We Saved A One-Eyed Cat, And He Saved Us Right Back!

Of course, we didn’t need a pet cat (ok, well, maybe I did) and my husband doesn’t dislike them, but he’s allergic. Not just the sneezing kind of allergic, but the kind where he can’t pick him up, snuggle with him, let him rub on his face, sleep on his pillow. He’d have a dog before a cat. So, should I mention, that he was on a hunting trip, and in and out of cell phone range when I called him and asked him if we could take the adorable cat. He caved, like the wonderful hubby he is, but firmly informed me that all litterbox and vet visit duties were mine.

He was just a little abandoned animal that ended up at the vet where my daughter worked. He had all the manor of issues a stray cat has; fleas, worms, hunger, and both of his eyes were full of infection. They removed the right eye right away. We named him Jack, for the 1 eye jack in a deck of cards… and the pirate! The left eye had obvious damage; scar tissue had formed a dot in the center of his eyeball, the size of a small pea. That didn’t slow him down, quite the opposite. He was a MADMAN!

Something amazing happened when he was 1 year old to change him from that crazy dude to an affectionate, sweet, pushy love bug. It was the day I forgot to put the vacuum cleaner away. All it took was a split second. It was all about the timing, a few times he’d been too slow and ended up making his move just as I was lifting the lid and ended up in the toilet! So, on this day he chose to run past me and try to make it in from the far end, and ran face first (eyeball first) into the vacuum cleaner.

It was 8 pm on a Friday night. I called my daughter in a panic, I was fearing the worst. My daughter called the vet on call and we agreed to bring him in first thing the next morning. It was a long sleepless night. We were all prepared to say goodbye that morning. The vet had other ideas. She encouraged us to give our cute cat a chance and reminded us that plenty of animals lose their site, albeit, it’s usually gradual and from old age, but totally do-able. So, we removed the only eye he had.

While he is the same cat as far as that madman spirit, he is a whole new cat. We’re fairly certain that the eye he had was causing him some discomfort, generally, all the time, which was why he was so aggressive. I can honestly say, if I’d known that, I would’ve taken the left eye right away, to have him in this better place that much sooner. So, in that regard, I am glad it’s gone. We’re certain he is too. I could sit and watch him all day. He is unaware he is a blind cat. They say that cats sense spaces with their whiskers, in his case, it’s about his ears. He maneuvers by sound. He is only now, after a year of being in the house, venturing into the kitchen. It’s a wooden floor in there, which changes the acoustics and he startles easy in there. He can track anything; he can hear Koa from 20 feet away, even if she’s only just sitting there. I’ve watched him track a fly. He is as cute as any other cat. He’s a poser… He is love.