L VEE is blind

Story

This love story begins in a barn in Wamego, Kansas, when Dr. Kielyn Scott, DVM 2003, visited her dad’s farm in the summer of 2021. Her mission was to help fulfill two goals for Lexi, her 9-year-old niece: to see a kitten and to pet a kitten.

Barn discovery

“When we went into the barn, he was the first cat we saw — and it’s a big barn,” Dr. Scott says. “He was this little orange fuzz ball, and I thought, ‘We already have a kitten for Lexi! She can pet him, this is great!’”

However, when Dr. Scott picked the kitten up, she realized there was an issue with his eyes; one was swollen shut and the other was bulging out.

“He was very small — just a handful — about 5 weeks old,” Dr. Scott says. “But Lexi was happy that she could pet him, and I was trying to be calm and reassuring to her that it wasn’t terrible for him to have this eye wound. I was thinking, ‘What am I going to do with this little kitten? The only option is to take him to the veterinary school.’”

As Dr. Scott and Lexi were standing in the barn assessing the situation, it became apparent that such a special kitten deserved a worthy name.

“Lexi came up with ‘Friendly,’” Dr. Scott says. “I usually call my animal patients ‘friends,’ and I said, ‘Look at this little friend, he’s so nice.’ And she said, ‘Yeah, he’s really friendly.’ ‘Is that his name?’ ‘Yeah, he’s Friendly Brave!’ She’s a child who does not like blood or gore, or anything that’s gross, so it was interesting to see her with this little kitten that has one eye that’s bulging, and one that is stuck shut, and to watch her be okay with that.”

Dr. Scott, Lexi and Lexi’s father, Matt, drove Friendly to the emergency services at the Veterinary Health Center and were able to see Veterinary Ophthalmologist Dr. Jessica Meekins.

Dire situation

Unfortunately, it was discovered that both of Friendly’s corneas were ruptured due to infection and needed to be removed. Due to his age and small size, Dr. Meekins decided the best course of action was to provide supportive care until he was old enough to safely undergo general anesthesia for surgical removal of both eyes (enucleation).

“Dr. Scott and Lexi did an amazing thing in rescuing Friendly and committing to nursing him through such a difficult start in life — raising a bottle baby is no small task,” says Dr. Meekins, who is an associate professor. “I was really impressed with Lexi’s maturity. She was very serious about taking care of Friendly and really understood that it was a big responsibility.”

So, Friendly moved to Ohio with Lexi, and two weeks later he underwent his enucleation. At first, he needed increased supervision while recovering from the surgery. Friendly was kept isolated from the family’s other pets and carried around the house.

“I was initially very concerned about the extra care that he would need,” says Riley Scott, Dr. Scott’s sister and Lexi’s mother. “I had no clue how we would be able to support a cat with special needs and it seemed daunting to think about how he was going to function in the world.”

Fortune favors Friendly

Friendly is not only functioning — he is thriving. He has since fully recovered and now has full run of the house, with some modifications for his safety. The openings in the three flights of stairs were covered with thick paper to prevent him from falling through, for example.

“I think he is so handsome!” Lexi says. “I carry him in a special way on my shoulder through the house and he loves it. When I lost my last tooth, instead of the tooth fairy giving me money, we got a pet stroller so I can take him on walks.”

The family helps support Friendly by holding him if he’s around unfamiliar and loud noises for the first time, if he gets stuck on a tall object and prefers to be set on the floor or while he sniffs any visitors. When there’s a new object in the house, Friendly is brought to it so he can feel it with his paws. The family also talks to Friendly when approaching him or before picking him up so he isn’t surprised.

Friendly doesn’t let his lack of sight keep him from living his best life; he runs, plays and acts just like a normal cat. He simply “watches” with his ears instead, using his hearing to locate the whereabouts of the family and their other pets. He’s even taught himself to open the lever door handles in the house.

“I feel like he is such a good ambassador for cats because everyone who meets him just loves him,” Dr. Scott says. “It’s amazing he can be so confident and bold and show resiliency despite never having known sight. So, at least he doesn’t know what he’s missing. But he’s just bold and in the middle of everything.”