Blind Cat Rescue was started in 2005 in St Pauls, NC (USA) by a mother and daughter team to answer the need for a safe place for blind cats that were deemed not adoptable by regular shelters. They were going to be killed just because they are blind. We got our first blind cat Louie when we were volunteering for the local shelter. A man was going to leave this 6 week old in the Petsmart parking lot if the shelter would not accept him. I found myself saying “I will take him.” Louie showed us just how normal a blind cat is. He climbed, ran, played and loved like a “normal” cat. He did not know he was blind, he knew he was a cat, he behaved like a “normal” cat. Then we got our second, third, and fourth blind cat. We discovered there were no resources for blind cats. They were regularly killed at shelters because they were considered not adoptable. In North Carolina it is actually in the law. If an animal is sick, injured or blind it may be killed immediately in animal control facilities. We feel we do not kill humans because they are blind, why on earth would you kill an animal for the same thing? We knew from living with blind cats that they are just normal cats. They have no clue they are blind, they know they are cats, they act like cats. We decided it was time to do it right and applied to become a non profit and 501©3 charity. Who would have ever dreamed what would have come from those four words? + In 2011 we began providing a safe sanctuary for FELV+ (leukemia positive) and FIV+ (feline immunodeficiency virus) cats. FIV & FELV+ cats are killed daily at vets offices and shelters because they test positive for these viruses. We do not kill people because they have an immune system illness or leukemia, why would we kill a healthy animal because they test positive? Sadly if retested with a more accurate test before being killed, some would actually be false positives. NEVER EVER accept the results from a snap test if your cat tests positive! (That is the test your vet will have used) INSIST that they be retested with the IFA test for leukemia or Western Blot test for FIV. The test has to be sent out to an outside lab. What is FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus? Feline immunodeficiency virus is a Lentivirus that affects cats worldwide, with 2.5% to 4.4% of felines being infected. FIV differs taxonomically from two other feline retroviruses, feline leukemia virus and feline foamy virus, and is more closely related to human immunodeficiency virus. FIV is the only non-primate lentivirus to cause an AIDS-like syndrome, but FIV is not typically fatal for cats, as they can live relatively healthily as carriers and transmitters of the disease for many years. If your cat test FIV+ and your vet suggest you kill it please find a better vet.

Feline leukemia Virus - FELV (FeLV) is second only to trauma as the leading cause of death in cats, killing 85% of persistently infected felines within three years of diagnosis. The virus commonly causes anemia or lymphoma, but because it suppresses the immune system, it can also predispose cats to deadly infections. FELV+ Feline leukemia is passed from one cat to another through saliva, blood, and to some extent, urine and feces. (That is according to “experts) We disagree with them. We know it is not spread from food bowls, water bowls or litterboxes. We have had positive and negatives together now for over 3 years (It was accidental) The negatives are all vaccinated against leukemia. No one has become positive. We do feel it is spread by serious grooming. The virus does not live long outside the cat’s body - probably less than a few hours under normal household conditions. If your cat tests positive for FELV, the cat is not sick and your vet suggest you kill the cat, find a better vet. We do not kill humans because they have a virus, why would we murder the cat? It is our experience that a FELV+ cat can have a few years of healthy life before they become sick from the virus. We have several that are currently 9 years old. We do find that 3-5 is more the average. Although they also could die younger from secondary illness’s or lymphoma. .The Snap test your vet used is known for many false positives. If your cat test positive please insist on the cat being retested using the IFA test (Idexx lab test number 7171) before making any life changing decisions. The test takes a few days to come back from the lab. If the test is positive, the virus is showing in the cat’s bone marrow and sadly your cat is positive.

About Blind Cats Facts about blind cats: Blind Cats do not know they are blind, they know they are cats. They act likes “normal” cats. Blind cats can do pretty much everything that a seeing cat can do. They can climb trees, climb up on to the top of cabinets and get into places that you can not figure out how they did it. Some things that will make it easier on your blind cat is to try to stay some what consistent on the important things, like the litter box and food bowls. For the rest of the house, live normally; they will go around things. If you watch a blind cat, you will see that they point their whiskers out so the whiskers will brush against something typically before they hit it. You CAN move your furniture. They will quickly readjust to the change. If you pick up a blind cat and move him/her from point A to point B, try to put them down where they have a good idea of where they are: in the litter box, at their food bowl or where floors have different textures. A cat can become blind from many things. If your cat has suddenly become blind over night, RUSH the cat to the vet immediately! Insist on them checking the cat’s blood pressure. (That is not something done automatically at most vets) IF the blindness is from hypertension and caught fast enough, it may reverse with medicine. They can also become blind from diabetes, hyperthyroid and most commonly an untreated upper respiratory infection. If your cat is sneezing, coughing and eyes are gooey, get to the vet. If your cat is eating like crazy and losing weight or drinking water like there is no tomorrow RUN to the vet! Make sure you allow your vet to do full blood work on your cat! They need all the tools you can give them to properly diagnose your cat. We are a registered non-profit with the state of North Carolina. We are a 501(c)3. Our tax number is 20- 3410498. Please, if you believe that blind, FIV+ or FELV+ cats deserve to have an opportunity to live instead of being declared not adoptable and immediately killed, help us have the resources to help them. Your donations are tax deductible and encrypted. You may use Mastercard, Visa or Paypal. Please say YES to helping the blind, FIV and FELV+ cats. Please Donate Now!

FIV is a lentivirus, a slow-progressing virus that can compromise a cat’s immune system, reducing its ability to fight off illnesses. The virus has a long latent period then progresses so slowly that it may never affect a cat. That’s why long-term studies show what guardians and rescuers have known for decades—that FIV cats can live just as long and as healthy, and ultimately die of the same causes as Non-FIV cats. And, FIV cats can live with Non-FIV cats without spreading the virus. FIV is difficult to spread. The virus is fragile and does not survive long in the environment. It is killed by air, light, heat and regular household disinfectants. FIV is primarily transmitted through a deep, penetrating bite (FIV cat to Non-FIV cat) where the virus (in the saliva) is injected directly into the bloodstream of the Non- FIV cat. Bites of this kind are extremely rare, except in free-roaming, un-neutered tomcats. New studies done by Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine shows that positive and negative cats can live together with no problems. FIV is spread by deep bloody biting fighting. Unfixed cats outside struggling for food and resources fight. Neuter them and feed them there is no reason to fight. Occasionally it is spread by a positive mother to her babies, but that is not as common. An FIV+ cat can live for years before becoming sick. When a cat reaches the point that our vet feels we can no longer provide them quality of life, we hold them and humanly let them go. We do not allow them to suffer. We have had positive and negative FIV+ cats together for over 10 years and have never had a negative test positive. They are tested yearly as part of their regular blood work.