FACES of RESCUE 100 CATS - MAGGIE 45/100

MAGGIE - 8x8 Oil on Panel

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Meet Maggie. She was part of a litter found in a Charlotte neighborhood by her current owner's sister, who took in the mama cat and the kittens and provided them a shelter in her garage. This one little kitten (Maggie) was the most curious/aggravating/rambunctious, and since her owner's sister kept the last kitten ( who had no mobility in her back legs), Maggie went to her new home in Raleigh!

Nothing has been the same since. Maggie doesn't realize she's a cat! She still gets into everything, dominates the older male cat, makes unusual noises like she's mourning, and she has been doing that every day for the past decade! She's extremely smart and predictable. Translated, that means you know exactly when she's had enough of anything and plans to create havoc in the next few moments!

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Maggie is one great cat. She can be loving, but don't rub her backside more that once or twice, and don't wiggle your feet under a blanket because she'll attack! Lastly, don't try to outsmart her because she knows all the tricks. Her one fear is a doorbell (which is so loud that it scares us all at times).

FACES OF RESCUE 100 CATS: Champy 44/100

"Champy" - 8x8 Oil on Panel

I am not sure on the original story of this handsome man - But he goes with Chiquita (#32) and Snowball (#33)

FACES OF RESCUE 100 CATS: Pumpkin 43/100

"Pumpkin" - 8x8 Oil on Panel

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Meet Pumpkin - Formerly “Kumar” at Safe Haven for Cats.

Pumpkin's Owner writes: "Pumpkin was adopted from Safe Haven to be a companion for our other cat Woolly, also adopted from Safe Haven. Woolly would always stress out when we would leave for a couple days so we decided he needed a buddy so he wouldn’t be alone. Pumpkin is very laid back and they hit it off quickly. They will lay on the bed together and groom each other. Woolly has taught Pumpkin how to demand attention from us and act really cute to get pet. Pumpkin is not a lap cat but will gladly roll over to get his belly scratched. "

Pumpkin AKA Kumar - One handsome BIG fellow!!!

FACES OF RESCUE 100 CATS: Max 42/100

"Max" 8x8 Oil on Panel

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Meet Max a really special cat--He used to hang around his owner's house and, based on his girth, hung around every house in the neighborhood as well (LOL).

They named this chubby little tuxedo cat "Max" and looked forward to his daily visits. They also, finally determined that Max had an owner, but they had moved to a new home about a mile away and apparently Max didn't like the new digs. Every time his owner could catch Max, he would take him home. About an hour later, Max could be seen cutting through the neighborhood yards as fast as his paws would take him.

After a few years of daily visits, sometimes in the rain, occasionally in the snow, seeing him with an icicle stuck to his furry tail, soaking wet or panting from the heat, his new owner's knew that something had to be done. They approached his owner and asked him to let Max be adopted by them. The owner could have full visitation rights if he so desired. He agreed, and Max became a full-fledged member of is new family.

Max became and indoor cat and showed no inclination to return to the outside world for the next six years. He was a great cat, loved holidays and Christmases (except when his Aunt Marion would put the Santa Claus hat on his head...although he tolerated it fairly well for a feline). He had a thing for catnip as well, and both he and Fox (the elder cat) shared that addiction!

After his yearly physical in late May, Max developed a respiratory infection and was having a hard time of it. On June 6, 2008, Max was put to sleep when a combination of medical problems proved too much for him to bear.

Max sproking his fabulous haircut!

FACES OF RESCUE 100 CATS: Chowski 41/100

"Chowski" - 8x8 Oil on Panel

Chowski's owner writes:

"When I first saw Chowski he poked his head out of the broken slats of an attic, slid down a roof and tumbled down a flowering tree backwards to the ground. He was the cutest crème and white kitten I had ever seen. I had become concerned about how many cats I had seen hit by cars in the area and had stopped at an old 40’s era house and barn that now stood next to a busy new area of subdivisions. Turns out there were 23 cats and kittens at the house. A woman was feeding them (bread and milk!) but none had been spayed and neutered.

I decided two things that afternoon: one I was going to help this woman and that I was going to start with Chowski. As he ate tuna I had brought from a metal pie pan directly in front of me I made a lunge and grabbed him. He showed his appreciation for my “rescue” by immediately biting my finger! But I held on and opened the door to my car and threw him in. He bounced off the windows a couple of times – as a complete amateur at cat rescue I hadn’t even brought a carrier! Chowski did survive my beginning attempts at rescuing cats. As I did more rescue he shared his home with hundreds and hundreds of other cats until at 17 ½ he passed away in my arms. "

"Chowski"

FACES OF RESCUE 100 CATS: Robin 40/100

I am BAAAACK... Wow, the last month took a serious toll on my time ,energy and creative mojo.. I must say - it felt awesome being back in front of my easel!!!

"Robin" - 8x8 Oil on Panel

This is Robin. She was owned by a GREAT cat lover and activist. His owner is the founder of Safe Haven for Cats and Robin and her buddy, Chowski, were the first cats that she ever rescued and were the inspiration to start the no-kill shelter. To date the shelter has saved over 12000 lives!!! What an incredible legacy that these two cats left behind.

Pam writes: "Robin stood out in a crowd from the very beginning. When Robin first came up on
the rickety, wooden porch to be fed she took my breath away with her unbelievably green eyes, grey and white fur and pink nose. But she was very skittish. I was trapping/ sterilizing all the cats at a 1940’s farmhouse. There was no time to loose; these cats were running loose and unfortunately they were frequently killed by cars. I kept trapping and getting the “other” cats! Of course, we housed them, got them all their medical care and adopted them to new homes. But I really wanted Robin. Not that I had any intention of keeping her. She would be cared for and adopted like all the rest. Finally, the day came when I had her in the trap on the porch. Later that night, after she was transferred to as nice warm cage, I tentatively put my hand up to her face. But instead of biting me she rolled over and put her cheek right in my hand. Thus began a love affair that lasted almost 18 years. As you guessed, I never did adopt her out."

FACES OF RESCUE 100 CATS: Jack 39/100

"Jack Sparrow" - 8x8 Oil on Panel

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This is Sasha's (#37) litter mate...

Jack

FACES OF RESCUE 100 CATS: Natasha 38/100

"Natasha" - 8x8 Oil on Panel

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Natasha is much more regal and dignified than Mr Boris! She is feline leukemia positive as a result of her companion Boris having the disease, but not even that gets in her way! She can dominate even that condition, and is doing fantastically well. She has already outlived estimates of what most such cats are predicted to, and she is about to turn six in the summer!!!!

FACES OF RESCUE 100 CATS: Sasha 37/100

"Sasha" - 8x8 Oil on Panel

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Captain Jack Sparrow and Sasha are, believe it or not, littermate brother and sister. They were living the cushy life in Newport Beach CA when their humans decided to have a baby. Not long after the baby was born, it was determined that the baby was allergic to the cats, and Jack and Sasha were banished to live in the basement. A pretty big basement but still a bit of a shock to two cats that had previously had the run of the house. They weren't played with - they had to entertain themselves, and just basically became second tier citizens in their house.

Fortunately the humans realized that this was not fair to the cats (either that or they tired of constantly having them shaved due to their long hair) and contacted Helping Persian Cats in Southern CA. Normally this group places their rescues in foster homes until they are adopted but their owners were determined to have Jack and Sasha adopted together and kept them in their home (basement) while HPC looked for a new owner.

They were adopted by a great person, whose elder cat had passed away few months earlier and who was really missing the companionship of a cat.

Sasha

Jack Sparrow and Sasha

FACES of RESCUE 100 CATS - Tessa 36/100

"Tessa" - 8x8 Oil on Panel

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Tessa was adopted together with her brother Eli from the Houston SPCA in the fall of 2004. Unfortunately, Eli succumbed to FIV shortly thereafter. Tessa, a gorgeous gray tabby with auburn slashings, has been her owner's best friend for the last six years . She's playful, intelligent, and a total cuddlebug.

Tessa

What a FACE !!

FACES OF RESCUE 100 CATS: Duke 35/100

"Duke" - 8x8 Oil on Panel

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I would like to introduce you to a bengal cat Duke. He was rescued off of craigslist ( a well known site used to post unwanted items to buy or give away). He was being given away for free. In his short three years of life he was now losing his second home. He's lucky he didn't end up in a shelter but far luckier to have escaped the outcome many free pets on craigslist come to. These include being used as test animals, fed to snakes, or used as bait in dog fights.

Duke wrapped his little warm body around his new owners hearts. And when he showed affection and patience with their toddler it sealed the deal and he is now in a loving and forever home. He is their third rescue cat but by far the luckiest of them all.

Gorgeous Duke

Faces of Rescue in the News

How cool is this... Faces of Rescue Cat #20, Chang, made it into print at The Osceola Times !!!!

FACES of RESCUE 100 CATS - Cody 34/100

"Cody" - 8x8 Oil on Panel

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His owner walked into the beautiful Pueblo, Colorado shelter in late 2007 to see what Siamese kitties might need rescuing. She saw Cody standing there more like a little barrel-chested bulldog than a Meezer and there was no question that he needed to come into Rocky Mountain Siamese Rescue. She panicked each time a potential adopter expressed an interest in him and begged her husband to let him join their family. Equally smitten with the handsome fellow, her husband agreed, and Cody has been a ray of sunshine in their lives ever since.

She asks Cody daily, " how in the world such a fabulous kitty ended up in a shelter", but he keeps his secret. When She wakes up in the morning and sees those beautiful blue eyes in his applehead looking at her, she smiles and thinks how lucky she is to have this wonderful boy in her life.

Cody - One Handsome Fellow!

FACES OF RESCUE 100 CATS: Snowball 33/100

"Snowball" - 8x8 Oil on Panel

Snowball was surrendered at a local shelter after her family decided they no longer wanted her. She had lived the first three years of her life hiding under beds. The family dogs would constantly chase her, so she learned to hide during the day and come out at night after the dogs were put away. That was the only time she could eat and use the litter box. Her family gave her to a local shelter, and luckily, a relative of Snowball's original family found out. The relative asked all her friends if they could save Snowball and that is how this little girl finally found a home that she deserved!

She lived under the beds of her new home for the first few months. She roamed the house at night looking for attention and food. After lots of late nights filled with love and patience, she started trusting her new family and started coming out during the day. That was seven years ago. She is now the sweetest cat and is totally loved and adored .

Snowball - What a cutie!

FACES OF RESCUE 100 CATS: Chiquita 32/100

"Chiquita" - 8x8 Oil on Panel

Chiquita was dropped off at Cat Angels. The vet estimated her age at about one year old. She spent over a month in the Cat Angels quarantine area getting prepared for adoption and getting spayed. As a volunteer at Cat Angels, her owner fell in love with her the first day she met her in quarantine. At that time she was not planning to adopt a cat and actually thought that the volunteer work would fulfill her desires to adopt. Ha! :-) After convincing her husband, she adopted Chiquita and brought her home to her two sons (also Cat Angel volunteers) and Snowball (their ten year old cat).

In the last 2 months she is learning to trust her new family and is getting more comfortable being handled and loved. She is adorable and so much fun.

Chiquita

FACES OF RESCUE 100 CATS: Biscuit 31/100

"Biscuit" - 8x8 Oil on Panel

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Biscuit showed up one morning on his owner’s back patio trailing along behind his mother, a neighborhood feral cat. On the morning of his first appearance his owner was having biscuits and gravy for breakfast and his coloring was very similar hence his name. The owner was able to trap both and have them spayed/neutered. His mother was a true feral but since Biscuit was a kitten; he was entered into a local shelter’s adoption program. Unfortunately after a couple weeks it was decided he was too feral and not a good candidate for adoption.

Although after five years Biscuit may not be a social butterfly, he does like to be in the room to keep an eye on things. People are fine as long as he doesn’t feel trapped or threatened. He and Chrysler are fast friends and there are several mornings when the owner awakes to find him asleep at the foot of the bed with the others. Of course he is the first one off the bed and out of the room, but the owner is banking on patience winning over his trust even though it will be a long process.

"Biscuit"

FACES of RESCUE 100 CATS - Rex 30/100

"Rex" - 8x8 Oil on Panel

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This handsome girl goes by the name of Rex, a friend of Puff (Cat#25). Here is her sad little story:

"One crisp sunny day in January 2004 my son and I were driving along and I noticed this cat tail bouncing along the upper part of a snow windrow. I was quite shocked as it was 25 degrees Celsius BELOW outside. We were rather enjoying the weather as we had just come out of a 3 weeks spell of over minus 30 – 35 C degrees.( You can imagine how cold it had been if we felt minus 25 was warm)….I could not believe someone would let their cat outside in this weather. I quickly pulled over and the cutest white with black spots cat was there on the sidewalk. She didn't look very old maybe 4 to 6 months but she looked in pretty rough shape. She would not let me get anywhere near her. I was pressed for time as I had to pick up my daughter so I reluctantly left the cat on the snowy sidewalk. My daughter ended up going on a playdate so I said to my son “Let’s go see if that cat is still out there” Sure enough there she was sitting on the curb looking so very forlorn. I pulled up right in front of her and hopped out of my van. I walked right up to her and scooped her up! She did not even hesitate to let me near her this time. Once she was in our van I was shocked in the sad state she was in. Her ears were totally gone from frost bite. Her nose was black and all her paws were frost bitten to a blackened state. She was skin and bones. She looked like a walking skeleton. Our hearts went out to her right away. I wasn’t sure if I could save her but I was certain she would be dead by night fall if I left her.

Rex was terribly abused both physically and mentally. She took a very long time to come around and to this day runs scared when my husband wears shoes in the house or a garbage or plastic bag is shook out. But we love her and she has had a super life with us for the past 15 years. She is fluffy and fat and tries very, very hard to be a good and loving cat. Sometimes she just can’t do it and runs away to hide but she always comes back out and give us a meow. The special days are ones you can get her to purr, it warms my heart as I know it is very hard for her to trust anyone. Though, truly, after 15 years you would think she would trust us!! haha…

Since Puff has left us she is around more often. I know she misses him dearly and is in constant look out for him. I feel very fortunate that I was able to save our Rex and I wouldn’t trade her in for a million dollars…hmmm…well maybe a million!! "

"Rex"
What a face!!!!


Rex and Puff

FACES OF RESCUE 100 CATS: Boris 29/100

I am back... Still have a sore neck and a wicked cold, but I could not stay away from painting any longer...

"Boris" - 8x8 Oil on Panel

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This little dude was adopted from the Orange County Animal Shelter about six years ago. Boris just stood out as his new owners visited the shelter, and for very good reason! He was a completely lovable goofball, who would do things like sit in the toilet bowl (without getting wet!) and carry around a stuffed animal dog that was larger than he was!

Unfortunately when Boris was about a year old, over the period of about a week he became uncharacteristically lethargic and downtrodden. By the time he got to the Animal Hospital, it was too late- they found out that he'd had feline leukemia from birth, and had no choice but to euthanize him there and then. That... was a rough day. But his positive energy and attitude was just infectious, and his owners smile whenever they think of him lugging that stuffed animal around the apartment.

Boris with his stuffed doggie

FACES of RESCUE 100 CATS - Lambchop 28/100

"Lambchop" - 8x8 Oil on Panel

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Lambchop owned by Tia Hagnes fouder and president of Alley Cats and Angels

Tia writes: "Lambchop, and seven other "L" kittens, were fostered by my dear friend for the SPCA approximately 5 years ago. The L kittens had ringworm and so they were with her for almost 5 months. During those 5 months, I would go to Debbie's house every night to visit with them and once weekly we would do kitty bath time together (I would bathe them, she would dry them) and while the cats finished drying, we would bleach down the rescue room the cats lived in. Lambchop was called "lots-o-fluff" when she first arrived because she was all hair. I fell in love with Lambchop and Love Muffin the instant I saw the two cats but told myself I could not adopt any more cats (I had 3 at the time already). Love Muffin and Lambchop were not the most angelic of kitties and Debbie would call and tell me "Tia, YOUR kittens jumped over the baby gate and ran downstairs". When they were "naughty", they were definitely MY kittens. I used to say Lambchop should wear a little red bandanna tied around her head and a black jacket that read "bad to the bone". When the ringworm finally cleared up and the cats were available for adoption, I helped Debbie write profiles for the cats but couldn't bring myself to write anything about Lambchop and Love Muffin, I guess it was then I realized, they weren't going anywhere -- except to my house after I adopted her! She's so glorious in all her fur - and she's even more adorable when she's being "bad to the bone". I adopted two of the L's and Debbie adopted one (Lexington).

FACES OF RESCUE 100 CATS: Relay 27/100

"Relay" - 8x8 Oil on Canvas

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This is Relay who was adopted through Tia Hagnas of Alley Cats and Angels. He received his name since he had been passed around so much. Originally he was a feral around an apartment complex that had been TNR’ed. Since he seemed friendlier than the others a man tried to adopt him, but his current cat would have nothing to do with him. He joined Tia’s brood, but he definitely preferred men to women and Tia actively tried to find a man to adopt him. After another failed placement his current owner agreed to adopt him. It took him over a year to come out from under the bed and another six months to show some trust. Now he sits on the back of the couch and watches TV and sleeps at the foot of the bed with Chrysler and Einstein ever night.

Relay