A blind kitten never knew what it was like to have a home until she was saved by a kind woman, who showed her love.
Stella (right) was rescued along with her two siblings.
"I trapped Stella on a TNR (trap-neuter-return) job at the end of September along with her two siblings. All three had various eye issues ranging from limited vision to total blindness," Nikki, foster mom @myfosterkittens, told Love Meow.
Stella was born with Micro Ophthalmia (small eyes) and no vision. She also had an infection in her eye sockets that required surgery.
"I didn't have the heart to put these three 4-month-old kittens back outside blind, so I took them in my home and immediately got them medical attention and started socializing them since they had never had human interaction."
Two weeks later, with a lot of patience, plenty of food and chin scratches, Stella began to come around. She graduated from the crate that she and her siblings once hid in and onto the cat tree in their spacious foster room.
She loves the chicken baby food, which helps her learn that her human family isn't so bad.
"Stella had a surgery to clean out her eye sockets from infection and her eyelids were surgically shut to prevent debris and further infection from forming," Nikki told Love Meow.
Being blind doesn't hold her back at all.
"Fostering feral kittens, especially over 4 months old can be hard. Every day they still run and hide when I walk in their room. Sometimes I wonder if they'll ever be social, adoptable kitties.
"And then, moments like this happen..."
Stella sees with her heart.
"She is turning into quite the love bug. She's always purring and biscuit making. I can tell she feels SO much better since her surgery," Nikki said.
Nikki has rescued hundreds of cats and kittens over the years and loves and cares for every foster that comes her way like her own, but there's something about Stella that she simply can't let go.
"The day I trapped Stella on a TNR job I told my husband I had a special connection with her. The fact that she's blind was not a challenge in her finding the right forever home, but the fact that she was feral also."
"She needed a home that would be patient and let her blossom in her own time.
"The combination of me having a connection with her and her being a little bit of a challenge in finding the right home made it clear to us that she was exactly where she belonged."
"She's able to find her food and litter box on her own, she's never missed once. She also enjoys playing with toys just like a kitten with sight," Nikki told Love Meow.
The three blind siblings, happy and healthy!
"Over the years I have always kept one space open in my home for a cat that came my way that was 'unadoptable'. I'm not sure that Stella was entirely 'unadoptable' but I was sure that I was not willing to give her up that easily… apparently not at all.
"She can do anything that any other kitty can do. Her blindness does not limit her at all."
Watch these videos:
Socialization for the three blind kittens began.
The moment Stella began to receive love and show happiness.
"My husband and I are silently screaming with joy so we don't scare her."
She stole their hearts.
Share this story with your friends. Follow Stella the cat @ Can_Do_Stella on Instagram. Follow Nikki's foster babies at @myfosterkittens on Instagram.
Related story: Shelter Cat Becomes Seeing Eyes for Blind Kitten. They are Waiting for a Loving Home