[Blindtlk] Quick introduction and a question for pet owners

[Lucy Sirianni]

Thanks so much to everyone who responded to my initial email with 
suggestions and support; I really appreciate all of your 
perspectives! I just had another conversation with the manager, 
and her latest question is how I would go about giving the cat 
medicine if that need were to arise.  I said I was sure this 
would not be an obstacle but wasn't sure what techniques might be 
most effective.  Any suggestions from those of you who may have 
experience with this?

I continue to be frustrated by the lack of trust in non-visual 
techniques these people are displaying, but this last 
conversation gave me some reason to believe that they may at 
least be listening to what I have to say.

Thanks again, everyone!

Lucy
 ----- Original Message -----
From: Serena Nickell <scnickell1980 at gmail.com
To: Lucy Sirianni <lucysirianni at earthlink.net>,Blind Talk Mailing 
List <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Wed, 11 Jun 2014 14:17:59 -0500
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Quick introduction and a question for pet 
owners

I am the owner of two cats, one who thinks she's a little escape 
artist at times.  She only tries to get out if the door is held 
open too long and even then if the door gets shut she makes a lot 
of noise in protest to come back in.  I used to have collars with 
bells on them so I could tell them apart until my Nightlight got 
caught in the blinds and almost hung herself.  I guess that's 
rare but it freaked me out so I took both their collars off.  I 
have hard wood floors so I'm able to hear most of what they're 
doing.  My Tiggerous, the escape artist, is extremely vocal so as 
long as I'm paying attention I can usually tell what they need.
Good luck with the shelter.  I hope this helps.
Serena


Sent from my iPhone

 On Jun 11, 2014, at 11:07 AM, Lucy Sirianni via blindtlk 
<blindtlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:

 Hi all,

     I'm Lucy, a doctoral student and graduate student instructor 
in the English department at the University of California, 
Berkeley, and a new member of this list.  I wanted to reach out 
to this group to ask for suggestions regarding a situation I'm 
currently attempting to resolve.  Over the weekend, I contacted a 
local animal shelter who had indicated a need for foster homes 
for its animals, thinking this would be something I'd enjoy doing 
and knowing I met all of the specified qualifications.  The staff 
member I talked to initially expressed a lot of interest and 
immediately matched me with a cat who seemed like a great fit 
with me and who was going to be euthanized in a matter of days if 
no one stepped forward to take her (unlikely, I was told, since 
she's on the older side).  I was eager to meet this cat and 
seriously consider taking her into my home, but when I happened 
to mention to the staff member in charge that I am blind, she 
became concerned and is now uncertain of my ability to care for 
the cat.  Her main concern is that I may not be able to keep the 
cat from leaving my house, despite the fact that I have explained 
to her in detail the measures I would take to ensure the cat's 
safety and assured her that I have countless blind friends who 
routinely and successfully care for animals.  I've told her that 
I would plan to have a bell on the cat's collar so I'd 
consistently know where she was, as well as my name and contact 
information so that she could be returned if she were ever to get 
lost; I've also suggested that, before leaving my home, I simply 
place the cat in a comfortable area from which she wouldn't have 
access to the entrance to my apartment.  This is all in addition 
to pointing out the rather obvious fact that vision can't in fact 
keep a cat indoors and that sighted pet owners have to deal with 
similar worries.  I would welcome hearing from blind cat owners 
who may be able to suggest other techniques or allow me to 
mention their situations in further conversations with the people 
in charge at the shelter.  I'd hate to see this cat end up dying 
because of ignorance surrounding blindness.

 Thanks, everyone, and I very much look forward to being a part 
of this group!

 Lucy

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