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." 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. I chose this shelter because I found no other like it and I just had to let good my most dearest Siamese cat, Lucky, who was only 5lbs. and he was blind. He was the most gentle soul I have ever known and I will miss him forever. They say that blind cats pick their owners and I believe that is true. He had the biggest personality and he ruled this house, for sure. I want to always remember him and help others like him because they have it a little tougher than others but they deserve a life, definitely. I believe this place does the greatest work of all. I hope to open my own cat shelter one day also.
