When I invited two little kittens who had had eye surgeries to come be photographed as Artful Paws’ Rescue Pets of the Week, I was not expecting the vivacious little creatures who turned up!

Kelly’s blindness does not stop her from pouncing on her sister!

Kelly and Helen came to the Fairfax County Animal Shelter as 3 week old orphaned strays. They were immediately placed with an extremely experienced neonatal foster family who cared for them and began treating what was thought to be a severe upper respiratory infection.  The treatment cleared up the goop in their eyes which then revealed a more serious problem. Both kittens had a congenital defect that caused their eyelashes to grow into their eyes, irritating the eyeballs.  The Friends of the Fairfax County Animal Shelter quickly stepped in and funded the surgeries to save these kittens. Kelly’s eyes were too badly damaged to be saved and the eyeballs were removed.  Helen’s eyes were saved by removing the eyelids and lashes so they would not continue to irritate the eyes.

The good news is, they are recovering wonderfully. No further treatment is needed and their other senses are taking quickly taking over for the lack of eyesight.  In fact, if you couldn’t see that one is missing her eyes, you might not even know there was anything wrong with these two! They play and chase and pounce on each other like any happy playful kittens would!  They are both very cuddly and full of purrs as well. It was a joy to have them in the studio and I am certain that these two will provide their future family with much entertainment and love.  They will be available for adoption at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter within the next few days.  Because they rely on each other so much, the two will be only be adopted together as a bonded pair.  It would not be fair to separate them.

For more information on Kelly and Helen or other animals available for adoption, please visit the FCAS page on Petango.

Artful Paws Photography is proud to provide cat and dog photography to the Fairfax County Animal Shelter and other rescue organizations. For more information on pet photography services in Northern Virginia, please visit my website.