Angel the blind/deaf cat
No one knows how a blind and deaf cat could end up in a live trap, but that's how she arrived at Spokane Animal Control. A shelter employee soon noticed that this beautiful white cat couldn't see or hear a thing.
Realizing that animals with these kinds of disabilities rarely make it out of shelters alive, she contacted us. We agreed to bring her to the sanctuary.
We named her Angel. She has stunning bright green eyes, almost lime colored. Not only do her eyes look perfectly normal, her pupils respond to light … which is very odd for a completely blind animal.
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She was very frightened of the other cats in the cat house when she first arrived. Angel's initial reaction was to hiss and slash out if she thought another cat was nearby - and all too often she was jabbing at thin air. We think she must have been in an environment where other cats tormented her.
So we set up her up in a private "condo" - a large cage with carpeted perches, a big soft bed, and her own litterbox, water bowl and food dish. We left the gate open so Angel can come and go whenever she wants to venture out, giving her complete freedom yet the sense of security she clearly needed.
Over time she has learned that the other cats here will not pick on her. Angel has begun going nose to nose with them. Increasingly she seems to be accepting the fact that they are a friendly bunch.
We learned to communicate with Angel by gently blowing on her. Then she springs to life, meowing loudly and quickly climbing down from her condo bed to be petted. She just loves to be held and cuddled.
For a girl who can't see or hear, she compensates by having the loudest voice we've ever heard in a cat. Maybe it's because she can't hear herself that she doesn't know how loud she is … but whatever the reason, Angel has an earsplitting meow that can bring the rafters down. (We're now looking for an opera company that has a role for a cat.)
