Unfortunately, the trauma of abandonment brought on by her previous owners meant that Flossy developed a serious and unusual auto-immune disease which caused her to get stressed and itchy causing her to groom herself until she would bleed.

Flossy’s auto-immune disease got so serious that at one point she had a wound so big that she needed stitches.

The stress of the situation was amplified by the fact that Flossy’s separation anxiety meant that she couldn’t be left alone for long, forcing Rhi to sleep with her on the cold, hard floor… but it was all love between the two of them.

“She is the most affectionate cat anyone ever met. She has been heartbroken but has an insane capacity to love. She wants to be on your lap all the time, just cuddling and purring, rubbing up against your face or gazing lovingly into your eyes,” Rhi Burns, who has documented her experience in her blog, told Lovin Malta.

However, Flossy’s unending capacity to love made Rhi’s own cat, Kinnie, jealous and resentful towards her – at least for a short while.

“It was extra stressful as my cat, Kinnie, did not take kindly to this newcomer so I had to keep them separate. When I was with Flossy, Kinnie would cry for me. When I was with Kinnie, I’d worry that Flossy was lonely or hurting herself,” she said.

Despite the stressful situation, she found herself in, Rhi tried her very best to find help for Flossy, seeking out the advice of multiple vets before ending up in the capable hands of Quentin Lawson at Animal Aid Vet Clinic.

Together they came up with a solution to help rehabilitate Flossy, using monthly steroid injections, cream for wounds and hypoallergenic food.

And eventually, after months of sleepless nights and stressful days, Flossy slowly started to get better…

… until it was time for her to finally be adopted into a new home.

“Slowly slowly, her wounds began to heal and she got less and less inclined to hurt herself. She became more adventurous and would happily wear a harness to explore our large terraces,” she said.

And as if the stars aligned, the heartbroken and traumatised cat that first came into Rhi’s life is now leaving into a forever loving home.

“All Flossy ever wanted was love and I’m glad I was able to give her that during the lockdown and I’m so excited for her to start the rest of her life in her new home,” she said.

Despite the tumultuous time the two went through, Rhi has no regrets fostering Flossy and will recommend it in a heartbeat.

“I’d recommend fostering- it can be smooth sailing or it can be a stressful time but those stressful months looking after a special needs cat who would otherwise be on the street is the most rewarding thing you can do with your life,” she ended.

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