For August’s special kitty, I had the privilege of featuring Louie, a beautiful blind boy. But I also had the privilege of speaking with Louie’s amazing mum, Kerry Denman. This story is the first of the series that covers a furry family overseas, so we’re so excited to share it with all of our FPM readers. You may have seen Louie in other publications recently, and he’s becoming quite the celebrity kitty as his features gain traction.
Without further adieu, here’s Louie’s story.
Rough Beginnings
Louie’s story begins 7 years ago, when Kerry came across him by chance.
“This particular time it was a neighbor of my parents, their moggie [a mixed, unidentifiable breed] had a litter (we think Louie’s dad was a stray) and I popped into snuggle never thinking that I would ultimately end up with a kitten, let alone a blind one. Nevertheless, there he was, he had been rejected by his mum and litter mates, he had made a nest for himself out of a laundry basket.”
But, when Kerry went over to Louie, his owner was incredibly dismissive of him and his disabilities. The owner told Kerry that she shouldn’t worry about him since there was “something wrong with his eyes”. When Kerry picked him up, she noted he was super scrawny, covered in fleas, and sported eyes like she had never seen before.
“I left that house feeling extremely unsettled, I had the feeling that the owners were kind of waiting for him to die, not necessarily out of cruelty but because they didn’t know what to do with him, or what would become of him so ultimately it would be easier if he just wasn’t there. I think my mum knew straight away that I was going to take him; she was worried that he would be a handful and I told her I would do my research.” Kerry told us.
Kerry also notes that 7 years ago the Instagram community wasn’t as open about special needs cats. They were rarely featured on big accounts like they are now. After doing some digging, there were a lot of unanswered questions about how to raise a special needs kitty, but she knew what she had to do. Kerry picked up louie and gave the owner some cash since he was spayed.
A Brand New Life
Kerry had adopted Louie when he was around 5-6 weeks old. In his first few years at his new home, he was a handful.
“In truth, he was a very difficult kitten. Kittens are hard work anyway but he was almost semi feral in his behavior. From adoption until maybe around 2.5 years old, he would bite, scratch, and run round in continuous circles (the circle running eased maybe after 6 or 7 months). It was distressing to watch because I could not calm him down – if I got in his way, he would just run over me. My arms and legs were covered in scratches and it got to the point where people did not want to come into the flat because they were scared of him.”
But Kerry wasn’t going to give up on Louie. In fact, she took the time consuming, yet necessary steps to ensure that Louie was happy and not under any stress or anxiety. She left music on for him when she was out, bought Feliway plugins, spoke to him all the time, and tried not to move him from one room to another. Ultimately, time was the main source of healing. She just had to wait for Louie to adjust, and when he finally did, he truly felt at home.
“He is not a magic cat that experiences no side effects from his blindness – he has simply had his whole life to adapt. He did also exhibit some of what people would perceive to be the ‘typical behaviours’ of a blind cat, he ran into closed doors, he jumped onto a radiator bed that wasn’t there. However, these things were easier to deal with, I stopped closing doors, and I became more vigilant in preempting his behavior. I began to use clicking and tutting to indicate where something was and these things are now second nature to Louie and me.”
The Louie We Know Today
Today, while Louie takes a break from being a bona fide Instagram celebrity, he enjoys dreamies, catnip, and a ton of attention, but you’ll never find him sitting on your lap.
Being blind absolutely does not stop Louie from being a playful ball of fluff.
“He’s just generally so goofy, he runs around like a lunatic chasing his paper balls. He has the most pitiful meows that tug at my heart every time, so basically he always gets whatever he wants. He wakes me up between 5 and 6am every morning so I move beds and he snuggles with me for an hour before I have to get up. He doesn’t like the bed in the main bedroom for some reason. He looks so funny when he’s running around because his little legs are flying all over the place (they dislocate when he walks but it doesn’t appear to cause him discomfort), he loves to sit at the balcony with the door guard and smell the air and listen to the birds.”
Louie’s Human
Kerry only started Louie’s instagram in March of this year.
“It is strange because before I started Louie’s Instagram back in March 2019, I never really thought much about other cats and what was going on in the world. I was living in a Louie bubble. Then – wham, I was faced with all these special needs cats living with conditions far worse than what Louie suffers. Cats with EDS, paralyzed cats, cats with cerebellar hypoplasia, cats who’d suffered abuse. I saw them living amazing lives, I mean moments are tough but generally there were all these humans doing amazing things to give these cats the most normal lives they could. It was humbling.”
Of course, Kerry is an advocate for adoption. She tells us that she believes everyone is fully capable of adopting a cat. Since shelters are packed to the brim with various breeds and backgrounds of cats, there’s a perfect fit for everyone!
But Kerry also makes a very important point; while everyone is capable of adopting a cat from a shelter, not everyone is necessarily capable of adopting a special needs kitty.
“Certainly, more people can care for a special needs cat than realise they can – but not everyone. Do you have the time? Do you have the patience? Do you have the finances? Are you willing to commit maybe 16 years of your life to this cat? Questions that should be asked when it comes to adopting ANY cat, but ask these questions to yourself multiple times when it comes to a cat with special needs. If the answer is yes, a thousand times yes – then you will have the most amazing (but also stressful) experience. You will be rewarded with love and gratitude.”
She also tells us to be aware that when adopting a special needs kitty. There’s a big chance that your vet bills are going to be higher than they would be otherwise. It is extremely important to keep this in mind and although the input may be great, the rewards are definitely worth it.
We always urge readers to choose adoption when searching for your furry friend. They need you, and you may even need them.
