Ripley

My story

I was born in a safe and secure environment as my mum had been taken into a shelter. As the months passed, I couldn’t see much out of my one eye, the other being an empty socket which would inevitably fill with dust and dirt, and it later turned out that I was actually blind. I had a condition called herpes, which also made my eye and nose stream and was very uncomfortable. Anyway, before long, my siblings were adopted but I was the only one without a home. I got moved into a pen with a very young, nervous chap, who apparently would only trust me to play with. He was very shy and scared and his eyes also gave him a lot of problems and discomfort so I’m not sure what his story was but I don’t think he’d had a happy life until now.

Fast-forward to the day I was magically adopted – along with my new best friend! I was so happy not only for myself but for my friend who I think would have really struggled on his own. It turns out that my new humans had been looking for a blind cat as company for a blind cat they already had, and when they heard about there being two visually impaired cats looking for a home, they said they’d take both of us. I literally squealed with delight!


Me and my best friend Rupert.

The saddeest part was that my friend, Rupert, was not with me long. He had an operation on his eyes and was so happy with his new home until one day an undetected disease absolutely flattened him. He was rushed to hospital and died very shortly afterward. It was the worst day of my life. But as time goes by, at least it hurts less.

Life today

I still squeal with delight when I hear a tin of chicken or tuna being opened, or the rustle of the bag of treats!

I am completely blind and my humans made the decision to have my eyes removed. The one eye I had was useless and did me no favours at all with the constant streaming, and the empty socket would just lead to infection as there’s no way you could keep dust and dirt out. I was on a lot of medication at the beginning for my herpes and respiratory problems, but now I am the picture of health. I am a strong, stocky lady who is not afraid to stand her ground in an all-male feline household. The other female is Leia and we get on very well. I’m not afraid of her either!

My life couldn’t have turned out better. The only thing that made me sad was that my friend, who my humans called Rupert, didn’t make it. We had four really happy months together here before a nasty disease took hold of him and took him away, but that’s another story. I was very upset when Rupert didn’t come back and it took me a long time to bounce back.

My future

I’m waiting for the next female to show up. I really liked the older ladies Biscuit and Molly, and the beautiful, young Twiglet, but they have all gone, which is always unbearably sad. In the meantime, I shall continue to terrorise the boys and wait for another ally to arrive.

Stats

My estimated age on arrival in 2021: three months.
In April 2021 I weighed 2 kg
In May 2023 I weighed 5.1 kg. Superwoman!

I tested negative for both FeLV and FIV.
I am neutered and fully vaccinated.

Star Qualities

I am fearless. My blindness doesn’t stop me in the slightest; in fact I don’t know any different so I’ve had no problems growing up blind. The other two chaps weren’t born blind so they’ve had to learn how to do things from scratch. Floyd has found it particularly difficult. I don’t chase Floyd. I bump into Charlie now and again and we either walk past each other, or both put up our fists in a half-hearted attempt to show who’s boss. It’s much more fun when they run away from you so I’ll save my energy for the other ones.

Apparently I have a stunning coat. Well, I do like to dress well as it’s important to keep up appearances matter, you know. I make sure I’m always clean and tidy, I enjoy an excellent diet, and since my eyes have been removed and I recovered from my initial illnesses, I’ve been in top health and love to show off my super-soft, glowing coat.

Habits

I like to chase the boys! I play really well with Woodstock but I love to chase the little English fellow Bernard. I do the same to the other Englishman, Edward, but he’s far more confident and just hisses at me to go away.