The following are pictures of two small Persians, who came into my rescue in the early summer of of 2003. Their names were Clarence and Clarice, and they were surrendered to a central Illinois humane society by owners who had kept them this way. Though I typically see Persians in pretty bad shape, these were by far and away the worst I'd seen in quite a few years. The saddest part was that these cats had lived this way for MANY YEARS, and knowing how clean cats like to be, the implications of being kept in such filth for so long is pretty heartbreaking.
Fortunately, both cats were adopted within a short period of time into very loving homes, where they are comfortable well cared for. Persians ARE NOT low-maintenance and CAN wind up like this if not cared for properly.
This was Clarise at intake. Though this picture may not show it clearly, all of that fur is completely clumped together in a hard mass. There are NO SOFT SPOTS on her coat, and every time she moved she was in pain.
Because her face was so flat, Clarice often had runny eyes, and the only way to relieve it was to wipe her eyes with her paws. Layers of eye mucus encrusted her front paws, on the inside and all the way up her arms.
The worst part on both cats had to be the huge clumps of dried fecal material hanging off their backsides. How these cats were even able to eliminate is truly amazing...and one can only imagine the discomfort of an animal having to live attached to its own waste year after year.
Clarence was in even worse shape. His entire body was encased in huge mats that pulled on his skin every time he moved. Despite this, he was desperate for any kind of love and attention.
This was Clarence's backside, which was composed of fur so hard you could TAP ON IT. Not a single inch of fur was soft in any way, and the stench was unbelievable.
This was Clarence's behind...completely knotted up with matts and fecal material. He could hardly walk.
After 6 hours of shaving, teeth cleaning (both had infected teeth and ears) and bathing, Clarise and Clarence emerged as normal (albeit naked) Persians, relieved of there terrible, stinky burdens of fur. They proved to be extremely loving, sweet cats and are both living in loving homes. A truly happy ending to a pretty awful story. Their original owners were never prosecuted for animal cruelty.
