Our Lola Bean...

[Michael Jones]

We have a three year old blind Bengal. This little creature is the light of our lives and you all know having a special needs pet conjures a special kind of love.

She has a senior Maine Coon (sighted) that she loves to follow at a dead run through the house. We tried the bell thing, but it was more of a hindrance to the Maine Coon! I don't know how Lola does it, but with the TV on, people talking, and all the other noises we humans make, when BK pads silently into the room, Lola hears her and if she wants to play, lands squarely in front of BK and starts swinging. Then she wades in and tries to wrestle with her. BK always loses such an encounter even though she outweighs Lola by about six pounds!! Lola plays so intensely that sometimes it is a bit much for BK. BK has to retreat to an elevated spot and not move...that's the only way she avoids Lola if Lola wants to play.

So Lola's phenomenal hearing is what she uses to get around. she might hear a noise that she can't quite locate and she will perk up her ears and sway her head from side to side like radar and kind of hones in on the noise. She kind of looks like Meerkat when she takes that stance. And you know what, if we don't pull a fast one and move the noise making device, no matter what it is a toy, the newspaper, even a rolling ball on the carpet, she will nail it every time!! This cat is the most amazing animal we have ever had. How she can hear softer noises over the loud noises is astonishing. She can hear birds hopping around in the front yard witht the TV going right next to her.

She just absolutely LOVES to lay on my lap as I try to read the newspaper and swat at the paper and of course shred it. Her world is so audio oriented that we have to keep in mind that the sound of something is the only thing our Lola has to process what ever might be getting her attention. She can be in the front window and when the garbage truck comes by she goes on a 100% alert status. Same thing for the street sweeper. All that activity used to startle her but she has since come to expect it.

So you all can see how bad we have it for this kitty!! We try to provide her with a safe home. We have padding up in strategic places,(where we have seen her collide with walls, furniture, etc.) for the inevitable collisions that occur when she is in "wild Bean mode" LOL

We call her Lola Bean because when we first got her at five months of age she was no bigger than a one lb. bag of beans. As you can expect she was the runt of the litter and was almost put down. We are so glad she got a chance to live life with us and enrich our lives with her presence. She trusts us completely. Another thing she loves to do is go outside into the back yard. We stand in the middle of the yard and we have a long (8ft) branch from our tree. We tuck the thick end of the branch under our arm, and with Lola on a leash and harness we go around in circles with the branch dragging the ground. Lola hears it move and she chases it. The circle is big enough that she doesn't get dizzy. Not so with us of course but it is a great way to excercise her. She runs so hard she ends up panting like a wild ALC (Asian Leopard Cat) that she is bred from.

A truly remarkable kitty!!

[critters]

If she has eyes, she might be able to see a little, and if she's like Spunk, my "blind" punk, she can do an awful lot with that, too!! Lola sounds like a true wild child!!!

[Michael Jones]

She has only one partially formed eye. The other socket is empty. Her one eye is the prettiest blue, but with no pupil.

http://www.messybeast.com/freak-eyes.htm

This page best describes Lola's condition we think.

Thank you for the warm welcome!!

[CarolC]

If she has eyes, she might be able to see a little, and if she's like Spunk, my "blind" punk, she can do an awful lot with that, too!!

click to enlarge

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

Welcome, LolaBean & Family!

I hear stories like Lola's and it only reinforces the impression I have that blind cats do MUCH better than blindpups.

Your girl is dazzling1

WELCOME!

[SandyNY]

Welcome! thanks for sharing such a beautiful post!

[critters]

If she has eyes, she might be able to see a little, and if she's like Spunk, my "blind" punk, she can do an awful lot with that, too!!

click to enlarge

Thanks, Carol!! I was lazy.