Usually, we hear of dogs guiding the blind, but one feline has happily embraced a species role swap to help her canine best friend navigate life.
When fur and quill mom Robin Wagner adopted German shepherd/Greyhound mix Blaze, Satin the cat welcomed the extra-large canine into their Burlington, Vermont, home with open paws. Blaze was big and had a habit of stepping on the black cat, but Satin didn’t mind. She’d found a furry buddy to spend her days with, even if he was blind in one eye and weak in the other. And as the little bit of vision Blaze had slipped away, Satin would always be there to help her friend find his way.
Buddies From the Beginning
Seeing Blaze’s picture on Petfinder, Robin knew the huge hound was meant to join her family. And once he made it to his forever home in her arms, Blaze made friends with cat Satin and Robin’s resident hedgehogs right away. And while the quilled ones were cute, Blaze’s heart belonged to Satin.
As reported by People, Robin told news outlet SWNS, “A new creature was all up in her space and even when he could see ran into her a lot.”
Satin took being trampled in stride as that’s just what friends do. And when a visit to a veterinary ophthalmologist revealed Blaze to be entirely blind in his right eye and in need of corrective surgery in the left, Satin helped Blaze adjust as his vision began to wane further and finally disappeared altogether. Yet, for all her love for Blaze, Satin realized she would have to do something about getting stepped on all the time by her eighty-pound friend!
That’s when Robin noticed some new communication between the two. Sharing Satin and Blaze’s special friendship on TikTok, Robin said, “Overtime we noticed her talking more when he’d walk by as if saying ‘here I am!'”
Satin also applied her meow-alert technique to sharing snuggles with Blaze in bed to solve some issues.
“When Blaze would jump up, Satin would go barreling out of the room before he stomped on her,” explained Robin. “But over time, we noticed Satin staying in her spot and giving Blaze a nice loud meow. He’d stop himself, and walk around her.”
And now, the two are cuddle buds to the end, with Robin even sharing a picture of the two “holding hands” on Instagram.
A Natural Seeing-Eye Cat
Because Satin is a brilliant cat, she decided meowing to stop the stomping could also help Blaze navigate the house.
“Every time he’d be walking towards her, she would meow. She would meow, and he would stop and redirect himself.”
After losing his vision, Blaze struggled with confidence. But Satin and Robin never gave up on helping him find happiness again. Robin worked with professional trainers to help Blaze feel less anxious in the world. Satin showed him he’d always have a friend at his side to help him find his way in the world.
“I think Blaze going blind caused Satin and Blaze to become closer,” Robin said. “While she isn’t the most affectionate and cuddliest of cats with us, she for sure tells Blaze she loves him, and it’s the most beautiful thing to see.”
Keep up with best friends Blaze and Satin on Robin’s TikTok and @BlindBoyBlaze on Instagram.
@robinwagner0Hooray for inter-species relationships!♬ original sound – Robin Wagner
Feature Image: @blindboyblaze/Instagram
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via Whisker Therapy