[Blindtlk] Quick introduction and a question for pet owners

Thu Jun 12 12:18:07 UTC 2014

Good morning, Lucy and others,
  While living in Denver, I got it in my head that a friend for my 
female kitty from California  was in order so I went by bus to the 
Aurora mall with a carrier and bought my former girl kitty, Emu, a 
boy friend. Admittedly, not the most conscientious way to go about 
it. 6/11/2014, Lucy Sirianni via blindtlk wrote:
>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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