People Try To Rescue Blind Cat — But He Has Other Plans

“He loves lounging in the sun on top of our boxes and has shelter from the rain."

When a little kitten appeared behind Jada Hamby’s store back in March, she was understandably worried. It quickly became clear that the kitten was blind and also hard of hearing. She and her employees were concerned about the kitten being on his own, especially with his differences. They contacted a few different rescues to see if they could help, and they agreed to come and get him.

But the kitten had other plans.

blind cat
Jada Hamby

“Rescues came on several occasions and tried different methods of trapping him,” Hamby told The Dodo. “He was too smart for all of their tricks!”

Try as they might, no rescue could trap him — and he seemed thrilled about it. The kitten, now named Dumpster because of where he was found, had made his position clear. He was perfectly happy living around the store and being a store cat, and he had zero interest in changing that.

blind cat
Jada Hamby

Once it became clear that Dumpster was safe and content with where he was, the rescues agreed that even if they were able to trap him, the best move would probably be to neuter him and then return him to his home around the store.

“[He’s] familiar with the area, and as you can imagine, that's very important to a blind cat,” Hamby said.

blind cat
Jada Hamby

Dumpster is incredibly well-cared for by Hamby and her employees. They’ve been in contact with a vet to make sure his health is in check, he’s fed regularly and everyone is constantly checking on him to make sure he’s still thriving.

“He loves lounging in the sun on top of our boxes and has shelter from the rain,” Hamby said. “He greets us every morning meowing and demanding his breakfast! He's a very vocal cat and loves to have conversations with us.”

store cat
Jada Hamby

Dumpster isn’t quite comfortable being touched yet, but recently he let one of the employees pet him for the first time, so who knows what the future might hold?

“We aren't sure whether it was a consensual petting or if our warehouse guy was just able to be extra sneaky, but we're counting it as a win either way,” Hamby said.

If there ever comes a time when Dumpster decides he’s done being a store cat, he’ll let his people know. Until then, he’s perfectly content right where he is. Dumpster’s life may be a little unconventional, but he adores it, and, really, that’s all that matters.