Kate Moss
A HAPPY TAIL FOR KATE MOSS AND HELEN KELLER!
Poor little Kate Moss was wedged and trapped behind a vending machine at a local university. She apparently had been there for a long period of time because she was literally starving. Her body index on the scale of 1 to 9 was a 1 when she arrived at BARCS. She was extremely malnourished but was in good spirits and had a super appetite! She joined our rescue and was fostered by Wanda at Highland Groomery, where she thrived and received lots of TLC.
Helen Keller was about 10 months old when she was found wandering around in a parking lot. The two wonderful ladies that found her and took her in, quickly realized that she was blind. Looking at her eyes with a flashlight, all they looked like were holes. They diligently contacted all the rescues they could find, but everyone they contacted was full and unable to help. Cindy, AARF’s cat rescue coordinator, sprang into action when she received the request about the blind kitten in need. Our wonderful foster, Wanda, committed to care for the kitten so all was a go! Everyone was so focused on helping Helen Keller get the care she needed that the location of the cat was never discussed…well, Helen was in North Carolina!
Luckily, another AARF volunteer jumped in to help. Christine and her mom road-tripped to meet Wanda Tilly, the lady who had saved Helen Keller. They met halfway in Virginia– a 6 hour round trip for each of them! Christine told us that “it was a long drive but we made a day out of it and were so happy to help this sweet kitty.”
Helen Keller
Once in our care, Helen Keller was taken to the Veterinary Ophthalmic Clinic in Catonsville where they determined she needed surgery on both eyes. Her vision was minimal and starting to decline. She had been born with undeveloped eyes, therefore they were too small for her regular sized eyelids. The lids were inverted and the lashes were damaging her eyes, causing infection and horrible pain. AARF did an online fundraiser to pay for the $1200 surgery for Helen Keller– and it was a success! Wanda and her staff at Highland Groomery gave her medicine around the clock and did an incredible job of nursing her back to health.
Both Kate Moss and Helen Keller were living like queens with their foster mom but wanted a home to call their own. A nice man from Washington DC heard about Helen Keller and decided to meet her. He previously had a blind cat who had passed away and decided he was ready to adopt another who needed special care. While at the Groomery, he met Kate Moss and adopted her too, so that “Helen could have a friend.”
We are so happy to have found a wonderful person willing to give these sweet cats a second chance! Congrats to Kate Moss and Helen Keller!… And they lived AARFily Ever After!