London Cat Vet Finds Purrrfect Home For Popular Feline

    LONDON, UK, September 25, 2008 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Betsy - as she has been named - attracted nearly 4,000 friends on United Cats - a feline social networking site (think Facebook but for cats!) and her YouTube video has been viewed thousands of times, after London veterinarian Zeta Frasca launched a campaign to find her owners.

Despite her online notoriety it was an article in the local newspaper the Richmond Informer that described Betsy as "old, homeless and [with] a tendency to lash out unexpectedly" that ultimately led to her re-homing.

Zeta Frasca, cat vet and owner of Kitten to Cat veterinary clinic in London launched the campaign to find Betsy's owners and also raise awareness of the importance of micro-chipping. "Betsy was micro-chipped so in theory we should have been able to reunite her with her family. Unfortunately her owners did not update their information so when they moved house we were unable to locate them. After exhausting all the options we had to re-home her" she said.

After reading the article about Betsy, a Kew resident visited Betsy at Kitten to Cat and fell in love. She said "after my Missy died two years ago there were many reasons not to have another cat, but Betsy filled all the criteria. "

For Betsy it was a match made in kitty heaven. Her behavioural problems, which were a result of living on the street and prolonged neglect, were seen as a challenge by her new owner who dismissed them saying "I was so blown away by her beauty I was not concerned!"

"Of course nothing is totally stress-free, especially re-homing an angry, neglected cat for the first time. We both had to work hard to get along, and Betsy worked even harder. During the first week, after a lot of biting and scratching, I was sitting in her room, feeling battered and bruised, nursing my sore hand, wondering where we were going to next, when she came up to me, and with every fibre of her being, looked up at me, locked her eyes meaningfully into mine, put out her paw and laid it on my hand, as if to say: "Don't be sad, I'm not really that bad!". This was a turning point."

Betsy's story has captivated Kitten to Cat clients and the local Richmond community. A pet portrait artist, Sandra Palme, even donated a painting of Betsy which now hangs in the clinic as a permanent reminder.

For more information see
• Betsy's profile on United Cats: http://www.unitedcats.com/cat/helpbetsy
• Her YouTube videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/kittentocatlondon
• Her portrait: http://www.finepetportraits.co.uk/BetsyCat.html

About Kitten to Cat

Kitten to Cat opened in March 2008 and is London's only cat only veterinary clinic. In addition to a cat friendly veterinary surgery and practice, Kitten to Cat, has cages and boarding equipped with web cams so that owners can make a Skype video call anytime to check up on their progress. Kitten to Cat is based in Kew, Richmond in West London www.kittentocat.com

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