Rescue pet ...do you kow their story?

Tara my present cat had two homes before she was 2- why I have no idea because she is very friendly. She is not a lap cat but will snooze on the back of my chair or lie on the arm of the chair to be cuddled.

She used to be a ferocious hunter, some nights bringing me 3 presents and they were not always dead. Thankfully for some reason she gave this up last year.

I do not think she was physically mistreated because if I raise a hand to stroke her, she does not cower, unlike my last cat.

She appears to be a well rounded cat, knowing her own mind. She has been with me around 10 years and she is I think aged 12 now with the body of a 3 year year old.

We had a pure white cat, unfortunately we had to have her put to sleep last year but she'd had nearly 14 years in our house. She came, via a friend, from a vet in Cirencester. A bloke took her in just after christmas claiming he had bought her for his mother but she couldn't cope with a cat. We think she was about 4 months old. She was always frightened of men, except my youngest son (who she adored), and would not go near them. She only became slightly more friendly with my OH in her final year. If anyone she didn't know came to the house she would disappear, and would not have anything to do with anyone apart from the three of us and a little bit with one of my friends.
She was always very wary of going near anyone's feet and we were convinced she had been kicked at by the chap who took her in. He told the vet to put her to sleep. So my friends sister, who worked there, said she would find her a home.

We have two rescue cats, 9yo Russian Blue brothers. All I know of their back story is that their previous owners were posted to Korea with their work and felt they couldn't take the cats with them.

To judge from the boys' behaviour, they were spoilt rotten in their previous home! They are the most loving, affectionate cats you could wish for. One of them is currently on my lap, purring and asking to be petted and trying to roll around upside down, all 16lb of him!

They are not hunters. We recently had a mouse indoors and the pair of them sat and watched intensely as the mouse ran around but they made no move to catch it. I had to go and buy a humane mousetrap instead!

Our latest rescue is a dog, yorkie/Fox terrier cross. Maggy also belonged to travellers and was cruelly treated. Fractured pelvis, broken leg, damaged tail, she also had three pups decomposing inside her and needed an hysterectomy. Maggy is recovered in the main now and is the happiest most gentle girl you could wish for. We have been lucky with our two rescue dogs who are really the best.

My very large, black rabbit was bred by a dealer who sold bunnies on the internet. Perhaps because of his size, he was not sold and was left in a tiny hutch with hardly any food or drink and when the RSPCA shut the business down, he was skin and bone.
They brought him back to a better weight and neutered him, and then put his picture in our local paper, where I spotted him.
He is a gorgeous, easy-going chap who was easy to litter train, and has the run of our garden. In the evening he sits with me on a settee and enjoys a digestive biscuit and listening to the radio.

I've had/have several rescue cats. My oldest current boy came to us one freezing cold Feb evening with an horrendous wound on his side - my husband was convinced he'd been shot. He just moved in and immediately settled with my then three other cats. We have no idea where he'd come from but had obviously had a previous home as he was used to the litter tray. He's very small for a male even though he's now about 8 or 9 now. He hates being picked up and only sits with my husband late at night and only when the other one is out of sight. The other one was a young female who was practically feral. She lived in my son's garden in London for a couple of months going into their flat for food and sleeping on a beanbag on their deck but wouldn't let anyone touch her. Terrorised by all the males in the area apart from their own 2 my son finally contacted the CPL who caught her and had her spayed. We ended up bringing her home 6 years ago but she's the most difficult cat I've had. Devoted to me she's still very vicious and will scratch and bite at the slightest opportunity. She's obviously been ill treated in her younger life as she has a broken tail and a strange gait and will eat until she's sick if given the opportunity. She has a weird habit of licking anything hard like furniture, tiles and carrier bags if she's hungry and she terrifies the other boy above. I love her to bits but have had to discuss with the vet having her sedated to have her jabs and claws clipped before Dec when my little grandsons arrive for 6 weeks as I'm very worried she scratches them.

We have been very lucky with our latest rescue cat. She has been with us since January and is extremely loving and affectionate insisting on a morning and an evening cuddle at the very least. She was found wandering the streets of our local city with her mother and brother. All were very poorly and brother died but RSPCA managed to nurse mother and daughter back to health. When she first came to us she was very scared of the outside and would run under the parked car on the drive. Although she seems totally confident now she spends most of her time up the pergola or up a tree. I wonder if this is because she feels safe up there or because it gives her a good view.

Aoll our animals have been rescues - and no, we never have known what their history was- all have been wonderful- even though Gatsby was terrified or fireworks and gunshot. I think she was shot at before she came to us.

We still have Pudding, a UK rescue- she is at least 25, and possibly more. She and her sister, mother??? and 10 babies were found by the M1/M69 junction and taken to cat rescue. We adopted both mums - one of them stayed with our neighbour when we made the big move.

I could never ever buy a dog or cat.