UPDATE:
What a sweet girl this old cat is! I’d keep her in a shot if I could!
I believe this old lady needs a home as an only cat, or in a household with only a few older/special needs cats, as she really is searching for human reassurance (understandingly) and lots of things scare her at the minute.
When you touch her, she usually jumps and sometimes hisses as a fear response until she quickly realises she’s safe and it’s a human. Because her hearing is not perfect either, I think it all contributes to a scary life for her at the minute. Once she realises it’s a caring human hand, she’s off into major flirt mode! I love her! My other cats have approached her and, as soon as she hears/senses them, she hisses and panics, so I don’t think it would be fair to place her in a multi-cat home with younger, inquisitive cats – it’d scare and unbalance her too much, and that’s the last thing an old/blind/medicated cat needs. I used my sweetest/gentlest boy, Leon, and when she sniffed at him, she just hissed and he fell down all submissive! She didn’t really react to the dogs, but they were only allowed to approach once and very carefully.
She sat on my knee last night for an hour, and it took about 20 minutes for her to relax her body. When she did, she just lied down enjoying the head/neck rubs. After about half an hour though, she totally relaxed and the front paws got stretched out and vibrated in a chilled stretch! Then the head went down on my knee, and she was off in twitchy, sleep heaven!
I have just take her out into the cat run to get some photos (difficult to get as she wanders constantly), and let her have a little fresh air in safety. The weirdest thing is that, for as much as she wandered, she kept walking to the door! And, when she approached the step on the door, she lifted her paw as she reached it, so I am wondering if there’s a tiny (and I am talking tiny) bit of sight in one eye and, in the brighter light, slight sight is there. She also walked the perimeter of the run without walking into the mesh, so I think there is at most a tiny bit of vision there. Inside the house there is nothing thought, so maybe it’s more of a light response.
So, in terms of re-homing, anyone who can offer this lady a home based on the above and her needs, PLEASE let me know, and then we can look into sorting transport out etc. I would LOVE to keep her, but having a busy business where we are up and down, in and out all day, and I locum nurse here and there, plus all the other cats/animals, I know this is not fair for her. I also have an oldie deaf cat who is feisty, and gives the younger ones a good old wallop when they go near her, so may swat a blind cat unable to see her! A new home has GOT to be a home in her best interests. I am just so glad we saved her!
Turns out that she was found wandering in the middle of the road and a man picked her up. Someone has been feeding her as a stray, but did not want to take her on, and had no idea she was blind, so how long she’s been without sight, nobody knows. Judging by her fear at the moment, and the speed in which blindness from hypertension advances, it might not have been that long, but too long for re-attachment of the retina.
From a medical perspective, anyone adopting her needs to understand that she will require medication for life. She has a quarter of an Istin tablet currently once a day, and is such a foodie that I put it in a chunk of cat meat, and down it goes. She will require blood pressure checks on a regular basis and the meds dose tweaking accordingly, and will likely be moved onto more medication. I can happily email a copy of her history from the practice that was holding her. There is a full history, along with blood results, which they gave to me. I am going to worm and flea her today, so this will also be done, and her nails need a little clip as they are getting caught on her bed. One of the nurses also said that her breath smelled, so my vet nurse friend is coming around tonight, and we will try to assess her teeth. Basically, she will cost more than the average/young cat to care for, so a possible adopter needs to be happy about the possible financial implications. I have some Istin over left from my last oldie, Agatha, so I’m happy to send her with these.
I feel she will have a forever home for months, not years (I’d love to be wrong!) I think she will be the most perfect golden oldie and give someone tons of love for whatever time she has left.
My email address is: lizstokes@tiscali.co.uk
Please email me if you can offer a home, and if you’d like her history/results emailing.
Thank you in advance for all your help with this little old lady!
Liz
(Moderators, please feel free to move this thread if you feel it’s more appropriate)
