Blind Cat Rescue & Sanctuary

Sweet Emma's family totally failed her. She owes her life to a wonderful veterinarian who knew this kitty was not part of the feral colony she was doing spay and neuter services for. Emma’s story starts not too long ago, when her owner died and that person’s family literally threw her out in the cold. This poor, blind senior kitty, who had always been an indoor cat, was suddenly without everything she had ever known and in very dangerous circumstances. A TNR trapper who works with BCR’s spay and neuter program, found Emma in a feral colony she works with, very thin and very scared. The trapper and our vet asked around the area and Emma’s story came to light. Our vet wasn’t about to return this girl to the feral colony. First things first, she removed Emma's damaged eye and spayed her. After that, Emma spent two weeks in a foster home, giving her time to adjust and heal. Dr. Linda hoped to find her a good home but no one stepped up to adopt her. When Dr. Linda called BCR, Emma had a home! Despite everything she been through - being abandoned, turned outside and doing all of this blind, Emma is a very sweet cat who loves attention and love. She’s doing really well at BCR now, where she’ll always be safe and will never be dumped again.

Cassie had a very rough start in life. In 2009, during a trip to the vet’s office, our founder and her daughter had stopped at the trash dump to drop off the trash. They already knew there was a feral colony that lived by the dump since she was trying to TNR them at the time. Her daughter noticed a small black and white kitten who tried to run away from her but got stuck in a fence. They had to help her get out of the fence and when they did, they noticed that this tiny kitten had no eyes. She wasn’t feral so all they could assume is that some heartless person dumped her there because of her eyes. The kitten was packed up into the car and taken to the vet that very day. At that time, she had an eye infection and worms but that’s all, which is amazing considering all she had been through. A few months later, she developed some problems with her eye sockets and the decision was made to close them up. None of that has stopped Cassie from thriving. We often talk about the BCR Magic helping new cats relax and begin to feel safe. Cassie is no different – it just took a while longer for her to trust people. She was very shy for several years but when Uncle Fester arrived in her room, she changed completely. Cassie is now one of BCR’s most loving kitties and getting petted by friendly humans is something she really enjoys!

Mr. Betty was literally delivered to BCR in 2022 by Fedex! A local driver found him beside the road on a very cold January afternoon. She very kindly stopped to see if he was still alive or dead. She was stunned to find that he was alive and rushed him to the nearest place she could think of that was open on a Sunday afternoon, which was BCR. The staff was preparing to leave for the day when she drove in but immediately started to asses this cat to see what they could do for him. He was extremely emaciated and his eyes were crusted shut from an upper respiratory infection. In fact, he was in such bad shape that the staff couldn’t tell if he was a male or female! They named him Betty because animal rights champion and actress Betty White had died that week. They put him on antibiotics right away and began syringe feeding. After visiting BCR’s vet, it was determined that he was in fact a boy, was a senior kitty and needed lots of dental work, which he got. Nearly a year later, Betty – now Mr. Betty – is a happy senior at BCR. He did lose one eye from what he endured but he’s a very sweet cat who will never again find himself starving and cold beside the road.

Imagine this: you have no home or family, you’re hungry and begging for food. When you ask for help, people throw things at you. You have to try and stay out of harm’s way even though you have nowhere safe to go. You’re at the mercy of the weather. And you’re blind. This was Uncle Fester’s story, until he came to BCR in 2018. By the time a good Samaritan had alerted someone about this poor cat who had been looking for food, he’d been through so much. When he got to BCR, he had many wounds and a broken leg that had healed incorrectly. It’s most likely that Uncle Fester lost his sight due to an untreated upper respiratory infection. When we took Fester to the vet for his first thorough medical exam, his X-ray revealed that he had been shot at close range with bird-shot. Those pellets are still visible under his skin. Although they aren’t painful, they are there as a reminder of his past. However, Uncle Fester’s story has a very happy ending! This kind and gentle cat today lives a safe, healthy life full of love and attention. Despite his horrible life on the street and the abuse he suffered, he is now in a place where he will never be abused, afraid or hungry again. He is – in spite of all he’s endured - a very loving cat who still loves and trusts people. Uncle Fester is also a great friend to his fellow BCR cats, always trying to make new arrivals to his room feel safe.