Sometimes cats need a loving place to go while awaiting adoption.

Many times a rescue service will temporarily take in one or more cats until a good home can be found for them. These homeless cats are resuced from animal controls or saved through community efforts. They come from abandoned buildings, from catteries or kitty mills that have been shut down due to mistreatment or malnutrition of the cats, or from other sources.

There are many different rescue services available. Some do specific breed rescue, like a Siamese rescue or Norwegian Forest Cat rescue. Others are more general and don't specify any particluar breed, or will even deal with mixed-breed or "Heinz 57" breeds of cats.

One of Angel's friends specifically does Persian rescue. They diligently try to find homes for abandoned or mistreated Persian cats, and take in Persian cats who are also special needs cats.

One such lucky guy was Heathcliff. Heathcliff was an adorable orange Persian who suffered from cardiomyopathy and needed heart medication twice a day. Five years ago, his veterinarian gave him six months to live. He lived almost six years, and brought a truckload of love and companionship to his host family. They will miss him terribly, but this drives home the fact that every creature deserves a chance for life and a chance to contribute love and purrs to a caring family. Heathcliff and his host family both gained tremendously from this mutual friendship.

Rescue services must qualify and then continue to meet a very stringent set of rules, to be eligible to provide rescue services for needy cats and kittens.