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A wild rescue kitten left blind in both eyes by illness has won over the Hastings SPCA, as they now look for support to fund “life or death surgery.”
The 10-week-old black and white medium to long hair kitten named Scout was brought into the SPCA by a member ofthe public just over a week ago, and was in a bad way.
Hastings and Napier SPCA centre manager Tamara Hay said he was lucky to have been found when he was and given immediate care.
She said that while his eyes were the main issue, initial examinations also revealed he was flea ridden, emaciated, and was suspected to be suffering from cat flu.
Napier and Hastings SPCA centre manager Tamara Hay with Scout who she describes as a miracle kitten.
“His eyes were really infected, and there was a lot of discharge and odour present.”
She said a vet suggested it was likely that early in the kitten’s life an infection had “eaten away at Scout’s eyeballs”, leaving him completely blind.
“He wasn’t born with no eyes, it was a result of illness.”
While Hay said cat flu was a relatively common condition, the way it had affected the kitten was “incredibly rare”.
“I think he is a bit of a miracle kitten ... the fact that he has gone through this illness and then the trauma.”
Scout, the blind Hastings SPCA rescue kitten, was saved by a member of the public at 9 weeks old.
Hay said the kitten’s time “alone in the wild” meant his body had adapted and he learned to cope without eyesight.
“He tries to scout out his environment – hence the name – with his little nose up in the air and whiskers twitching, trying to get a sense of his surroundings.
“While he is a little bit timid and quite wary and unsure in new environments, he is also incredibly affectionate once he is secure.”
She said due to his risk of a secondary infection, the next step under vet recommendation is a $900 surgery, and they need the public’s financial support so they can give him the best chance.
“Realistically, it is the difference between being rehomed or not, it is a life or death surgery for him.”
She said the vet would remove any debris in the eye sockets and clear out decaying and dead eye tissue.
“The extent of the surgery is relatively unknown until the vets are in there having a good look.”
Should the surgery be a success, the kitten would be potentially placed into foster care and rehomed as an indoor animal with aftercare provided by the SPCA.
They hoped that through his adoption, he would be united with someone with previous experience with a blind cat, but that wasn’t fully necessary.
Hay said if people wanted to donate to Scout, or give a general donation to SPCA, they could do so by visiting the link www.spca.nz/scout
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.
