This is a heart warming story of 2 brother cats that received a great amount of support from their community. They were placed in a foster home through Cat assistance and after numerous calls and donations eventually found their way home.
Here is the full story:
ARDSLEY – Two blind cats who took refuge at an Ardsley animal shelter have found their way home.
The two domestic short-hairs – Mr. Peaches and Mischief – were placed in a foster home through Cat Assistance until the shelter received a flood of calls inquiring about the two brothers.
Sarah Hart, president of Cat Assistance, said she received about a dozen telephone calls inquiring about the cats and raised more than $800 toward their veterinarian bill after an article about them appeared in The Journal News on March 25.
“A lot of people were very concerned, making donations and just finding out how they were,” Hart said. “We were thrilled.”
Additionally, Hart was able to find a home for another cat with a family in northern Westchester.
After less than a month at the foster home, Mr. Peaches and Mischief were adopted by Stuart Schars of Bronxville.
“They are sweet, friendly, warm animals, and it’s a pleasure to have them,” he said.
Schars, who has other cats, said he didn’t act instantly after reading about the cats in the paper, but called the shelter some days later as they stayed on his mind.
Schars, who believes both cats have some vision – each has one eye – said he finds them in the most obscure places in his home, such as on top of the refrigerator and the top shelf in the closet.
Mischief, the one with a more striped fur pattern, is “exploring and inquisitive,” often sleeping on his bed, he said.
The cats were rescued as kittens by a woman named Meryl Youchah, while she was visiting Long Island several summers ago.
Youchah, an animal lover, died in November and left behind six cats. Her sister was able to find a home for all the pets except the two blind brothers, who ended up at the Ardsley shelter in March.
While under the care of the shelter, the cats racked up expensive veterinarian bills after surgery to remove their left eyes.
The veterinarian said the surgery eased pain and discomfort from an untreated virus both cats suffered from as kittens.
See the original article: Shelter finds home for 2 blind cats
Find more cat stories in the Cat Articles section.
This is my mother they are speaking about in the article, and I helped rescue these cats too. On Fire Island (off the coast of Long Island) there was an infamous ferral cat problem. A friend of mine told me she was trying to catch kittens, and we went out searching for them. Long process and story made short, my mom and i came to love those cats and we could never bring ourselves to give them up. Also, Lee Varner (my father) helped rescue and place the cats, just to give credit where credit is due. Mr. Peaches was my cat more than Mischief, but I miss them both. I am an avid cat lover, though allergic to cats now. If the owner of Peaches and Mischief are reading this, thank you so much, and my regards!
Hi Annie,
Thanks for taking time to tell us more about your story. Also, thanks to you and your mother for rescuing those cats. If you would like to share any pictures or further details about your cats and their rescue, we would be happy to put them up here on the Band of Cats for everyone to see.
Well I will try to upload pictures, I’m sure I have some. As for them, they were truly the most amazing cats I owned, and I owned many over the first 11 years of my life, before being allergic.
A personal favorite anecdote of mine is when Mr. Peaches was meandering around the house, and all of a sudden he heard something; a fly! Of course he went after it, like many cats would, but the truly spectacular thing is that he managed to catch that fly on a jump–in his mouth!
Also, I don’t know if he still does this, but when happy, he would purr VERY loudly and do sommersaults. And whenever he would use the litterbox, he would “sing”: he would literally come out, head held high, meowing with pride in his eyes.
Mischief was more my mother’s cat than mine, but I remember one time I ordered something off a website, and the box was very small, about the size of three books stacked. Mischief, however, thought it was the perfect size and slept in it every night! Once we tried to take it, and he walked around meowing for it until we gave it back.
Now if it wouldn’t be too much to ask, would you be willing to make an entry (perhaps as a topic, or even just uncategorized) about these guys, maybe share these anecdotes of mine (and pictures, i will send some soon!), in honor of my mom? These are truly great kitties, and are certainly worthy. I just want the world to know how great these cats were, and I would love to, in honor of my Mom, have their story shared.