Hannah Erbe was in an art lesson when she discovered a little cat in a wood pile on her teacher’s property. The kitten was wild, but he definitely had very serious vision problems, so he couldn’t see Erbe and didn’t run away from her. Erbe realized the cat wouldn’t live without serious help, so she instantly decided to take him home with her.
Erbe knew the young kitten, whom she eventually called Inky, had vision problems from the start, but she didn’t know how serious they were until a vet examined him and didn’t seem optimistic.
“The vet came the next day and cautioned me not to become too attached since he was really fragile and had a low temperature,” Erbe told The Dodo. “She verified that he had eyelid agenesis [a disease in which one is born without eyelids] and that he would face a long road of treatment.”
Despite what the vet indicated, Erbe rapidly felt connected to Inky and realized she couldn’t abandon him. She chose to adopt him and began working hard to solve his severe vision problems.
Other problems with Inky’s eyes began to surface as time passed. Inky has keratitis and anterior segment dysgenesis in both eyes, as well as being cross-eyed, in addition to eyelid agenesis.
“The keratitis makes it appear as if tree branches are developing in his eyes and impairs his eyesight; the anterior segment dysgenesis has led his pupils to form incorrectly, resulting in malformed pupils and an increased risk of glaucoma and blindness in the future,” Erbe explained. “His eyes are also smaller than average. They bother him, and his eyesight isn’t great, but he’s adapted so well that you wouldn’t notice if he didn’t appear so different!”
Despite his vision problems, Inky doesn’t appear to notice anything different — especially because he has the best brother and friend to support him through it all.
Jasper has been living with his mother for the past two years after being rescued as a wounded stray. He’s always been a gentle, calm dog who enjoys going with the flow, so when his mom brought young Inky home, she wasn’t concerned — but she had no clue how close the two would grow.
Jasper and Inky have been great buddies pretty much since the beginning. They do everything together, which primarily consists of dozing on the floor side by side and following their mother around. Jasper keeps an eye on Inky and has helped him come out of his shell.
“I think Jasper has helped Inky’s confidence a lot,” Erbe remarked. “When we originally received him, he was wild and shy, and Jasper’s soothing presence undoubtedly helped him warm up.” As time passed, I noticed them becoming more at ease with each other. They both want to be with me all the time, so they’ve created an unusual relationship.”
Inky still has a lot more battles ahead of him. He’ll need several therapy and treatments to be well, but his mother is eager to battle for him — and happily, he’ll always have his closest buddy Jasper by his side to assist him through it all.
Link to Paws Daily