Meet Aura!
I know a great chap who takes in stray dogs and cats and things and tries to find homes for them. This tiny little five-week-old darling wormed her way into Sunflyr's heart, and he brought her home to live with us yesterday.
Her eyes look pretty awful right now. She had some kind of infection that caused tissue within her eyes to hemorrhage through her pupils. All of this will eventually be reabsorbed by her body so she won't look so undead. The vet said she has no sight, but we're not convinced. Her eyes focus towards sound, she even followed Phoenix's hand from side to side and when Phoenix moved her hand up, Aura focused on the shadow of it on the floor in front of her. It was really quite extraordinary. It's hard to say what she might be able to see when the hemorrhaging clears up.
We're treating her as if she is a blind cat. However, she doesn't run into walls as much as one would expect with a totally blind cat in unfamiliar territory. I remember reading a book about taking care of cats many years ago. One of the suggestions was to tell a cat when you're going to touch her and ask permission before picking her up. This seems like a good idea, since Aura mostly can't see our hands coming for her. If we do it consistently enough, she's going to get used to the sounds of "I'm going to touch you" and "I'm going to pick you up" and can be prepared. She does not like to be carried. I imagine it's very confusing.
We were a little worried about taking this kitten into the home, mostly because of how our three cats will react to her. Will they mess with her because she is blind? Will they be angry at us and experience some negative behavior changes? Maybe. Introducing a new animal into a home is always a process.
Now, we decided to seclude her in a room for the night and while no one is home. When Sunflyr first brought her home, he put her on the floor, in the carrier, and went to the bathroom. Miss Luna (I'm so proud of her!) came in to inspect the tiny black thing in the carrier. The other two cats were nowhere to be found. When I got home, Aura was chewing on Sunflyr's arm, and Miss Luna was busy begging for dinner. We put Aura in the laundry room for the night, and she started scratching the door (I think this is part of how she explores, she had to touch everything with her paws). Miss Luna sat in front of the door looking very concerned. Dréa and Roscoe only started coming out of their hiding places when all the people were home. They did not approach Aura or the door to the room she will be in for the next few nights.
Miss Luna does not seem phased at all. The only difference in her behavior is that she's curious about what is on the other side of that door. She's not hostile to Aura, she's not mad at me, she's not showing her frustration by tearing things apart. Ok, granted it had only been a few hours since Aura was brought home, but you would think if it bothered her, her showing it would be right away. Like the other two cats did with their hiding and their distance. I'm sure they'll all come around, but I am particularly proud of my baby.
Her eyes look pretty awful right now. She had some kind of infection that caused tissue within her eyes to hemorrhage through her pupils. All of this will eventually be reabsorbed by her body so she won't look so undead. The vet said she has no sight, but we're not convinced. Her eyes focus towards sound, she even followed Phoenix's hand from side to side and when Phoenix moved her hand up, Aura focused on the shadow of it on the floor in front of her. It was really quite extraordinary. It's hard to say what she might be able to see when the hemorrhaging clears up.
We're treating her as if she is a blind cat. However, she doesn't run into walls as much as one would expect with a totally blind cat in unfamiliar territory. I remember reading a book about taking care of cats many years ago. One of the suggestions was to tell a cat when you're going to touch her and ask permission before picking her up. This seems like a good idea, since Aura mostly can't see our hands coming for her. If we do it consistently enough, she's going to get used to the sounds of "I'm going to touch you" and "I'm going to pick you up" and can be prepared. She does not like to be carried. I imagine it's very confusing.
We were a little worried about taking this kitten into the home, mostly because of how our three cats will react to her. Will they mess with her because she is blind? Will they be angry at us and experience some negative behavior changes? Maybe. Introducing a new animal into a home is always a process.
Now, we decided to seclude her in a room for the night and while no one is home. When Sunflyr first brought her home, he put her on the floor, in the carrier, and went to the bathroom. Miss Luna (I'm so proud of her!) came in to inspect the tiny black thing in the carrier. The other two cats were nowhere to be found. When I got home, Aura was chewing on Sunflyr's arm, and Miss Luna was busy begging for dinner. We put Aura in the laundry room for the night, and she started scratching the door (I think this is part of how she explores, she had to touch everything with her paws). Miss Luna sat in front of the door looking very concerned. Dréa and Roscoe only started coming out of their hiding places when all the people were home. They did not approach Aura or the door to the room she will be in for the next few nights.
Miss Luna does not seem phased at all. The only difference in her behavior is that she's curious about what is on the other side of that door. She's not hostile to Aura, she's not mad at me, she's not showing her frustration by tearing things apart. Ok, granted it had only been a few hours since Aura was brought home, but you would think if it bothered her, her showing it would be right away. Like the other two cats did with their hiding and their distance. I'm sure they'll all come around, but I am particularly proud of my baby.
1 comment :
oh she is so cute!!
Zillah
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