North Carolina’s St. Pauls is – Mickey was left in a drop box in Scotland County, appearing to be more dead than alive.
Rusty, covered in mud and ticks, stumbled out of the woods.
Every single cat that has made its way into Alana Miller’s heart and home has a tale to share.
The cats also have something in common because of her founding of the Blind Cat Rescue & Sanctuary: they now have a lifetime home where their only worry is how to spend the day.
In rural Robeson County, some three miles south of St. Pauls, Miller and a small core of volunteers have helped well more than 100 animals from all over the world find a “forever home.”
Miller can be seen as the epitome of a cat woman. Nearly 100 cats currently reside at the unique refuge, and their meows and purrs can be heard coming from every house in the neighbourhood. Bags weighing 50 pounds of cat food and pallets of cat food are delivered.
The shelter has been discreetly caring for cats that no one else wanted for the past ten years while remaining under the radar.
Miller said that “some come out of the woods just looking like hell warmed over.” Paul, a sizable orange tabby cat hunting for a feast, is sitting next to her on the floor of one of the sanctuary buildings.
Paul wasn’t always blind, like the majority of the cats in this area.
Miller estimated that 90 to 95 percent of the cats who arrive up here had lost their sight as a result of maltreatment. “A few were born blind, but the majority had a contagious upper respiratory infection.
“A few antibiotics alone could have preserved their vision. However, other folks just don’t care. In order to have someone else take care of the cat, they take it to the shelter.
In 2004, Miller was employed there and encountered her first blind cat there. She gave her time to The Haven. It didn’t take long until another blind cat showed up.
Miller unveiled the first sanctuary building in 2005. In order to provide sanctuary for cats with leukaemia and cats with the immunodeficiency virus, a second building was erected in 2011.
Soon, cats started to appear from all over, including Kuwait, New York City, and Chicago. They travelled from a variety of shelters in an effort to adopt these kitties.
Miller added, “We literally received a call from a shelter in South Carolina with a cat shaved and ready to get the needle. When we told them we could take her, they started yelling, “Wait! Wait! Stop!”
That is how close it occasionally is. We adopted that cat and gave her the name Miracle.
It’s a big house with lots of playthings, climbing trees, and space to run around. The sanctuary is surrounded by a white 6-foot fence, yet to its residents, the fence might as well be a mile high.
The cats don’t attempt to scale the fence because they can’t see how high it is, the woman claims. In addition, everything they need is right here.
That includes the odd bird or bug that makes a big deal. The cats follow each action using their hearing and smell as their guides.
They are identical to a seeing cat, save, of course, that they are blind,” she added. “A blind cat is unaware that it is blind. It simply recognises itself as a cat and behaves accordingly.
The first thing to do when new cats arrive is to get them healthy and have them spayed or neutered. They are then held in isolation to guarantee their health before being given the go-ahead to visit.
They must be good team players, Miller said. “We desire the happiness of all.”
A small but devoted group of volunteers work at the refuge. Despite the difficulty in finding individuals for the cats’ location, Miller would love to have additional cats.
People who visit this wonderful location frequently return, she remarked. “Getting folks here is the trick,”
The shelter doesn’t do adoptions. Miller points out that there are a lot of fine cats in local shelters waiting for homes.
She said, “These men won’t ever have to worry about anything again. This is their permanent residence.
For these cats, life is good but frequently fleeting. Many have life-threatening ailments when they first arrive, which weakens them later.
For the cats who have passed away, we have a memorial garden, Miller remarked. “Each one is unique, and we’re happy to have improved their stay here.”
On November 14 from 1 to 4 p.m., Blind Cat Rescue and Sanctuary, Inc. will host an open house. Jackson Galaxy, host of Animal Planet’s “My Cat From Hell,” will pay a visit to the shelter at that time and give it a gift.
