Duffy's 4th annifursary (long)

Tomorrow (Jan. 31) is the fourth anniversary of the day I adopted Duffy. It's
hard to believe that four years have gone by, and he is a true treasure. He
is the dearest, sweetest, most wonderful little guy I could ever imagine.
Most of you already know that Duffy has been blind since birth, but he does
almost everything that a sighted cat can do. He even has his own "fan club"
among some of the readers of this newsgroup. Duffy gets around so well that
I thought he might have a small amount of vision. If I move a chair, he
will be sitting in it a few minutes later - there is no need to keep
furniture in a fixed location for him. I arranged for an evaluation by an
ophthalmologist at Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine
because I wanted to see if there was some sight (and, if so, what I should
do to preserve it). There I learned that Duffy is completely blind and that
he has a condition known as "anterior cleavage syndrome." There should be
space between the iris and the cornea. In Duffy's case, the two components
are pressed together, and there is no space between them. This probably
happened before birth and possibly was caused by infection in the mother.

I want to thank Megan because she is the one who made all this possible. I
was trying to help a friend find a cat to adopt. I had been communicating
with Megan about another matter and told her about it. She suggested that
we look at Petfinder.com. We did, and there was a picture of Duffy. He
looked like a sad little waif in the picture the shelter had posted. In
fact, I thought he was a very old cat from his picture, but he was actually
estimated to be 3-5 years old at the time. It was heartrending when I saw
that Duffy was blind, had been returned by someone else after two years (and
this was a *kill* shelter), and had been in the shelter for several months.
My friend simply wasn't interested in a blind cat and would not even
consider adopting, and I was really fearful of adopting another cat because
Holly had a history of aggressively attacking any other cat in my presence.
We even called her "the black tornado" because of the way she would hurl
herself at other cats. She was my dear little shadow and followed me
everywhere, but she would not tolerate having another cat around. Megan
kept prodding me to adopt, or even to foster for awhile. She told me that
she would help me throughout the process and was positive that we *could*
get Holly and Duffy to adjust to each other. Well, she kept that promise.
She walked me through every step of the slow, careful introduction. Every
time I would think about speeding things up, she would remind me to be
patient and take it slow and easy (excellent advice for anyone adopting a
cat because I think this is the reason so many people have trouble getting
their new adoptees and their resident cats to accept each other). She made
numerous long-distance calls at her own expense, and she always seemed to
recognize exactly what I was describing in the relationship and knew
precisely what would work. I will also say that I was a "good student." I
followed her advice every step of the way, and the result is that I have two
loving companions instead of the jealous reaction from Holly that I had
always seen previously.

Getting back to the ad on Petfinder.com...the notice looked so old (and the
shelter only promised to keep animals for 14 days) that I really thought it
was probably too late and that Duffy was gone. It was Megan who kept
insisting that I give them a call. "You need to check," she said; "You can't
just assume that he isn't there." Ironically, I did call and was told that
he had already been adopted. "Check further," she said; "Send them an
e-mail." So I sent an e-mail to the director of the shelter - and learned
that Duffy was still there. I have no idea what the first person was
talking about or how she could have been confused about a blind cat named
Duffy, but he was still in a cage at the shelter! Kitten season was
approaching, and space would soon be at a premium. I really believe they
could not have kept him for much longer. He is such a sweet, loving cat
that I simply cannot comprehend how someone else could have had him for two
years and then returned him to a kill shelter (and especially not for they
ridiculous reason she gave - she said he had learned to get to her birds and
was teach her sighted cat to do the same thing). That cruel decision turned
out to be my good fortune (and Duffy's and Holly's) because he now has a
forever home with us and I have truly been blessed.

MaryL

Photos of Duffy: 'o'
Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf
Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e
Duffy and the Christmas tree: http://tinyurl.com/clal7

Wonderful storey. Every time I hear someone say what a trial blind cats can
be and all the stuff they have to do I want to wack someone. Cats, like
people adapt to what is around them. All it takes is patience and love and
you have plenty of that.
"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
. ..
Tomorrow (Jan. 31) is the fourth anniversary of the day I adopted Duffy.
It's hard to believe that four years have gone by, and he is a true
treasure. He is the dearest, sweetest, most wonderful little guy I could
ever imagine. Most of you already know that Duffy has been blind since
birth, but he does almost everything that a sighted cat can do. He even
has his own "fan club" among some of the readers of this newsgroup. Duffy
gets around so well that I thought he might have a small amount of vision.
If I move a chair, he will be sitting in it a few minutes later - there is
no need to keep furniture in a fixed location for him. I arranged for an
evaluation by an ophthalmologist at Texas A&M University College of
Veterinary Medicine because I wanted to see if there was some sight (and,
if so, what I should do to preserve it). There I learned that Duffy is
completely blind and that he has a condition known as "anterior cleavage
syndrome." There should be space between the iris and the cornea. In
Duffy's case, the two components are pressed together, and there is no
space between them. This probably happened before birth and possibly was
caused by infection in the mother.

I want to thank Megan because she is the one who made all this possible.
I was trying to help a friend find a cat to adopt. I had been
communicating with Megan about another matter and told her about it. She
suggested that we look at Petfinder.com. We did, and there was a picture
of Duffy. He looked like a sad little waif in the picture the shelter had
posted. In fact, I thought he was a very old cat from his picture, but he
was actually estimated to be 3-5 years old at the time. It was
heartrending when I saw that Duffy was blind, had been returned by someone
else after two years (and this was a *kill* shelter), and had been in the
shelter for several months. My friend simply wasn't interested in a blind
cat and would not even consider adopting, and I was really fearful of
adopting another cat because Holly had a history of aggressively attacking
any other cat in my presence. We even called her "the black tornado"
because of the way she would hurl herself at other cats. She was my dear
little shadow and followed me everywhere, but she would not tolerate
having another cat around. Megan kept prodding me to adopt, or even to
foster for awhile. She told me that she would help me throughout the
process and was positive that we *could* get Holly and Duffy to adjust to
each other. Well, she kept that promise. She walked me through every step
of the slow, careful introduction. Every time I would think about
speeding things up, she would remind me to be patient and take it slow and
easy (excellent advice for anyone adopting a cat because I think this is
the reason so many people have trouble getting their new adoptees and
their resident cats to accept each other). She made numerous
long-distance calls at her own expense, and she always seemed to recognize
exactly what I was describing in the relationship and knew precisely what
would work. I will also say that I was a "good student." I followed her
advice every step of the way, and the result is that I have two loving
companions instead of the jealous reaction from Holly that I had always
seen previously.

Getting back to the ad on Petfinder.com...the notice looked so old (and
the shelter only promised to keep animals for 14 days) that I really
thought it was probably too late and that Duffy was gone. It was Megan
who kept insisting that I give them a call. "You need to check," she
said; "You can't just assume that he isn't there." Ironically, I did call
and was told that he had already been adopted. "Check further," she said;
"Send them an e-mail." So I sent an e-mail to the director of the
shelter - and learned that Duffy was still there. I have no idea what the
first person was talking about or how she could have been confused about a
blind cat named Duffy, but he was still in a cage at the shelter! Kitten
season was approaching, and space would soon be at a premium. I really
believe they could not have kept him for much longer. He is such a sweet,
loving cat that I simply cannot comprehend how someone else could have had
him for two years and then returned him to a kill shelter (and especially
not for they ridiculous reason she gave - she said he had learned to get
to her birds and was teach her sighted cat to do the same thing). That
cruel decision turned out to be my good fortune (and Duffy's and Holly's)
because he now has a forever home with us and I have truly been blessed.

MaryL

Photos of Duffy: 'o'
Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf
Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e
Duffy and the Christmas tree: http://tinyurl.com/clal7

MaryL wrote:
snip
He is such a sweet, loving cat that I simply cannot comprehend
how someone else could have had him for two years and then returned him
to a kill shelter (and especially not for they ridiculous reason she
gave - she said he had learned to get to her birds and was teach her
sighted cat to do the same thing). That cruel decision turned out to be
my good fortune (and Duffy's and Holly's) because he now has a forever
home with us and I have truly been blessed.

Congratulations to you both for your anniversary! It was the same thing
wityh Frank - he'd been in a couple of homes before he came to me. He
was such a sweetheart that I can't understand why anyone would have
wanted to give him up, but it was their loss and my gain. I got to spend
over 17 wonderful years with my Franky-Lanky. I hope you and Duffy (and
Holly) have many, many happy years ahead of you.
--
Marina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki.

MaryL wrote:
Tomorrow (Jan. 31) is the fourth anniversary of the day I adopted
Duffy. It's hard to believe that four years have gone by, and he is
a true treasure. He is the dearest, sweetest, most wonderful little
guy I could ever imagine. Most of you already know that Duffy has
been blind since birth, but he does almost everything that a sighted
cat can do. He even has his own "fan club" among some of the readers
of this newsgroup. Duffy gets around so well that I thought he might
have a small amount of vision. If I move a chair, he will be sitting in
it a few minutes later - there is no need to keep
furniture in a fixed location for him. I arranged for an evaluation
by an ophthalmologist at Texas A&M University College of Veterinary
Medicine because I wanted to see if there was some sight (and, if so,
what I should do to preserve it). There I learned that Duffy is
completely blind
and that he has a condition known as "anterior cleavage syndrome."
There should be space between the iris and the cornea. In Duffy's
case, the two components are pressed together, and there is no space
between them. This probably happened before birth and possibly was
caused by infection in the mother.

Happy anniversary, Duffy.
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy & Bagheera)
Cats leave pawprints on your heart
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk

piggybacking here because for some reason I missed the OP

Congrats on the anniversary.

--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit, Spot,
Princess and Furby
with loving memories of Rocky (RB)

video clips at http://tinyurl.com/29o8ck
photos at http://tinyurl.com/22pfn8

"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
. ..
Tomorrow (Jan. 31) is the fourth anniversary of the day I adopted Duffy.
It's hard to believe that four years have gone by, and he is a true
treasure. He is the dearest, sweetest, most wonderful little guy I could
ever imagine. Most of you already know that Duffy has been blind since
birth, but he does almost everything that a sighted cat can do. He even
has his own "fan club" among some of the readers of this newsgroup.
Duffy gets around so well that I thought he might have a small amount of
vision. If I move a chair, he will be sitting in it a few minutes later -
there is no need to keep furniture in a fixed location for him. I
arranged for an evaluation by an ophthalmologist at Texas A&M University
College of Veterinary Medicine because I wanted to see if there was some
sight (and, if so, what I should do to preserve it). There I learned
that Duffy is completely blind and that he has a condition known as
"anterior cleavage syndrome." There should be space between the iris and
the cornea. In Duffy's case, the two components are pressed together,
and there is no space between them. This probably happened before birth
and possibly was caused by infection in the mother.

I want to thank Megan because she is the one who made all this possible.
I was trying to help a friend find a cat to adopt. I had been
communicating with Megan about another matter and told her about it. She
suggested that we look at Petfinder.com. We did, and there was a picture
of Duffy. He looked like a sad little waif in the picture the shelter
had posted. In fact, I thought he was a very old cat from his picture,
but he was actually estimated to be 3-5 years old at the time. It was
heartrending when I saw that Duffy was blind, had been returned by
someone else after two years (and this was a *kill* shelter), and had
been in the shelter for several months. My friend simply wasn't
interested in a blind cat and would not even consider adopting, and I was
really fearful of adopting another cat because Holly had a history of
aggressively attacking any other cat in my presence. We even called her
"the black tornado" because of the way she would hurl herself at other
cats. She was my dear little shadow and followed me everywhere, but she
would not tolerate having another cat around. Megan kept prodding me to
adopt, or even to foster for awhile. She told me that she would help me
throughout the process and was positive that we *could* get Holly and
Duffy to adjust to each other. Well, she kept that promise. She walked
me through every step of the slow, careful introduction. Every time I
would think about speeding things up, she would remind me to be patient
and take it slow and easy (excellent advice for anyone adopting a cat
because I think this is the reason so many people have trouble getting
their new adoptees and their resident cats to accept each other). She
made numerous long-distance calls at her own expense, and she always
seemed to recognize exactly what I was describing in the relationship and
knew precisely what would work. I will also say that I was a "good
student." I followed her advice every step of the way, and the result is
that I have two loving companions instead of the jealous reaction from
Holly that I had always seen previously.

Getting back to the ad on Petfinder.com...the notice looked so old (and
the shelter only promised to keep animals for 14 days) that I really
thought it was probably too late and that Duffy was gone. It was Megan
who kept insisting that I give them a call. "You need to check," she
said; "You can't just assume that he isn't there." Ironically, I did
call and was told that he had already been adopted. "Check further," she
said; "Send them an e-mail." So I sent an e-mail to the director of the
shelter - and learned that Duffy was still there. I have no idea what
the first person was talking about or how she could have been confused
about a blind cat named Duffy, but he was still in a cage at the shelter!
Kitten season was approaching, and space would soon be at a premium. I
really believe they could not have kept him for much longer. He is such
a sweet, loving cat that I simply cannot comprehend how someone else
could have had him for two years and then returned him to a kill shelter
(and especially not for they ridiculous reason she gave - she said he had
learned to get to her birds and was teach her sighted cat to do the same
thing). That cruel decision turned out to be my good fortune (and
Duffy's and Holly's) because he now has a forever home with us and I have
truly been blessed.

MaryL


We are in awe of Duffy, and of you, too!

you know I often wonder what was with Chester in his before life... he is a
perfect cat among cats, and was at the pound, and then at the shelter for
several months, I can only figure that bast intended him for our house and
am grateful so I know how you feel, Lee
MaryL -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
. ..
Tomorrow (Jan. 31) is the fourth anniversary of the day I adopted Duffy.
It's
hard to believe that four years have gone by, and he is a true treasure.
He
is the dearest, sweetest, most wonderful little guy I could ever imagine.
Most of you already know that Duffy has been blind since birth, but he
does
almost everything that a sighted cat can do. He even has his own "fan
club"
among some of the readers of this newsgroup. Duffy gets around so well
that
I thought he might have a small amount of vision. If I move a chair, he
will be sitting in it a few minutes later - there is no need to keep
furniture in a fixed location for him. I arranged for an evaluation by an
ophthalmologist at Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine
because I wanted to see if there was some sight (and, if so, what I should
do to preserve it). There I learned that Duffy is completely blind and
that
he has a condition known as "anterior cleavage syndrome." There should be
space between the iris and the cornea. In Duffy's case, the two
components
are pressed together, and there is no space between them. This probably
happened before birth and possibly was caused by infection in the mother.

I want to thank Megan because she is the one who made all this possible.
I
was trying to help a friend find a cat to adopt. I had been communicating
with Megan about another matter and told her about it. She suggested that
we look at Petfinder.com. We did, and there was a picture of Duffy. He
looked like a sad little waif in the picture the shelter had posted. In
fact, I thought he was a very old cat from his picture, but he was
actually
estimated to be 3-5 years old at the time. It was heartrending when I saw
that Duffy was blind, had been returned by someone else after two years
(and
this was a *kill* shelter), and had been in the shelter for several
months.
My friend simply wasn't interested in a blind cat and would not even
consider adopting, and I was really fearful of adopting another cat
because
Holly had a history of aggressively attacking any other cat in my
presence.
We even called her "the black tornado" because of the way she would hurl
herself at other cats. She was my dear little shadow and followed me
everywhere, but she would not tolerate having another cat around. Megan
kept prodding me to adopt, or even to foster for awhile. She told me that
she would help me throughout the process and was positive that we *could*
get Holly and Duffy to adjust to each other. Well, she kept that promise.
She walked me through every step of the slow, careful introduction. Every
time I would think about speeding things up, she would remind me to be
patient and take it slow and easy (excellent advice for anyone adopting a
cat because I think this is the reason so many people have trouble getting
their new adoptees and their resident cats to accept each other). She
made
numerous long-distance calls at her own expense, and she always seemed to
recognize exactly what I was describing in the relationship and knew
precisely what would work. I will also say that I was a "good student."
I
followed her advice every step of the way, and the result is that I have
two
loving companions instead of the jealous reaction from Holly that I had
always seen previously.

Getting back to the ad on Petfinder.com...the notice looked so old (and
the
shelter only promised to keep animals for 14 days) that I really thought
it
was probably too late and that Duffy was gone. It was Megan who kept
insisting that I give them a call. "You need to check," she said; "You
can't
just assume that he isn't there." Ironically, I did call and was told
that
he had already been adopted. "Check further," she said; "Send them an
e-mail." So I sent an e-mail to the director of the shelter - and learned
that Duffy was still there. I have no idea what the first person was
talking about or how she could have been confused about a blind cat named
Duffy, but he was still in a cage at the shelter! Kitten season was
approaching, and space would soon be at a premium. I really believe they
could not have kept him for much longer. He is such a sweet, loving cat
that I simply cannot comprehend how someone else could have had him for
two
years and then returned him to a kill shelter (and especially not for they
ridiculous reason she gave - she said he had learned to get to her birds
and
was teach her sighted cat to do the same thing). That cruel decision
turned
out to be my good fortune (and Duffy's and Holly's) because he now has a
forever home with us and I have truly been blessed.

MaryL

Photos of Duffy: 'o'
Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf
Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e
Duffy and the Christmas tree: http://tinyurl.com/clal7

MaryL wrote:
Tomorrow (Jan. 31) is the fourth anniversary of the day I adopted
Duffy. It's hard to believe that four years have gone by, and he is
a true treasure. He is the dearest, sweetest, most wonderful little
guy I could ever imagine. Most of you already know that Duffy has
been blind since birth, but he does almost everything that a sighted
cat can do. He even has his own "fan club" among some of the readers
of this newsgroup.

I am definitely a Duffy fan, Mary, and it was a great thing you did to adopt
him. I wish more people would give disabled cats a chance.
I can see that Kitty Farmcat's eyes are starting to cloud over just in the
last few weeks - and why wouldn't they since she is over 20 years old?
I am sure she will manage as she knows the house very well and where her
litterboxes are (one downstairs and one up.)
I pick her up to put her in another room to get her food now. Boyfie is
greedy and scarfs his up in no time and will knock her off hers given the
chance.
She seems that she would like to eat alongside him like she has always done,
so it does take ages while she leaves her food to beg to go back into the
kitchen to him and I say no, and then she eats some more.
She gets far more "posh" food than Boyfie does, so he is always desperate to
get to it ;-)
ATM she is eating quite well, much better than she was a few weeks ago.
(I hardly dare to say it..)
She just loves the lactose-free milk I added a tablespoon of cream to.
She has never been able to meow, I don't know why. When I open the fridge
she says a very quiet "wah" that means gimme or look at me for instructions
;-)

Tweed

I can see that Kitty Farmcat's eyes are starting to cloud over just in the
last few weeks - and why wouldn't they since she is over 20 years old?
I am sure she will manage as she knows the house very well and where her
litterboxes are (one downstairs and one up.)/////

I was telling my TED about KFC when HEFL and I went to see him on
Monday. He laughted and said he wasn't suprised when I told him that
KFC was a tiny ex-feral who knew her own mind! ;o) He said the feisty
ones always survive the longest with care and love. )

Helen M

wrote:
I can see that Kitty Farmcat's eyes are starting to cloud over just
in the last few weeks - and why wouldn't they since she is over 20
years old?
I am sure she will manage as she knows the house very well and where
her litterboxes are (one downstairs and one up.)/////

I was telling my TED about KFC when HEFL and I went to see him on
Monday. He laughted and said he wasn't suprised when I told him that
KFC was a tiny ex-feral who knew her own mind! ;o) He said the feisty
ones always survive the longest with care and love. )

She is certainly very fiesty and always has been. Every time I think it is
the end of her, she bounces back saying "Wot? Me, die? Get real!"

She takes a lot of looking after, to be sure. Her food has to be special
fancy stuff, crushed up and arranged up in a heap in a separate room so she
has time to eat it. Then she has to have her non-lactose milk with cream
stirred in.
She's worth it, but Boyfie is so jealous about it. He scarfs his up and is
beside himself not to be able to get to hers.