Winkin and Blinkin are two very special kittens that I recently fostered. Blinkin and Winkin were trapped as part of our Trap Neuter Release program but were entered into our adoption program after we discovered how special they were; Winkin was born with only one eye and Blinkin was born with no eyes at all.
Although they were considered "feral" when they entered our building, it turned out that both kittens were tame enough to be handled. With their disability we could not possibly release them back into the feral colony that they came from, so the shelter decided to perform all of the medical treatments that they needed and put the kittens up for adoption. When Blinkin and Winkin came to us their empty eye sockets were full of pus and infection (which tends to happen when you have a giant hole in your face) so the vets had to treat them before they could proceed. At this point the kittens were friendly but still fearful; they had never been inside and probably not handled by humans nearly as much as they were. I was instantly in love and determined to help them on their journey.
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| Blinkin before surgery. |
I began fostering Blinkin and Winkin a week before their surgery. I was a little scared at first that they would not be able to find the food bowl or the litter box and that my cats would scare them. Life is hard when you can't see, but they did just fine. In the entire two months that Blinkin and Winkin lived in my house there was never an issue with the litter box or with finding food and they got along well with my cats. Blinkin and Winkin became accustomed to me and my apartment, getting around just fine. Winkin sort of acts as Blinkin's seeing-eye cat and comforts her when she gets frightened. Winkin is more playful, she loves toys and has seemingly endless energy. Blinkin is more reserved and takes a minute to take everything in. She is completely blind but you would not know it sometimes. If Blinkin has a toy that makes noise she can pinpoint exactly where it is, her other senses are so much sharper since she cannot see. It was really amazing getting to know them and watching them in action. After a week I took the kittens in for the surgery to sew their eyes shut. The vet did a great job, all stitching was internal so there would be no stitches to remove and no need for the kittens to wear e-collars. They needed two weeks recovery and then they would be put up for adoption, but life had other plans.
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| Winkin post surgery. |
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| Blinkin post surgery. |
The weeks following their surgery I kept the kittens crated while I was at work or asleep in order to prevent injury. Blinkin does not often run into things, but I wanted to make sure that there was no way either of the kittens could hurt themselves after their big procedure. During the time I was home they were allowed to run free, both kittens were playful and started bonding with me and my cats. Blinkin still flinched every time one of my cats would run up behind her, but she was hissing at them less and even snuggling with Buu. Winkin loved to play with Godzilla, which was good because she wanted to play rougher than Blinkin could handle. Two weeks after Blinkin and Winkin had their surgery I took them in for their re-check in hopes that they would be cleared for adoption. It was already a unanimous decision that the kittens must be adopted as a pair. The morning that I brought them in for their re-check the right side of Blinkin's face seemed swollen, I was not sure what had happened but since I knew she would be seen by the vets in a few hours I was not really that worried. Well it turns out I should have been, because after a few hours you could see blood pooling in the crease where her eye had been sewn shut. The vets rushed her into emergency surgery and discovered that she was hemorrhaging from behind her eye. Blood had pooled up inside of her eye socket and Blinkin was losing a lot of blood very quickly; the surgeon was not confident that she would make it through. I was a wreck. I had no idea what had happened. Blinkin had not been injured, fallen, or run into anything in my presence and when I was not home she was not allowed to roam free. After a few rough hours and a lot of praying Blinkin came through, the bleeding had been stopped and her eye was sewn shut again. She spent one lonely night in a cage at the shelter while I took Winkin home (so that she would not bother her sister while she was resting after surgery) and the next day the vets said I could bring Blinkin home. Blinkin's cute little face was now sporting big purple stitches and the had to wear the dreaded e-collar, but she was intact and ready to start the recovery process.
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| Still cute, even with the Frankenstein face. |
The next two weeks were a little scary. I treated Blinkin like she was made of glass, which was difficult since Winkin was crazy and playful. Blinkin wore her e-collar at all times except during meals and became quite the snuggle bug. Blinkin healed up just fine and when I took her in for her next re-check both kittens were medically cleared for adoption. The next problem was how to get the kittens to the adoption center. Since Blinkin spooks easily, we could not exactly send them up to the adoption center and put them in a kitten room with 4-6 other kittens like we normally would. Since we are still in what is considered "kitten season" the shelter did not have enough space to give Blinkin and Winkin a room of their own. Lucky me, I got to take them home for another week and a half. :)
Finally, last Friday, I took Blinkin and Winkin in to work with me for the final time. The kittens were scheduled to go to an adoption event in the suburbs on Saturday. Unfortunately they were not adopted Saturday, but I have high hopes. At the adoption center the kittens will either be put in one of the offices where they can live together in a quiet environment or into a large crate with each other. I am so proud with them both. Winkin and Blinkin are amazing kittens with winning personalities and they have overcome so many obstacles. I hope that they will get an amazing new family who will take excellent care of them. It was really hard for me to say goodbye because I became so attached in caring for them. Blinkin and Winkin taught me so much about cats, I hope they live long happy lives.
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| Winkin. |
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| Blinkin all healed up. |
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| Buu was caught snuggling with Blinkin! |
