The story of Gilly - our little blind cat
Nikki Butcher - Fosterer
Gilly was rescued by our Welfare Officers in early January 2011, when they were contacted by someone who had reported a young cat sitting on their child's trampoline in their garden. Initially the cat was nervous, but hunger got the bettter of her and soon she was securely in one of our traps She was taken for an initial check at Moor Cottage vets, who identified that she had poor eyesight, but other than that was in good health. She came into my pen as a CP fosterer and I made up some posters to put up around the area where she was picked up to try and find her owner. Unfortunately after the two weeks no one had come forward so Gilly then transferred to us for re homing.
Gilly had been staying in my outdoor pen in the garden, and was very lively if not a little wary moving around. Gilly went back to the vets for spaying and vaccinations, and at this time their eye specialist checked her out and it was discovered that she was actually completely blind, as neither eye had developed properly. This came as a great surprise to me as she certainly did not behave as if she couldn't see. Gilly was obviously going to have to become an indoor cat as she would not be able to roam outside as she would not be able to react to any predators, and could easily become lost.
As I already have an indoor cat (Bluebelle the pedigree Birman) along with a CP rescue moggie (Oscar) we decided that we would like to offer Gilly a safe and protected home. Gilly has surprised and delighted us with her ability to adapt to her new indoor surroundings, and has mind mapped the whole of our house already! She runs upstairs, chases Bluebelle under the bed in the morning, and makes herself at home on the end of the of the bed at night. She may not be able to see but her other senses are acutely tuned to compensate. Her hearing and sense of smell are very good and she can hear a food packet being opened when not even in the room. She loves to play and will listen to the toys landing on the floor to know where to pounce.
As you can see from the following video, Gilly can play like any ordinary young cat and seems to have adapted to her disability remarkably well. She still does have instances of walking into things but she quickly learns how to avoid them and remembers.
She is a joy to watch and makes us so happy that they were able to offer her a home.
Watch the video of Gilly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8HrYhgja5Y