Being publicly-funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high quality content. Please support us!

Without eyes, you won’t see the ugliness of the world, but you can still feel it. You can still feel the shiver through your limbs, the cramps of hunger in your stomach, and the echoes of frightening noises all around you. One kitten, no older than two months, was born into a world she wouldn’t get to see for long. Her battle in life started from birth. While blindness might have stolen her sight, it never stole her spirit or her strength. We should all remember one of life’s phenomenons. Hope.

Hope was just a kitten when she lost her sight due to a severe infection. A passerby found her with her eyes buldging out their sockets with infection. Despite the horrible condition of this little kitten, this kind human could not fight the urge to help this homeless kitten in anyway she could. So, she contacted the local animal rescue organization in Burgas, Bulgaria: Animal Friends Foundation Burgas for help.


A Life Without Eyes

After examining the kitten’s eyes, she was given medication and treatment, but nothing seemed to work. The infection that had stolen Hope’s eye sight was a common virus that spread amongst the many stray cats in the area. As the infection spreads, the eyes just “leak out.”

The vet declared that the infection was too deep and they couldn’t save her eyes, both would have to be removed. Little Hope refused to eat as she was understandably in a lot of pain. She hadn’t eaten for days and was becoming extremely weak.

However, surgery was the only option to save her life, so the vets set to work. With much relief it was a huge success!


Within hours, Hope was recovering and in a stable condition. Following her eye operation, Hope had regular checkups at the clinic to ensure everything was well. Prior to the surgery, her appetite was nonexistent. Now, she couldn’t stop eating! All Hope needed now was a loving family that would understand her, appreciate her and most of all, take care of her.


Home Sweet Home

Petra Kohlmayer was smitten the moment she set eyes on Hope.

“When I saw her picture with her bad eyes, she went straight to my heart and I knew, if she made it, she’d be our cat.”


Petra began fostering the young kitten. But as the days passed by, it was clear she’d fallen in love and couldn’t part with her beloved feline. So Petra made Hope part of the family, by adopting her.

“She is really great. She is the best cat in the world, full of love and amazing. We don’t think about her “handicap”, because she doesn’t either. She is as normal as other cats and can do everything she wants to do.”

Hope lives with two dogs, a cat, and rabbits. Her owner, Petra, says they all get on well.

“It’s great to see them together. They Play with each other, they cuddle very often together and she is the Boss here. And Luna, our dog, is her best friend.”


A Brutal Beginning, a Heart Warming Ending

Hope is two years old now and despite the intense first months of her life, she doesn’t let her past mold her present. Hope is indeed aptly named. She shows us that, under any circumstances, we need to make the most of life. Life took away her eyes. But life also gave her love.

Petra, her adopter, says: “Hope is the star of our Family. She makes our life so rich, more than we do hers.”

There are Others Like Hope Who Need Your Help

Hundreds of homeless cats and dogs suffer and die on the streets of Bulgaria, and across the world. They live and die as though they never existed. Far too often, I have come across kittens, no bigger than the cup of your hand, curled up at the side of the road, with their head down to the ground, dying. With your support, we can lessen this suffering. With your support, amazing organizations like the Animal Friends Foundation Burgas, can stay open.

To learn more about Animal Friends Foundation Burgas, click here. You can find donation information by clicking here.