By GWEN UBER
Special to the Sun-Gazette
In November, the community was shocked with the news of 64 cats being confiscated from a house in Muncy.
As a result, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals stepped in to handle the enormous task of finding homes for the cats. Lycoming Animal Protection Society, a nonprofit, no-kill shelter, also contacted the SPCA about taking a few of the cats.
LAPS could only assist three cats. But how could our volunteers choose just three out of 64, especially when it was obvious many of them needed extra care and attention to nurse them back to peak health?
Therefore, we enlisted the help of three children, each of whom could choose a cat to take back to LAPS. Of course, the cat I immediately fell in love with — a young, blind female — wasn’t chosen.
I was heartbroken and thought of her for days afterward. I was worried about her chances of finding a forever home, because nobody wants a “broken” animal.
So, I came up with another idea. I contacted Victoria Stryker, SPCA executive director, to find out how many blind cats they had. She said there were four. I then contacted a lady in North Carolina who has a blind cat sanctuary and had adopted a blind cat from LAPS a few years ago.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to accept any new cats, but she gave me information about another blind cat sanctuary in North Carolina. This facility was in the process of finishing a new building and would take all four cats if they could be spayed or neutered, tested for infectious diseases, vaccinated and certified blind by a veterinarian before arrival.
We also couldn’t transport them until after the new building was finished, which was estimated by the end of January.
Stryker was gracious enough to agree to get the cats ready for their new home at the sanctuary. However, we were twice blessed with good news — it turned out there would only be two cats going to North Carolina as the SPCA adopted two for their facility.
Arrangements were made for the big trip. In mid-February, my sister and I picked up Oreo and Greta and started for North Carolina. Oreo is a handsome black-and-white male who craved attention and Greta is a gorgeous tortoiseshell female who is such a little lady. Both cats handled the ride exceptionally well, which was great because it was a nine-hour, 550-mile trip one way.
Words can’t express how I feel about the facility that agreed to give these wonderful cats a new home: Blind Cat Rescue & Sanctuary Inc., a nonprofit, no-kill shelter in St. Pauls, N.C.
Their buildings each consist of a fenced-in area where the cats can safely go outdoors and soak up the North Carolina weather. The amazing part is that animals adapt well to conditions that humans often are overwhelmed by.
Greta and Oreo have now been at their new home for a month and are adjusting rather well. Oreo had both his eyes removed at the veterinarian’s recommendation.
Greta’s name has been changed to Abigail because the sanctuary already has a tortoiseshell named Greta. You can visit the sanctuary online at www.blindcatrescue.com to see what an amazing facility this is.
And remember, next time you are looking for a new animal addition to your family, don’t automatically bypass the older and-or “broken” animals.
It is my experience that these animals realize how lucky they are to be given a second (and sometimes third) chance and they will shower you with an amount of unconditional love like you’ve never received before!
Uber is a volunteer with Lycoming Animals Protection Society, 3510 W. Fourth St. For more information, visit www.lycoming.org/laps.
