Page 2 | Anyone ever wonder what their rescue pets life was like before?

MomOfElves · 2021-12-31T16:59:17+00:00

Does anyone else ever look at your fur babies and try to imagine what they've been through? We have 4 rescue kitties, one was a little kitten when we got him, but the rest we got when they were just under 1, I often look at them and wonder, we had no background info on any of them and it just makes me curious.

snottygrot · 31/12/2021 18:38

My latest rescue is a 5 year old female
cat
I don't think she has been mistreated as she is very trusting friendly sweet
I would love to know how she ended up in a Shelter

Anyone ever wonder what their rescue pets life was like before?

winnieanddaisy · 31/12/2021 18:40

We rescued last springer spaniel quite a few years ago . We were told by the rescue that he was found as a stray in Blackpool a few months earlier .
He was such a gentle dog , very good with our GC but so very timid . Lots of things frightened him eg . Other dogs and the dark . Luckily our pedigree springer puppy was very outgoing and took him under her wing .
His worse problem was very dry scaly skin, but we cleared this up with special shampoo and combing it out . It took a few months to fix but he was so much better . They reckoned that he was about 3yo when we got him and he died at 13 of dementia. A truly lovely dog .

Buddywoo · 31/12/2021 18:41

My little dog was owned but kept on a chain in a yard in Romania. She was terrified of women and is still terrified of brooms. She became pregnant by a very large dog and had 6 puppies inside her that she couldn't sustain. She was so distended that her spine was so raised it split her skin and she was infested by hundreds of maggots that were eating her alive. Someone heard her screaming in pain, went into the yard and the owner said 'Take her'. The vet didn't think she would survive the day.
She had a hysterectomy and survived. Laser treatment on her raw flesh (but still very scarred). She has been with us 2 years and is the gentlest most submissive and loving dog possibel

Sonata13 · 31/12/2021 18:42

Mine was apparently abandoned when his owners moved and left him behind. I'm sure cats have memories. If he hears a baby crying on the telly he looks up immediately and seems very anxious. He only goes on the patio of I come out with him. When I come in he follows. I'm sure he remembers being let out and never being let in again. It breaks my heart. He is the sweetest, most gentle, loving and sensitive cat ever. And will be cherished forever.

Ikeabag · 31/12/2021 18:45

I have one who, when we got him, was very interested in teenage lads and would drag me towards anyone that smelled of weed he was a stray, apparently, but he was a total reactive nightmare - rescue didn't tell us that, though the way they acted while we were there in hindsight meant that they probably knew, or at least hasn't tested his levels, so I suspect he was surrendered without the rescue's consent. If you know what I mean. They're also the local pound for the area and once posted a lost female that looked his absolute double, she was taken back by the owner but I would have sworn blind they were siblings. He's an uncommon cross so it's likely. I sometimes wonder whether he'd be recognised if we went back to the area he was from.

SilverHairedCat · 31/12/2021 18:51

Interesting about the other dreaming Romanian dogs - Ddog 2 has frequent punch ups (as we call them) in her sleep - teeth bared, a low growl, snarls, legs kicking out etc. Ddog 1 occasionally runs and whimpers in her sleep, but nothing like the Rommie.

Ddog2 is also the funniest dog when she runs - she's like a puppy with legs in all directions. I assume she's making up for a rubbish puppy hood by embracing play now!

NewYearCalavicci · 31/12/2021 18:51

the dog I adopted was seen running back and forth across busy road and he got hit by a bus, a friend took him to the local vet fortunately the bus just clipped him so he was not badly hurt .

The vet said just let him go , he will find his way home or his owner will turn up My friend told the vet what he thought of him , he was not polite ! and took the pooch home but he couldn't keep him as he worked away from home so we said we would look after him for a bit to see if his owner came forward ( poster out up , cards in shop windows , parks etc) So we kept him .
However for a long time whenever a diesel car / van passed us he would try to chase after it so I think he was booted out of a car / van on the road where he was hit .

We had him for 18 great years

( Anyone reading my post in the litter tray , this is most defiantly not the same vet ! )

Angelbaby1985 · 31/12/2021 19:00

I'll the people rescuing from abroad you do know there then stuck in a box and deal with a. 4 day trip there's plenty to rescue in the UK with out flooding it with dogs from over seas

Hellocatshome · 31/12/2021 19:03

I'll the people rescuing from abroad you do know there then stuck in a box and deal with a. 4 day trip there's plenty to rescue in the UK with out flooding it with dogs from over seas

Oh really thank you do much for telling me I wouldn't have been aware there were dogs that needed rescuing in the UK as well! My Romanian rescue was already in a UK rescue when we rescued him so does that meet with your approval?

ilovesooty · 31/12/2021 19:08

My two cats who are brothers were rehomed to rescue at 2 when their owner was evicted and went to live with her parents who wouldn't let her bring them too. They're so lovely I often wonder how heartbroken she must have been to have to give them up, since she'd evidently had them all their lives.

trulyconfuseddotcom · 31/12/2021 19:14

We also have a Romanian rescue that has very vivid dreams and is super playful, we think she's about 3 and I agree re maybe making up for lost time! She is such a sweet and loving dog, we feel utterly lucky to have been able to rehome her. I do wonder if she might have had a proper home at some point in her early life, to be such a love and quite well behaved most of the time. Loves people and other dogs too.

MrsTerryPratchett · 31/12/2021 19:36

@Angelbaby1985

I'll the people rescuing from abroad you do know there then stuck in a box and deal with a. 4 day trip there's plenty to rescue in the UK with out flooding it with dogs from over seas

I don't feel nationalistic about people. Why on earth would I feel that way about dogs?

SilverHairedCat · 31/12/2021 20:25

@Angelbaby1985 no shit sherlock. This girl was in a UK foster home when we heard about her. She's a very damaged dog and I've no doubt the journey over is why she pukes in the car, however she's just as deserving of a loving home as any other dog.

And we'd been to all the local rescues first - the wait for a dog was years, not weeks.

MelonTits · 31/12/2021 20:29

Yes. One of my cats was picked up as a stray at 6 months old. No idea when he left his mother, or how. He’s such a softie I have no idea how he survived a tough few months, but I’m so glad he did.

Skade · 31/12/2021 20:34

I have a roughly 14 year old mastiff/staffy cross who I got from a London rescue back in 2012. He came to me with a huge fresh burn all over his back and fresh cigarette burns all over him. I thought the rescue were wonderful for rescuing him - subsequently discovered that the guy running the rescue was convicted of animal cruelty and banned from keeping animals for life (those who have been on the Doghouse board for a long time may remember the rescue used to get recommended on here, Canine99), so I often wonder whether his life was only shit once he went into rescue... he's had a cracking 10 years with us though and has been simply the best boy, I shall miss him so much when he's gone

Insidelaurashead · 31/12/2021 20:40

Our Lhasapoo sometimes shrinks back if you go to stroke him. He very clearly trusts us so it's not US as such, it's more I think he was hit before he came to us. He's also scared if a plate gets put down too loudly or if a fork gets dropped. We love him very very much and I hate the thought of anyone ever being cruel to him

Original poster

MomOfElves · 01/01/2022 01:41

@Sonata13

Mine was apparently abandoned when his owners moved and left him behind. I'm sure cats have memories. If he hears a baby crying on the telly he looks up immediately and seems very anxious. He only goes on the patio of I come out with him. When I come in he follows. I'm sure he remembers being let out and never being let in again. It breaks my heart. He is the sweetest, most gentle, loving and sensitive cat ever. And will be cherished forever.

I'm sure they do too, one of our rescues was called Ringo when he came to us, he was very fearful, so after a couple of months I decided to change his name, his behaviour changed almost instantly, he also has abandonment issues as when we moved he seemed to go into himself, 4 moves later he now knows he isn't going anywhere and we love him 😂

OP posts:

magicstar1 · 01/01/2022 01:48

My German Shepherd was a breeding dog. She was locked in a box for a few years having pups. The dog warden kept going back trying to get her and eventually she was given to him….she’d just had a litter and was probably too old for more at age 5.
The rescue then got her and had her for two months. They treated her very well, but she was still underweight and covered in bald patches. Her back legs are cowhocked from lying down so much.
She’s very healthy now, but still reactive and nervous. She’s terrified of tall men wearing baseball caps, but so loving to us. She’s just adorable and can’t imagine life without her now.

DuchessAnnogovia · 01/01/2022 10:34

We rescued our BC from a farm, sadly quite a few farmers kill white borders because apparently the sheep don't respect something the same colour as them? I cannot understand the reasoning behind this at all! We drove him home, and he threw up nothing but straw the poor wee mite. I shudder to think of his fate. Tali is a much loved member of the family and spoiled rotten!

Melassa · 01/01/2022 11:54

My cat was a stud at a backyard breeder. He’d grown up in a cage fed abysmal kibble only and was often put in with other studs as the competition “increased testosterone” and made breeding more successful.

The rescue managed to remove 15 cats from this hellhole, 4 died pretty soon after from untreated diseases which would have been curable if spotted in time. They were selling kittens at €800-€1000 a pop yet never bothered to pay for veterinary care for the parents.

My DCat had wonky legs from growing up in a cage and chronic stomatitis and had never run around or played. We don’t know how old he was when we got him (possibly anything from 5 upwards) but he went mad like a kitten with toy mice and balls to chase. He is stressed out by the presence of other male cats and behaves like a Taleban with females so is an only cat. He still has bad dreams and sometimes miaows in his sleep but on the whole he is a happy soul now and is super spoilt to make up for all those shitty years he suffered.

DontKeepTheFaith · 05/01/2022 21:45

Our rescue cat is a ragdoll. We don’t know much, just that she came from a multi cat household and she was ‘bullying’ her brother whom she came in with so they recommended she be an only cat. And she was only recently spayed at the rescue.

I think she was just used for breeding but still seems odd they didn’t try to sell her. She is gorgeous, placid and just a delight. Not a lap cat but very loving.

She is also scared of her shadow so really can’t imagine her bullying anyone.

She has been with us nearly 3 months and really is living the life of Riley.

Queenie6655 · 06/01/2022 21:23

Oh these stories 🥲🥲

Thank god there are so many kind people to take them in xxxxxxx

MrsIronfoundersson · 07/01/2022 20:13

Our first two cats were a pair rehomed together, that had been in a group of 4. They came with a very sweet letter for each of them from the mother of their previous owner who had died as quite a young man. There was lots of detail about why they were called their names (all strays taken in), what they liked doing and eating and how much the young man had loved them. Still makes me tearful! They were a credit to their previous owner, beautiful calm affectionate cats.

Yubaba · 07/01/2022 20:33

Our cat was surrendered when the owners had a baby 😢
She was 3 when we got her, she’s very independent, doesn’t like to be picked up and doesn’t sit on anyone.
But she likes to sleep on my feet and she sits outside and waits for me when I get home from work, she lives the life of Riley here.

HoldMeCloseImTryingToDanceHere · 07/01/2022 20:46

My girl is a Serbian rescue.
This is her then and now.

Its her 9th birthday this month (she’s not fussy about the exact day so I just choose a random one when I remember )