A purrfect trio: Kitten introduced to 'seeing eye' cat and blind feline
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) – Last month, an Iowa animal shelter found two inseparable cats, one cat that didn’t have eyes and the other, its mother, that was acting as its "seeing-eye" cat. But now, a new cat has been introduced to the mix.
One-year-old Keller was born without eyes and his mother has protected him ever since – making it impossible to expose him to another adult cat in her presence.
“It was a unique situation in the respect that we impounded the blind cat first, and the blind cat had no eyeballs and was not neutered," said Cindy Rarrat, the Sioux City Animal Adoption and Rescue Director. "And so we got him in and he was very lost, very confused. Within a day or so, we ended up getting the female in which we assume is his mother."
After a visit to the veterinarian, it was clear the seeing eye cat was not well.
“We found out that there was something wrong with her mouth, so after she was spayed, we took her back in and she had to have all of her teeth removed, and she had a large tumor in her sinus cavity. That has since been removed. They wanted to test it, but we felt that we just really didn’t want to know,” said Rarrat.
So, the shelter decided to introduce a kitten to the family to see if the mom cat, named Anne Sullivan, would accept him in.
“The mother did not accept any other cats because she’d been protecting him all of his life, and so we took a kitten. And it was one of our kittens that was very unique, he was, he’s got a ton of personality and he just was ... just a different and a unique personality. So we put him in with them and they love each other. I’ve been here 37 years and I’ve never come across a situation like this,” said Rarrat.
Nine-week-old Trixie is now part of the family and has been learning to help the blind cat.
“We use bells, a ball with a bell in it so that he can hear exactly where this ball is. The kitten, it’s just great to see them walk together because they walk together in unison, especially him and his mother and the kitten is learning that as well. So it’s just learned behavior, they know that he has an eye issue,” said Rarrat.
And now, all that’s left to do is find a home for the three cats.
“We have to find somebody that will accept three cats, and let alone two cats and let alone one cat. So we’ve been looking for that special home, that special someone that would give these guys a chance,” said Rarrat.
For more information on how to apply towards adopting the trio of cats, click here to be redirected to the Sioux City Adoption and Rescue Center's website.