and a happy life - we would rejoice in being able to grant the Christmas wishes of all our deserving kitties.

Cat of the Year - Rupert, a 10 year old American Shorthair

Where to begin with telling the story of Rupert? It is hard not to smile – when I think about him. Rupert is a very special kitty - a Miracle in his own way. He's pretty much had every problem that a cat can have, and yet we never gave up on him. Sometimes people ask how you can spend thousands of dollars on a rescue kitty – especially one considered a senior. When you take a kitty into Rescue – you don’t always know what problems you will have or how much money you will need to spend. There are no rules. Read Rupert’s story and fall in love with him – just like we did!

Rupert came to us after his family decided they could no longer care for him. He was underweight, had a chronic upper respiratory condition and dare I say it – raging diarrhea. He seemed shocked to find himself alone and in a strange place and he was very depressed. During his initial vet exam the vet determined that he was infested with internal parasites. He actually vomited tape and round worms. We treated him for these general parasites, but his diarrhea continued. We also paid for a preliminary dental. The vet said overall the cat was in good health, despite his advanced age. After several months and several different treatments we still could not get his diarrhea under control. He had several fecal exams that were inconclusive but the diarrhea raged on. We had begun working with Dr. Jean Metzler in Orangevale. Rumor had it she was a great diagnostician and specialized in purebred cats. During his initial appointment with her, she was able to diagnose Ghiardia, a difficult to detect internal parasite, and a few other pesky bacteria. So the treatment began again. She also found that he had ear polyps, most common in American Shorthairs and Persians. Although a preliminary dental had been done on Rupert, she found several bad teeth and even more dental tarter. By this time we had already spent nearly $500 on Rupert and his care was beginning to tax our limited funding. The wonderful news was that we'd also found someone who wanted to adopt him. Of course, we could never send him home in his current condition, but they were willing to wait.

Rupert's estimate for his next round of expenses was just over $1,000. Yikes! We weren't sure what to do. We put out a plea for help on our website. Thankfully, a generous previous adopter read about Rupert and donated $1,000 to sponsor his care. His adoptive family also paid his adoption fee of $175 in advance and sent us several hundred dollars to offset his costs. Everyone was rooting for him. Rupert was on his way to health and home, but it was still a long haul. Fortunately for Rupert – no one was willing to give up on him, especially his amazing foster mommy – Abhay – who spent over 6 months trying to get his poor bowels under control. We had to do over 5 fecal exams, the surgery for the ear polyps, and a dental with extractions. Abhay stuck with him through it all even though she was working and going to school and caring for her own cats.

Well, Rupert was finally ready to go home, and low and behold – his foster mom noticed he had an eye infection. Abhay was in tears, just heartsick that this wonderful boy was having even more problems. She raced him to our fabulous Veterinary Ophthalmologist only to find out the Rupert had a severe ulceration on one of his eyes. Sadly, Rupert's eye was so bad that it had to be removed. Against all odds, his new human mother, who had never even met him yet, was still determined to adopt him. Once his surgery was complete, and he was well, Abhay and Rupert flew to Southern CA to meet Rupert's new family. Abhay spent the weekend with them helping "Roo" get acclimated.

Now Rupert is living the life of luxury, a VERY happy boy. It was love at first sight and his family is very happy with him. Overall, our organization spent about $2,000 on Rupert's care. We couldn't have done it without the help and hope of great foster parents, supporters, and adoptive homes. We thank you – and most of all – Rupert thanks you for being part of his very own miracle.