The Bitterroot Humane Association in Hamilton, Montana, called us a few days ago about a blind female cat that had come into the shelter. They found her as a stray in early June, but no one came to claim her, and no one would adopt her.
We agreed to take her, and arranged for the shelter to drop the cat off at Dr. Dave Bostwick's clinic in Missoula this afternoon. I drove into town to pick her up, and we got back to the ranch about 7 p.m. Alayne took this photo of me and Miss Cat late this evening as the sun was going down.
While at the clinic Dave looked at her eyes and concluded she has progressive retinal atrophy, or PRA. With PRA the retinas basically degenerate over time, resulting in eventual blindness. We placed her on the floor and did the 'cotton ball test,' in which we drop a cotton ball in front of the animal to see if she noticed it. She didn't. Then, a bit frightened, she tried to get away from us and walked right into the wall. That's we call the "wall test." (Just kidding!)
Even though she's very blind, her pupils still dilate when exposed to light, and her eyes appear bright and otherwise normal. That is also characteristic of progressive retinal atrophy.
I called her "Miss Cat" because she doesn't have a name, so please help give this girl a name! We welcome your suggestions -- you can either post a comment on the blog or email me at [email protected].
She reminds me of my black cat who passed several years ago named Olive. Maybe you can name her Olive. We found Olive on the side of highway, talking to cars...part Siamese she was very talkative.
Posted by: Leigh | July 21, 2006 at 07:51 PM
Hi Steve and Alayne, my suggestion is "Seal" because her beautiful coat is so sleek, and has such gorgeous eyes and, I can see, a very loving nature! What a lucky li'l cat to have such a wonderful new home there!
Posted by: Barbara Arenal | July 21, 2006 at 07:04 PM
What a pretty, and lucky girl she is!
My picks for name are:
Isis
Melody
Junebug
Welcome the Ranch little one!
Posted by: Leilani | July 21, 2006 at 01:56 PM
How old is Ms. Cat?
Would Sable or Onyx be a good name?
Posted by: Miranda | July 21, 2006 at 11:21 AM
How about Cinder....she's black and it's fire season in Montana.
Posted by: Kathy Simmons | July 21, 2006 at 11:04 AM
Raven?
Posted by: Nicole | July 21, 2006 at 10:03 AM
Call her BrightEyes!!
Have a great day.
Posted by: Linda Lee Balkin | July 21, 2006 at 09:44 AM
Welcome to the ranch, Miss Cat, you little beauty. I also think Summer is a great name. You'll be loved and safe here.
Posted by: Roz | July 21, 2006 at 09:11 AM
What a beautiful cat! I really like the picture of the two of you at sunset, so... how about "Sunset"? Or "Twilight" or "Twilight Zone" aka "TZ"?
And hi from Buddy's (adopted in April, who also has PRA) mom in Missoula! He's doing great. Loves to go for walks in the cool mornings, and then drink out of his own personalized-height water bowl, aka the birdbath. :-)
Posted by: Susan | July 21, 2006 at 08:41 AM
Miss Cat is beautiful! As she is a black beauty, how about naming her Cinder? (as in short for Cinderella? After all, her ship has come in because she's at the RDR now!) You're her prince, Steve, because you went & got her. Welcome "Miss Cat"! You have arrived into a marvelous place. You will be cared for & loved.
Hugs,
ginger & Tobias
Posted by: ginger & Tobias (the greythound) | July 21, 2006 at 05:51 AM
Such a pretty girl! All black with those beautiful eyes, even if they don't work too well for her. How about Raven?
Posted by: Heidi & the kitties | July 21, 2006 at 01:04 AM
How about Summer or Midnight?
Posted by: Karen SA/TX | July 20, 2006 at 11:59 PM
Miss Cat is beautiful!!! Welcome to the ranch, precious kitty! You will be loved, kept safe, and cared for.
Posted by: Nina | July 20, 2006 at 11:11 PM