Tess is our
vision impaired Siberian Lynx. Tess has a difficulty seeing, as
she walks she lifts her front feet high in the air feeling her way
around the cage. She can not make out what is right in front of her,
but it seems she can see some things at a distance. She has no
problem seeing me with food in my hand at feeding time. But when she
comes to me to take the food from my hand, she can not see it.
I have to put the food right up next to her face so she can take it
from me. She is gentle and grabs the edge of the food like a
lady then turns around and walks away to eat
it.
Tess arrived in Feb. 2003, she had
been uprooted from place to place
several times in her life. One of the places Tess was rescued from
had since been shut down due the overall deplorably conditions the
animals were forced to live in. This will be her final home, she
will remain here with her new friend Draco for the remainder
of her life. Tess enjoys the snow below, and in the summer she
enjoys laying in the grass below the misters.
 
The greatest enrichment
that can be given to the magnificent creatures is to be with one of
their own kind. Someone to spend their time with, play, and
just enjoy being with another cat.
The platforms in her
cage are close to the ground, this is to keep her safe. Ramps are
also kept low for her safety. I have watched her walk right into the
slide gate, not being able to judge where the opening is. But she
has adjusted well and she knows where things are, so she will feel
her way around the cage and slowly get to were she wants to
go.
I try not to move
things in her cage, because if something new is brought in, she will
run right into it. The floor of her cage is kept free of objects,
nothing extra has been added. This makes it easier for her to move
around with less obstacles, and a place she can run, without running
into things.
Tess and Draco
first met through a common wall of their enclosures. Within a few
days the slide gate opened and their first contact was as if
they knew each other for their entire life. They are now
together all the time.
First meeting went off without any
problems, although Draco was more interested in the new ball than
the new girl, after the initial checking each other out the
games of marking everything in site began.
Tess still finds it difficult to run
and play without bumping into things. But she can find her way
around by feeling with her paws, she climbs the ramps in the cages,
even though it terrifies me to watch her make her way to the upper
platforms high above the ground. But she is wise enough to know she
must use her sense of feel and judge things through that. She knows
where the lower platforms are and she will stand on her hind legs
until she feels the platform, then she will feel around to make sure
where she is before she attempts to jump up on it.
Recently I have been upping Tess's
intake of Taurine to see if it may give some improvement to her
sight. It was suggested to me by some one who had similar problems
with one of their cats and said there was defiant improvement after
a while. So we are trying it to see if we can help Ms Tess see the
world around her just a little bit better.
Above Tess says I can
hear you but I can't see
you Tess sits and soaks up
the sunshine
Help us to
continue to help others like Draco & Tess
or mail check made out to;
WALK ON THE WILDSIDE
268 POLK 659
MENA, AR. 71953
ph. 479-394-5643
Copyright 2003, 501-c-3 Nonprofit
corporation
EIN
#32-00791998
EXTINCTION IS FOREVER
!!!! | 
