Lucius
Lucius was born on July 24th, 2010. He was born suffering from the feline herpes virus as well as microphthalmia, a defect in the formation of his eyes. Wherever he was born, whoever his caretakers were to be, he was abandoned as a kitten. He went from their hands, to a kind veterinarian, to a shelter, and finally to his forever home with us.
After a very rough start, Lucius is now healthy, but remains fragile. The herpes virus impaired his immune system, but he has grown stronger and his flare ups have become fewer and more far between. He is a happy boy, always purring, very cuddly and very playful. He's a very special boy, and I am thankful every day for him, he is truly a blessing.
Facebook Page
Lucius' Facebook Page was started in July of 2013. My hope in creating the page was to bring awareness on how blind cats are as "normal" and functional as any cat who can see. Admittedly, I had misconceptions about the care required for a blind cat before adopting Lucius. For instance, I expected for there to be "work" (if it could even be called that) involved, but I was wrong. He must stay indoors, of course. But inside, Lucius is as self-sufficient as any other cat. In fact, one would not know he is blind without having a look at his eyes.
Sadly, many special pets are overlooked at shelters and adoption events as a result of misconceptions. My hope is to alleviate some (or all) of those misconceptions, even if for one lone person. There are many special animals like Lucius that need homes. My thought is that if one person will see his story and decide to provide a forever home to a special animal, the time in typing and speaking will be worth it many, many times over as it would be a contributing factor to saving a life. So many lives need saving.
Through his page, I have also seen many, many smiles and stories from individuals who have connected with Lucius on an emotional. That, in turn, makes me smile, and sometimes cry (good tears). It is an honor for me to be able to share with others the happiness Lucius provides me, and it means so much to me to see others express happiness over a photo or video of him. I am and will always be grateful for every kind comment and message.
I want to say also that I feel animals are often not given the credit they're due, on many levels. An animal's ability to understand, for example. I see how much Lucius and our other kitties understand when we speak to them. How much Lucius does or does not understand in the messages left for him, I do not know. But the messages are read to him. He does get the hugs and kisses left for him. While I can't speak for his understanding of English vocabulary (though I believe he understands a lot), if nothing else, he knows that he's getting a lot of love and attention. I know he's grateful for that, as am I.
Blog
Short posts seem to do best on Facebook. I plan to use this space for more lengthy posts and posts updating on the rest of the family, for whoever wishes to read them. It is my hope also that, though blog followings are down significantly from several years ago, search engines may pick up something here during crawls that will bring others to Lucius' story and/or information that someone may find useful.
The blog has been here since July, 2013, when Lucius' Facebook page was opened, but is being re-launched for the one year anniversary, for a new start.
Support for and from Lucius
Shortly after publishing his Facebook page, the cat community on Facebook showed incredible support for Lucius' entry in Modern Cat's "Cat of the Week" contest. Votes soared within those few days, and Lucius won Cat of the Week for the week of July 29th, 2013. This was bittersweet for me. Lucius' story was brought before a wide audience for that time, and of course, I was so proud of and happy for Lucius. To this day, I'm still so grateful for the outpouring of support for him. I'll always be thankful for that. The down side was in realizing how uncomfortable I was and am with contests like this, as I believe that all cats are winners, and deserve recognition and appreciation just the same.
Lucius was born on July 24th, 2010. He was born suffering from the feline herpes virus as well as microphthalmia, a defect in the formation of his eyes. Wherever he was born, whoever his caretakers were to be, he was abandoned as a kitten. He went from their hands, to a kind veterinarian, to a shelter, and finally to his forever home with us.
After a very rough start, Lucius is now healthy, but remains fragile. The herpes virus impaired his immune system, but he has grown stronger and his flare ups have become fewer and more far between. He is a happy boy, always purring, very cuddly and very playful. He's a very special boy, and I am thankful every day for him, he is truly a blessing.
Facebook Page
Lucius' Facebook Page was started in July of 2013. My hope in creating the page was to bring awareness on how blind cats are as "normal" and functional as any cat who can see. Admittedly, I had misconceptions about the care required for a blind cat before adopting Lucius. For instance, I expected for there to be "work" (if it could even be called that) involved, but I was wrong. He must stay indoors, of course. But inside, Lucius is as self-sufficient as any other cat. In fact, one would not know he is blind without having a look at his eyes.
Sadly, many special pets are overlooked at shelters and adoption events as a result of misconceptions. My hope is to alleviate some (or all) of those misconceptions, even if for one lone person. There are many special animals like Lucius that need homes. My thought is that if one person will see his story and decide to provide a forever home to a special animal, the time in typing and speaking will be worth it many, many times over as it would be a contributing factor to saving a life. So many lives need saving.
Through his page, I have also seen many, many smiles and stories from individuals who have connected with Lucius on an emotional. That, in turn, makes me smile, and sometimes cry (good tears). It is an honor for me to be able to share with others the happiness Lucius provides me, and it means so much to me to see others express happiness over a photo or video of him. I am and will always be grateful for every kind comment and message.
I want to say also that I feel animals are often not given the credit they're due, on many levels. An animal's ability to understand, for example. I see how much Lucius and our other kitties understand when we speak to them. How much Lucius does or does not understand in the messages left for him, I do not know. But the messages are read to him. He does get the hugs and kisses left for him. While I can't speak for his understanding of English vocabulary (though I believe he understands a lot), if nothing else, he knows that he's getting a lot of love and attention. I know he's grateful for that, as am I.
Blog
Short posts seem to do best on Facebook. I plan to use this space for more lengthy posts and posts updating on the rest of the family, for whoever wishes to read them. It is my hope also that, though blog followings are down significantly from several years ago, search engines may pick up something here during crawls that will bring others to Lucius' story and/or information that someone may find useful.
The blog has been here since July, 2013, when Lucius' Facebook page was opened, but is being re-launched for the one year anniversary, for a new start.
Support for and from Lucius
Shortly after publishing his Facebook page, the cat community on Facebook showed incredible support for Lucius' entry in Modern Cat's "Cat of the Week" contest. Votes soared within those few days, and Lucius won Cat of the Week for the week of July 29th, 2013. This was bittersweet for me. Lucius' story was brought before a wide audience for that time, and of course, I was so proud of and happy for Lucius. To this day, I'm still so grateful for the outpouring of support for him. I'll always be thankful for that. The down side was in realizing how uncomfortable I was and am with contests like this, as I believe that all cats are winners, and deserve recognition and appreciation just the same.
Wanting to give back, in the final quarter of 2013 we held what was referred to as "Lucius' Paw Print Project." Lucius' paw was gently pressed into hearts made of very soft cold porcelain (don't worry, I promise he didn't mind, he didn't wiggle but rather purred the whole time, for the few minutes it took). When the hearts dried, they were painted and turned into ornaments which were then sold to benefit Wayward Whiskers Cat Rescue. An incredible amount of support was shown for him once again in this venture. The ornaments have gone all over the world, and we are deeply honored. Through this project, just over $800 was raised for WWCR - $663 in the initial transfer, and $145 over the next few weeks.
Thank You
I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all the love and support that has been and continues to be shown to Lucius and our family. Wishes for many blessings to you all!
