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Banshee was rescued from a fur farm in Minnesota as a tiny kitten. She was considered to be a cull and destined to die because her fur was too brown to make it suitable for use in a coat. Banshee is now 7 years old and lives with the two bobcats who adopted her and raised her as their own.
Following a recent surgery involving general anesthesia, Banshee became blind. The veterinary ophthalmologist feels that the damage to the blood supply in her retinas is due to a genetic disorder which is common in fur farm raised mink, because of the inbreeding. This is most likely true with many lynx that are born on fur farms too. Since they are slaughtered at a young age, many genetic disorders do not show up before the animals are killed. Even if they do, nobody cares, as long as the lynx continue to breed and produce kittens. The vet thinks that the damage had been taking her sight slowly and she probably had minimal vision until the anesthesia, when she woke up completely and totally blind. Apparently, she does not even see light.
Banshee has amazed me with how quickly she has adapted to her disability. The casual observer would probably never know that there is anything out of the ordinary about her. She gets around her 24'x32' enclosure quite well, as she has mapped out the area and all the obstacles by scent marking them. She is even beginning to feel confident enough to climb up on her Tiny Tykes Play Fort and on top of her den box. Her two friends, Saber and Sarah, the bobcats who raised her, have accepted the changes too, and they are all one big happy family again.
My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of you who responded to Banshee's plight.
Wild Ones Sanctuary
PO Box 1050
Brush Prairie, WA 98606
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