Purrfect Bundles of Love: Caring for Blind and Deaf Cats

Caring for a blind or deaf cat is much like caring for any feline friend. They do not necessarily require special treatment or extra medical assistance. However, they often get overlooked in the adoption process. Many wonderful hearing- or vision-impaired cats at rescues are eagerly waiting for a forever home. To learn more about the situation of blind and deaf cats at Wild Blue Cats Rescue, we interviewed Michelle Burkhart, a cat foster parent with years of experience caring for kitties with disabilities.

Michelle, what is your role with Wild Blue Cats Rescue?Currently I am the Co-Director of Sanctuary Operations, part of our Medical and Surgical Teams, a Foster Mentor and a Foster, and the Thursday Evening Feeding and Cleaning Team Lead for Wild Blue - so many hats. I've been volunteering with Wild Blue Cats since July 2015.

How many cats have you fostered so far? Do you know about how many of them have been cats with special needs?I've fostered 472 cats/kittens for Wild Blue since we started. I'd say about 10 percent have been special needs kitties.

How common are blind and deaf cats in rescue work (in your experience)? We've rarely had cats who were both blind and deaf. At the sanctuary we've had three blind kitties recently. There's been 40 kitties that were blind that came to Wild Blue. Wild Blue has had 16 kitties who were deaf. Doolin was one of my fosters and he was deaf and sight impaired - he saw shapes, but not details. I did foster one kitten who was deaf and almost blind who also had cerebeller hypoplasia (CH - ‘Wobbly kitty syndrome’). He was an adorable kitten who was a flame point Siamese-looking kitten. Loved him a ton!!

Regarding the blind and deaf cats you’ve fostered, was their blindness/deafness caused by an illness or injury, or was it a condition they were born with? Doolin, my one deaf/mostly blind foster, came to us that way, so we believe he was born with that condition. He also was a CH kitten, so sadly had several issues. As far as we know he is still doing well. Sadly, we don't always receive updates from the adopters.

Do most blind or deaf cats require extra care to accommodate their disabilities?I think that the only special or extra care that they need is an uncluttered space. Lots of clutter gets in their way and can confuse them. Single story homes are best for the blind kitties. I've not observed any special need for a deaf kitty.

What are some of the joys of caring for blind or deaf cats?I think the biggest joy is just observing how amazing and adaptable the kitties are when they have a disability. They don't seem to know or care that they are slightly different from other kitties. They also tend to be the sweetest kitties. They purr whenever you are near them or when you pick them up. Just such loving kitties. They do not know that there is anything "wrong" with them. If you are having a bad day, or are sad, holding a special kitty instantly makes your day better.

Is there a particular story about fostering blind or deaf cats that you would like to share?Doolin was the sweetest and one of the most fun kitties to foster. It was sometimes hard to watch him, though, because he would just run full speed into a wall or any object that was in his way. We lovingly called him "CTD" for “crash test dummy.” He'd bonk himself and then just get up and go full speed in another direction.

What do you like most about volunteering/working with Wild Blue Cats Rescue?I LOVE fostering!! It is the hardest job, too. It is so hard to love the kitties and then to have to give them to new families. It is super hard not to get attached and want to keep every foster. It doesn't get any easier, either. I do often volunteer to foster kitties needing special care as well, so I often have the kitties for a long time. We've had one foster since March. Discovery was born with a cleft palate and has had two surgeries to try and repair it. We are waiting on a consult to see if she needs to have another surgery or if there is no repairing her holes that she still has in her palate.

What is the best way people can help support Wild Blue Cats Rescue right now?Wild Blue is always needing monetary assistance. We do take on kitties who need more care - therefore they have lots of medical needs and medical costs. For example, we have helped many kitties who were diagnosed with FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis). In the past, vets said there was not a cure, and those kitties were euthanized. I'm actually fostering a kitten with FIP now (Boxster). The average cost for the treatment is $3,000.00 for one cat.

Is there anything we haven’t covered about this topic that you would like to share?Fostering kitties with st rewarding experience. Especially rewarding is when the kittens are adopted and seeing the smiles on the families’ faces.special needs, either blind and deaf, with CH (such as Gallardo), or who have other special needs, is generally the mo

Visit www.wbcats.org to learn how you can support the nonprofit!