The 'tail' of Beloved is a heart warming one that gives hope to special needs cats.
David Oliver (Feline Friends Sharjah) found the kitten feeling his way around outside an administration building on the University of Sharjah campus over the summer. He noticed the kitten had what appeared to be a bad eye infection. So he scooped him up and took him to see Jim Bolssens at the Europets Veterinary Hospital in Sharjah. Jim could tell immediately that the kitten was blind, waving a hand in front of his face didn't make him flinch.
A neuter and release was obviously out of the question, so there seemed to be only one option - euthanise. Reluctant to make this decision, David asked Jim to give him the weekend to try to find a home for little blind cat.
Over the weekend I saw the blind kitten when i took a colony of strays in to be sterilised. Unable to stop thinking about him, i called Mr. David early on Sunday morning asking if the kitten was still alive and if i could adopt him. He managed to get through to Jim just before the kitten was due to be euthanised and told him to "wait!". The rest is a happy ending. I named the kitten "Beloved", and coincidentally David means "Beloved" so it is a good name as far as he is concerned! Beloved does manage to get around quite well on his own and loves to be held and cuddled. He feels the face of the person holding him to get a sense of who it is. I confirm that Beloved lives a fairly normal life, and even plays.
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
