Absolutely awesome, Mary!  And tell Duffy how proud we are of him!
Christine

Thank you for helping save these little guys! And let's hope they find a
good home soon, I'm sure their future slaves are out there somewhere.

 wonderful news about the blind kitties. We will purr and pray that both
are adopted SOON by a loving family.
 Jazz & his mama
 --

 Irulan
 from the stars we came, to the stars we return
 from now until the end of time

 >
 > This has been an exciting day -- one where we went from an
almost-certain
 > death sentence for two little blind kittens to one where a promise has
been
 > made that they will not be euthanized.   When I was first contacted, the
 > person who called me said that both cats were to be euthanized the
following
 > day if a home could not be found immediately. In the space of an
evening, we
 > were able to change the plan so that I would be interviewed on TV in an
 > attempt to find a home for the kittens, both kittens would be vetted,
and
 > the kittens absolutely will not be euthanized!
 >
 > Here's the story:  I was interviewed for the local TV station today
because
 > the animal shelter has two blind kitties (one blind in both eyes and the
 > other blind in one eye). Duffy was the star attraction, as we were
trying to
 > demonstrate that he is able to do almost everything a sighted cat can
do.
 > The two kittens will only be available for adoption as a pair because
the
 > little kitten (about 10 weeks old) that is blind in both eyes is very
 > dependant on his brother. I am delighted about the whole turn of events.
 >
 > Duffy was so accommodating that he demonstrated for the camera what I
had
 > just described to the reporter - that is, that he would start to come
down a
 > pole head-first somewhat like a squirrel, then swing his hips around and
 > back the rest of the way down somewhat like a bear. He was a delight! My
 > "dream" is that we will find adoptive care givers from this TV segment
and
 > possibly also convince others in the community to accept the care of
 > handicapped cats. Many people have the impression that it is a "chore"
to
 > take on a blind cat, but it's not. As I said earlier, Duffy can do
almost
 > anything that a sighted cat can do. The interview went very well, and
the
 > reporter was really impressed with what she saw. The reporter did an
 > outstanding job. She filmed the kittens at the shelter, an interview
with a
 > local vet who explained that the problem was a neurological one in which
the
 > eyes failed to develop properly, my interview, and a short follow-up by
two
 > local news anchors.
 >
 > My purpose in writing is to encourage those of you who are reading this
to
 > consider adopting a handicapped cat if you have plans to adopt a cat. It
isn
 > 't necessary to get a physically "perfect" cat in order to have a
wonderful
 > companion. In fact, I cannot imagine a more playful, loving cat than
Duffy.
 >
 > (I recently posted a few more photos of Duffy and Holly. They can be
seen if
 > you scroll down to the bottom of the second page under my signature.)
 >
 >
 > --
 > MaryL
 > (take out the litter to reply)
 >
 > Photos of Holly and Duffy:
 > http://tinyurl.com/8y54 (introducing Duffy to Holly)
 > http://tinyurl.com/8y56 (Duffy and Holly "settle in")

What a great story! I do hope they both find a loving family that will be
adopted by them.
Best wishes and purrs,

<snip

This is wonderful, Mary! Duffy has been a hero of mine since I first "met"
him here, and I'm pleased to see he's now a hero to those little kittens!

Stacey :)

Congrats. I always hope that when stories like this happens that cats who
need it get good and loving homes.

what a wonderful story!
Brenda

"MaryL" <carstan101@yahoo.comTAKE-OUT-THE-LITTER> wrote in

What a wonderful thing. Good for Duffy, showing off at just the right
moment, too! Many scritches to him (and you) for doing such a good job.

Thanks for all the kind words, everyone.  I'll keep you updated on the
progress.  One thing I should mention is that the person who put in all the
*real work* on behalf of the two kittens is the woman who first contacted
me.  She works with our local O'Malley Alley Cats organization, and she puts
in an incredible number of hours locating and screening forever homes and
foster homes.  These kittens were at the animal shelter (which also serves
as county animal control) because they were trapped by shelter personnel,
but O'Malley's works closely with the shelter.  From there, the story
progressed as I described it.  I was incredibly happy with the results (and
will be even happier when we find a home for the kittens), but my role was a
very small one.  Of course, I am also the *immensely proud* slave to Duffy
and Holly, so I had to report on Duffy's part in all this.

MaryL

What a great service....... Duffy sure was destined for big things!  I have
told many people about him...

Linda

Congrats for both you and Duffy.  He's a remarkable cat and a role model
for us all, human and feline.

Pam S.

circa Fri, 16 Jan 2004 02:13:37 -0600, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav,
MaryL (carstan101@yahoo.comTAKE-OUT-THE-LITTER) said,

Good for you. Every time I look at your Duffy pictures, it just
amazes me how agile he is, and how clearly full of personality.
Here's to hoping the little kittens find a great home as a result of
what you and Duffy did for them.

Laura