This is Orket, a pure Persian cat who has won at cat shows in her youth, a blue and red ribbon each.
Unfortunately, her story is not deserving of her cat show accolades.
She was purchased second hand from someone who was looking to re-home her. This first owner, we shall call A, passed Orket to B. No pedigree certificates or even her show award ribbons were given. B then passed Orket over to C to take care of her instead because he got another pedigree cat, but he seemed somewhat unable to let go of her. He kept pestering C everyday to find out how Orket was doing, and to return her if he couldn't handle it. Eventually, C, tired of all the hankering that B was doing towards him, returned Orket to B. B then, double-minded as he is, decided to give Orket away again.
This time, Aswat stepped in and decided to give Orket a new home - his.
Unfortunately, Orket did not assimilate well with his other cats, particular his playful male cat. She gets stressed out at home, and hides under the sofa most of the time, except to eat and go to the toilet. It was saddening for Aswat to see Orket in such stress.
Here comes the next part: Aswat's uncle's Persian cat passed away, and his uncle wanted to get another Persian cat, even to the extent of buying a Persian kitten at Frankel Avenue. But Aswat decided to give Orket to his uncle instead. It would be a great household for her - his auntie cooks and stays home so she is free to groom and feed Orket properly daily.
However, some family problems arose, and Orket found herself in the middle of a family dispute. The couple had to let go of Orket. Aswat stepped in again, and took Orket back to his shop.
She was in terrible condition, her fur matted, and very skinny.
You see, a Persian cat, having a flat face, finds it hard to eat properly. She needs a special bowl, and she eats more if she is hand fed (think of how Asians eat food like rice with our hands, that's how she is only able to eat wet or fresh food of any kind). Not only is it a dedicated effort to feed her, she needs to be groomed everyday. There is no shortcut to keeping a Persian cat looking well.
Because Orket is a show cat, she does not mind being in a pen inside Angels Pet Shop. But her occupying the space in the shop means that there is less space for other abandoned animals that need rescuing, or more importantly, space for Angels' customers who bring their animals for grooming or boarding.
Orket, despite being thrown around from house to house so many times, is still a very loving cat. She enjoys being groomed, sitting still just to let you clean her, brush her, bathe her. She is quiet, and not aggressive, and does not mind sitting in a pen if you have a multi-cat household and would only want to let her out when there is human supervision. But taking her out of her pen and simply hugging her and grooming her is extremely rewarding, because she is so patient with the grooming process and knows that we do it because we love her.
See how much she enjoys being cleaned.
She is a very agreeable cat, and enjoys being hugged and taken care of.If you or anyone you know is interested in a show-standard Persian cat, who is about 8 years old, who is willing and able to feed her properly as well as groom her everyday, do let us know.
Edit: More on Orket here, and here.
