Ducky

Oh, hi there! Sorry you startled me. My name is Ducky and I'm very pleased to meet you.
My foster mum says I am absolutely the sweetest, most special boy in the world and it's taking all her strength not to adopt me!

I came all the way from Narrogin to find my forever home and I've been in foster care for quite a while now because I was in really bad shape when I came in. For a start, when I got caught in a trap I hurt my mouth and was bleeding from it a lot. But I was also super skinny and missing a whole lot of hair, not to mention my flea infestation and all the worms... I won't lie, life was really really hard for me on the streets. I picked up FIV out there too, though that's not a huge problem.

I was obviously pretty scared when I came into care, with everything I had been through. I didn't want to be touched or handled at all and just sat curled up in a sad little ball for a long time.
But my foster mum saw something in me and knew that I was actually just a big softie inside and with some patience I came right out of my shell.

Once I get to know someone, ALL I want is pats and loving. I love it so much that I start dribbling with pleasure! There's just no way to explain quite how adorable and wonderful I am, you'll simply have to adopt me to see for yourself.

Now, a hard beginning like mine doesn't pass you by without leaving some scars, so there are a couple of things to know about me. I hope they won't put you off though, because I'm totally worth it.

Firstly, I'm FIV positive. This means I have a compromised immune system and it's important that I live indoors only. Secondly, I have pretty bad allergies. When I react to something, I get really itchy and lick myself all the time, sometimes pulling my hair out in the process. Fleas are my worst enemy as I'm really allergic to them, so keeping up with regular flea treatments is important. But I may also need to go and see the vet periodically, to receive steroid treatment to help my allergies. On the good side, I don't seem to have food allergies so I can eat anything, which is great because I LOVE food! At some stage I've also contracted feline calicivirus, which is a form of upper respiratory tract infection in cats that can cause flu-like symptoms but also mouth ulcers. If you have other cats this is something that I can pass on to them, so it's important that they are healthy and vaccinated (or are already calici-carriers themselves, which is more common than people realise).

Okay I think that's my health stuff out of the way! It might seem a bit daunting but trust me, adopting a cat like me is truly rescuing one and saving a life. Not everyone is ready to take on a kitty who isn't quite perfect but for the person who does adopt me, I will offer a lifetime of so much love and pats and snuggles and dribbling.
Did I mention that I have the saddest eyes on the planet?? Seriously, who can resist!

Please please don't walk past me. Take me home today!