Peepers Positivity Shines Through

Cost of care is often a contributing factor when people surrender their pets to animal shelters. The average cost of care for a cat in a home is between $700 and $3,000 a year for necessities and routine vet care. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of veterinary care services has risen by nearly 60% over the last decade, meaning expensive veterinary bills or treatments for ongoing ailments can put a strain on a pet guardian, leaving them with limited options.

Peepers’ life was impacted by the rising costs of veterinary care. After Peepers was diagnosed with multiple degenerative eye conditions, his former guardians made the compassionate choice to relinquish him into our care. Peepers was in a vulnerable place. Without treatment, these conditions cause vision impairment and pain, leading to general anxiety as cats like Peepers’ visions slowly deteriorates.

Upon reviewing his medical history, our DVM determined that Peepers would be an ideal candidate for double enucleation – a procedure to remove both eyes to improve his overall quality of life. Double enucleations are typically performed when an illness is unresponsive to medication and other, less invasive treatments.

Kayla was looking for a friend for her cat, Geiger, when she came into the Humane Colorado Cat Pavillion. And there was Peepers. “When I first got him, he had pretty recently lost his eyes, and he was still recovering physically and mentally from this big change.” Kayla recollects. “He wasn’t unfamiliar with the lack of sight, more so the lack of light and shapes. Because I adopted him so close after his surgery, his personality and energy were down for about a week or two. After we integrated him with Geiger, he truly started to come out of his shell.”

“Peepers is very chatty, very snuggly and enjoys singing in the bathroom!” Kayla tells us. “We think he enjoys the acoustics. At the end of the night, Peepers loves to put on his closing act in the bathroom before he comes and snuggles. He enjoys hanging out with and near me when I’m at my computer, playing games, or doing art. He just enjoys being near noises.”

He also loves to hang out with his new brother. “At first, Geiger was definitely a bit thrown off by Peepers, but he has been a really good seeing-eye-cat for Peepers, helping him understand the layout of our apartment.”

“They like to tussle in a brotherly love kind of way.”

Peepers is an inspiration to his new family. “Watching his color come back after what he has been through was so inspirational. Life has been extra stressful these past few months and seeing him get through this reminds me I can get through anything too.” Kayla said.

“I can’t imagine having a whole life for 4 years and then, suddenly, everything is different – your home, your sight, your family. Recovering from all of that is really hard. It’s impactful to see that an animal who lost one of the very few ways they know how to communicate is still shining bright and loving more than most people. Peepers gives me hope that the world is still a good place.”