Back in June of 2024, an animal rescue in Miami County, Ohio made the national news. Animal Control had discovered over 100 cats living in cramped, stifling quarters of the animal ‘shelter’. And sadly while they found that most of them met the criteria of eligibility to be pulled, they didn’t have the room elsewhere. Which meant only 43 cats were taken from the location and brought to the Miami County Animal Shelter. Except 17 of those cats tested positive for FeLV or Feline Leukemia, which is highly contagious to other felines. So what did they do? Nothing. The county left those 17 cats in the shelter.
One of those cats was the polydactyl tortoiseshell named Abbey Road.
This is one of those heartbreaking situations that keeps getting worse though. As later told by her eventual rescue heroes, Abbey Road’s journey out of that shelter was a lucky one. It was the dedicated rescuers at Blind Cat Rescue and Sanctuary, Inc. that rushed to help.
We received an urgent plea from a woman who specializes in adopting FeLV-positive cats. She was distressed because she couldn’t collect her newly adopted cat after the rescue was raided. Out of the 43 cats removed, the 17 with FeLV were left behind. Miami County Animal Control, despite being a no-kill facility, having FIV, FeLV, or those who are blind do not warrant a chance at life. These cats faced an uncertain future and urgently needed placement. While we were already at capacity in our facility in North Carolina, we couldn’t ignore their plight.
We promptly contacted the State Agriculture Department to request a modification to our license so that we could assist. Once approved, we mobilized our team to prepare room 1 in house 1 for the arrival of these 12 new cats — the largest intake we’ve ever undertaken at once!
Our Director and Shelter Manager wasted no time and drove all the way to Ohio to save their lives. They made the round trip in just 29 hours, demonstrating incredible dedication. While the cats were well-fed, they did require medical attention, which our team was prepared to provide. Upon arrival at Blind Cat Rescue, it was heartwarming to see them quickly settle in, making themselves at home within 30 minutes after a long 9-hour drive. Immediately after unloading everyone into their new room, the comfort, peace, and curiosity that they all had for their new home brought tears to our eyes.
This girl has all the toes…and more!
Those in the cat world are familiar with polydactyl cats; meaning they have extra ‘toes’ on one or more paws. But in Abbey Roads’ case…she has 6 toes on all four paws! For reference, cats usually have 5 toes on their front and 4 toes on their back paws. And it seems she uses these extra toes to keep up her ‘shadow’ activities. Because the staff report that she is constantly following them around and is an absolute love bug. 
Which is wonderful because the Blind Cat Rescue is her PURRmanent home. They specialize in not only helping blind cats, but cats with FeLV as well. So while there is no chance of infecting other already FeLV+ cats, she can live her carefree life here. At only approximately 5 years old, we’re hoping its a nice long, peaceful life.
And she easily garnered fans within the staff and followers of the rescue who visit her regularly. Now, the thousands online that have seen her balancing her mega paws on the edges of bins are right there with them!
She’s happily taken on the role of social media helper as well. Which may have backfired for her since she’s become quite an escape artist at the rescue. Apparently she likes to get out of her cage and just walk around, meownager work probably. HAHA
Be sure to follow Blind Cat Rescue & Sanctuary Inc online and if you’re in the Saint Pauls, NC area, stop by and give Abbey Road some head scratches from us! You can even sponsor her or others
All photos/video property of Blind Cat Rescue
