I’ve written previously about my so-called cat gene. I am a cat magnet, although my super power seems to have lessened over the years. However, Stuart, my youngest son inherited the gene in full. He and his wife adopted two kittens last year; both had searched him out on work sites. Stuart now works at the agricultural center where I was working when I rescued Roxie three years ago. If you are sensing a pattern here, you may see where this post is going.

Last Tuesday, I got a call from Stuart; he had been trying to get in touch with Kenn who wasn’t answering his phone. Our son was on a tractor heading out to mow grass when something darted across the road and ran into the woods; he stopped the tractor and went to the woods to see what it was. Whatever it was moved further into the trees until my son started talking, then the mystery animal turned around and came to him. As you may have guessed, it was a kitten. And not just any kitten, this kitten is blind. Blind as in she doesn’t have eyes.👀 While we have no way of knowing what happened there are two primary possibilities: one, she was born without eyes, or two, she had an infection which left untreated, destroyed her eyes.

I, of course, loaded up a cat carrier and some canned food and headed out to the center. By the time I got to Stuart, Kenn had joined him. The kitten was roaming around the interior of the building we call the Farm Center, but she was staying close to both guys. (In the short period of time between me getting the call and and me getting to the Farm Center, Kenn named the kitten Bat. So far, the name has stuck.) I opened a small can of food and the kitten was obviously starving. While I was feeding and getting to know Bat (a girl), Kenn was on the phone with our vet and was able to get an appointment for me to take her in that afternoon.

Bat’s vet appointment went well. She is around three months old. We left with an antibiotic for an upper respiratory infection, drops for a yeast infection in her ears, ointment for her eyes, and a follow-up appointment this week.

We’ve had a deaf cat before, but never a blind one so we’re learning one day at a time. Now that she’s feeling better, Bat is very playful and loves to play with a fuzzy ball; most of the time when she does you can’t even tell that she can’t see.

We are gradually introducing Bat to other cats, primarily Bob, our overweight brown tabby. Of course, meeting other cats is stressful when you can’t see them, so we are always with them when they are together. We have ordered a catio that we are going to set up for Bat so she can have a “safe space” to sleep and explore when we can’t be with her. It will also give her and the other cats a chance to get acquainted through the mesh.

Have you ever had a special needs pet? If you’ve had a blind pet, give me your best tips!