Blind Cat is Inseparable From 'Seeing Eye' Mother

A cat born without eyeballs has become inseparable from his "seeing eye" mother after they were brought into an Iowa animal shelter.

Little one-year-old Keller has been protected by his mother Annie Sullivan, which had made introducing him to another cat very difficult while she is nearby.

Cindy Rarrat, of the Sioux City Animal Adoption and Rescue Director, told KCAU: "It was a unique situation in the respect that we impounded the blind cat first, and the blind cat had no eyeballs and was not neutered.

"And so we got him in and he was very lost, very confused. Within a day or so, we ended up getting the female in which we assume is his mother."

Rarrat continued to tell KCAU: "We found out that there was something wrong with her mouth, so after she was spayed, we took her back in and she had to have all of her teeth removed, and she had a large tumor in her sinus cavity. That has since been removed. They wanted to test it, but we felt that we just really didn't want to know."

She added the team decided to introduce Keller to Sullivan in the hope that she would accept him and they were inseparable.

Rarrat later added: "The mother did not accept any other cats because she'd been protecting him all of his life, and so we took a kitten. And it was one of our kittens that was very unique, he was, he's got a ton of personality and he just was … just a different and a unique personality.

"So we put him in with them and they love each other. I've been here 37 years and I've never come across a situation like this."

Fortunately, Sullivan has now taken Trixie, the nine-week-old kitten, under her wing and Trixie has also been learning to help Keller.

An update on the Sioux City Animal Adoption and Rescue website showed that all three are up for adoption and that they must all be taken together.

The updated information for the trio read: "We can't express to you how special these guys are and now they are accepting an orphaned kitten who never stopped crying.

"Trixie is now safe in the arms of this duo. How can we split them up?"

Rarrat told KCAU: "We have to find somebody that will accept three cats, and let alone two cats and let alone one cat. So we've been looking for that special home, that special someone that would give these guys a chance,"

Newsweek has contacted Sioux City Animal Adoption and Rescue for comment.