Poor Penny Was Given A Second Chance And New Life

Continuing my series of stories about my past rescue cats, this time I talk about Penny. She was a little black and white cat that blended in well with my other cats – eventually!

Poor Penny Was Given A Second Chance And New Life

Originally My Sister’s Cat

This time a rescue story with a difference as Penny was originally my sister’s cat. She lived with my sister for a couple of years, playing with her children and very happy with her life and the garden she could play in. But that all changed.

Monster With An Air Rifle

Penny was shot with an air rifle and nearly died. She was shot several times and what made it worse was x-rays showed she had been shot before. Clearly one of my sister’s neighbours was taking pot shots at Penny. Why, we don’t know. Obviously cats wander around. Whether she was going into the garden of a cat hater, or just someone who enjoyed shooting animals we will never know. But my sister was distraught and asked me if Penny could come and live with me where she would be safe. Of course I said yes!

Penny Came To Live With Us

The Dining Room Table Hide Out

My sister and her family brought Penny to my house once she had recovered from surgery. Penny got out of the basket and disappeared under the dining room table. Where she stayed for two weeks. She only came out to eat once we had gone to bed. In fact she was active all night. She had a number of cat toys and one of her favourites was the plastic shell of a Kinder egg filled with rice so it rattled when she patted it. We would hear her in the night racing up and down the hall way playing with her toy. But the minute she heard us get up she went back under the dining room table.

I would sit and talk to Penny as she cowered under the table. She was a very sweet, lovable little thing, just scared. Let’s face it, she had been through a lot, being shot, her time at the vet and then a new home with strange cats. And boy were my cats strange (see earlier stories about Maxi, Juju and Jimmy). I would talk to her and stroke her. She was happy to be touched, just not picked up. I gave her the nickname ‘Peanut’.

Penny Emerges

Then one day Penny joined the others for food in the kitchen.

Hiding the surprise I just casually placed a bowl of food down for her and she ate it. It was the first time I had really got a good look at her, all you could see under the table were two scared eyes!

Her head was completely black until below her mouth when it was white and the white went down to a beautiful bib.

From that day on, she joined in with household activities and even started to sit on my lap. As time went on, she used to sit on my desk as I worked. She was very companionable, she joined in with my painting sessions, meditations, gardening. She liked to be involved.

A Bit Of A Loner

Penny came into a household of cats that were already a unit. The others just accepted it, I don’t remember any hissing or wailing. But of course Penny hid for the first fortnight so they had time to get used to her. She mixed with the others but she liked her own space and never curled up with the others. She was always a bit apart. Penny just wanted to be in my company.

She Liked Thomas

When another cat was added to the household, Thomas (who is the star in my next story), Penny did seem to like him and spent time wandering around with him. I love this picture of the two of them standing on the hatchway between the conservatory and the kitchen, looking to see if there was any chance of food.

Penny’s Injuries Caught Up With Her

Many years later, Penny started to show signs of being unwell. A visit to the vets suggested the beginnings of kidney failure, brought on by the injuries she suffered from being shot.

Eventually Penny began to hide. She no longer sat in her favourite place on the hatchway. She wanted to be away from the other cats and she didn’t want cuddles. Then she stopped eating. The vet came to the house to put her to sleep. I sat on the floor and held her as he gave her the injections. We were surrounded by the other cats and my little dog Holly who were all present with her at the end. She was a good girl. I buried her near our first cat HG and asked him to take care of her.

The next cat story will be about my last cat to join the troop in the UK – Thomas, a ginger cat with attitude who nearly killed himself urinating up a lit Christmas tree. But that is for another story.

Cat Art Images

Check out my cat art images at my Art Heroes (Europe), Pictorem (USA and Canada) and RedBubble (worldwide) stores.

Before you go

My name is Dorothy Berry-Lound an artist and writer. You can find out more about my art and writing at https://dorothyberryloundart.com.

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Thank you for reading!