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sepialunaris · 3 years

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Theorizing Amelia and One's backstory based on implicit storytelling

Hmmm infinity train possibly not getting a continuation got me thinking more about Amelia and One-One's implicit story throughout the books. Since the train in Book 4 still works on One's "in a literal sense [the passengers] are numbers to him" and "if they dont sort their problems they'll die here" ideal and not post-Tulip "every passenger's wellbeing and progress is important," the state of the train prior to Ryan and Min is a big mystery, and what specifically happens after to Amelia and One One is another mystery.

I saw @suppuration 's post (which unfortunately can't link since, mobile) about how Book 1 of Infinity Train is about One One experiencing and learning to act as a denizen for Tulip, and while he was mindwiped it must have a big impact to how he does his role as the conductor now and before, when he was just one entity.

Long analysis ahead

One = Simon

Book 4 One reminds me of... Simon. Simon "but you are not a person" Laurent. One is colder and more aloof towards passengers, and seeing them as just "numbers," which is similar to Simon's views at nulls and lack of respect of agency. While he got amnesia and his experience with Tulip made One-One realize his inactiveness has also hindered the purpose of the train as well as a sense of guilt on things that were not his fault (Amelia's cars in the train), he does strive to change, but Amelia still remembers and internalizes what she knows One was in the past, hence she still refers to his old name and had to read his instruction card to remind herself of his new ideals.

Moreover, Book 4 shows Stewards being in charge in train maintenance in the past. Reddit AMA said that in the present the Stewards are almost all destroyed in the coup besides the one Amelia outfitted with weaponry and One One used as transport in Book 2. Book 3 saw One One using humans like Amelia for maintenance, which shows that he is more willing to give agency to the passengers rather than lock them up in place while the Stewards do their jobs. So unlike Simon, there is growth.

Amelia = Hazel, but not really

One conforming to rigid power structure and not really considering anyone's agency like Simon and Pre-Hazel Grace makes Amelia seem like Hazel in this metaphor, which is appropriate that she is her 'clone' or imaginary child. And like Amelia entered One's and life resulting in his mysterious split, Hazel entered Simon and Grace's lives to split them (even if One One dont go separate ways like them, and stayed together) after she experience a personal loss that they caused or 'denied to unreverse' (in Amelia's case). Hazel made them both the chance to question, rethink, and restart their ideals but Simon didn't take it, while Amelia at first tried to give constructive feedback to One before executing the coup and also fell into One's problem of not recognizing others' agencies by 1) throwing away One One and possibly removing his memory 2) forcibly taking away the support system for the passengers to navigate their problems like Ryan and Min-Gi thinking its giving them agency to "individuate" and be on their own, when in the case of Ryan and Min it just reiterated their trauma.

Also her contradictory way of thinking is why in the end Amelia's belief of the other passenger's agency ends up being fallible and destroyed as she becomes more violating and just altogether doesn't want passengers to leave their cars. And I'm highkey convinced that the reason the Ghoms exist (but not in Book 4) is that she created them to prevent people from moving around freely, as there is no therapeutic reason for them to exist (that said the hand monster exists, but it is only in 1 car while Ghoms are numerous and everywhere in the wasteland, so this monster may explain One's aloofness to their wellbeing even further). She does have Ghom orb and used it in Atticus, so its really reasonable to think so. Plus it would be a logical thing that would add up to her numbers a lot and make Samantha the Cat dread her, yet still not make her numbers reach the top like Simon after directly trying to murder his friend.

Amelia's Loss

Though we're not sure because of how little screentime we have of them in Book 4, I do think Ryan and Min-Gi's attempt of staying together is a big foil too for Amelia's experience of abandonment, loss, yearning for the past, and loneliness. Therefore the Steward's first appearance was to reonnect the boys to their past by giving back their stuff, despite Amelia saying that she did that to "individuate" them (this may be directed for all the passengers but in this book's context it is about Min and Ryan's commitment to each other), and the second appearance Amelia specifically says "[they] are on their own." By the lens of Ryan and Min, Amelia is portrayed as a force that desires to separate them, not in a malicious nor personal manner, but maybe a projection of her own trauma of codependency with Alrick and not wanting the same to befall to Ryan and Min (it may also be jealousy but she hasn't shown any displeasure of that sort so it seems more like bad faith analysis) and the pther passengers. And in the end she releases everyone in the train from their 'dependency' by decomissioning the Stewards. Her actions, especially the former does have understandable motives and she isn't intending to harm anyone, but it happens anyway because in the end she disrespects their agency and pulled the whole train from under the rug.

Amelia = Lake & others

And the story of agency is central in Book 2, and how Lake fights for their recognition as a person and getting off from the train, to the point they have to confront One-One about it. It was the first time One One's imperfection is shown and how even now his standards for denizens has gotten better but not the best. Though he does end up respecting their agency and puts thought to it too. And a minor detail is that he mentions Atticus too in Book 2, meaning that he remembers him personally due to his experience as a denizen instead of just an instrument like in Book 4 (eg: Denizens like Kez being frozen kept of the blue during Steward visits), and he appreciates Alan Dracula too. So he did grow, even if its not perfect and his cold tendency and lesser view on denizens is still there. Yet One and Amelia's ideals of hierarchal superiority and the concept that denizens are worth nothing bleeds down to the Apex, who follows Amelia's footsteps after she has decided to refuse her former ideal to "individuate" passengers (as she has already used her outfit when finding Grace and if we think Amelia made the Ghoms then yeah it tracks), as well as Grace and Simon's own coping mechanisms of dealing with traumatic abandonment and loneliness being parallels to Amelia, through manipulating others and intruding on people's agencies respectively.

However, what I find interesting is that, like Lake, Amelia also got to the engine room and got to ask for favors from him. While the context is not clear as well as her lack of companions, if we parallel it to Lake's story and also considering Amelia's fallible interest to humanize the passengers to One, something similar might've happened.

Her story parallels with Ryan too, that wants to subvert expectations within his life even recklessly so at times that ends up hurting people (just like how she took over the train and hurt One and the other passengers), yet he deals with life better even after abandonment by Min. She also parallels heavily with Morgan, who was dependent on Jeremy and tried to isolate herself from her friend, Kez. And the big thing that Amelia lacks in this scenario, unlike Lake and Ryan, is that as said before, the distinct lack of companions she has. No one like Jesse or Min-Gi to ground and provide her company besides her desire for Alrick to come back, and doesn't show interest in forging new relationships and instead focused on her own stuff, just like Morgan grieved when Jeremy was gone. Amelia was both isolated and isolated herself further when she couped the train, and in the end like Morgan she turns from a caring person to someone that revokes agency. Though Morgan, in the end does decide to grieve herself and opens a window for her to reconnect with Kez, unlike Amelia who lost that opportunity and fell further to the dark due to cruel circumstance and her own actions.

And as for the reason why One One was split is mysterious and currently unexplained, Idk if this is an appropriate idea to connect to, but I feel like there's a possibility that he could've split himself or gave himself amnesia, as a way for him to deal with self isolation and or trauma from betrayal. Maybe he was even inspired by seeing Ryan and Min's commitment to each other? But again it is farfetched to judge as something tracks as of now.

Soo... tl;dr what i think happened.

During this era One only interacts with the passengers by maintaining the trains through the Stewards, without consideration of their well being or agency, hence the hand monster/Docent exists

Amelia enters the train and fights her way into the engine room to meet One, possibly asking her stuff back too

One decides to receive input from Amelia, who intends to humanize the passengers to him by giving them back their stuff, while akso taking interest to cultivate independence on the other passengers to avoid codependency like her

Amelia falls back to her dependency and asks One to bring Alrick back, he refuses, and she hijacks the train

As a way to give them freedom, Amelia releases all the passengers the rules the train binds them to and destroys all the Stewards that acted as maintenance before

One is sent to the snow car for 33 years. He is either split or mindwiped by Amelia or he performs this action himself

Amelia's idealism wavers over time and she gets obsessed in find orbs to create Alrick. Becomes more militaristic and creates her Conductor persona, outfitted the last Steward with guns, and created the Ghoms with her cannon

In order to make sure no passengers try any funny stuff and let her focus on her quest, she uses the Ghoms to make sure they are within order, and prefers passengers to no longer leave their cars. She ultimately has no control over that though therefore she can only minimize the problem

Book 1 happens, Amelia is ousted and decides to work under One One as a human steward and to fix her mistakes to repent

Feel free to add on or critique things because I might've missed/misintrepreted a lot

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spacebookettes · 4 years

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Her Wartime

A great glass sculpture. Of the English queen Agnes, the people’s queen voted for, the greatest in wartime.

The gleaming towers were being rebuilt in east London. Not one with a castle. Instead a tallest crystal woman holding a blaster. That on the remembrance day fires a bright red laser up into the dry cloudscape. Queen Agnes was chosen to do battle with the robot, so many robots.

Inside the hollow toughened crystal statue are platforms with views of the destruction of London. The platform in the eyeballs with views out to the ocean where the hive queen landed with a challenge. Your greatest warrior or I’ll ignite the dry cloudscape.

Agnes was triumphant with the sparking heart of the hive queen. A tiny metal spider not noticed sliding down from her fingers from it’s nest in sparking. Connecting with the mother ship and ordering all the robots of planet earth to turn on their humans.

The end

By Peter Stringer

A Little Effervescing

IT EXPLODED, the insect I swear it. I heard a little effervescing from the kitchen. Then a bang.

Another bang, another insect, another country. All over the world, BANG. Insects exploding. WHAT NOW. More insect troubles. There were reports all around the world of the sounds of little effervscings, then a bang. No one hurt, just shock. Everyone was nervous. Bangs could come from anywhere at any time.

The big company was unusually busy for 3 in the afternoon. Hush hushed was the info. Most of the workers hadn’t heard yet, about the banging’s. But upstairs in the gleaming tower, some people were stressed out. Sat in the executive orange pod room, silent as an assistant came in. On the assistant leaving the executive people carried on murmuring loudly BANG. Screens flying executive sweat patches spreading. A FUCKING DISASTER.

The environment saved, the extinction of the insects reversed. A miracle. It was an artificial miracle. Tiny graphite batteries checked and rechecked for temperature and stress and lifespan. Had not been checked for hive queens.

The worlds governments had looked to the big company for help, a solution. The solution unreal insects. No one would know and we can carry on producing the carbon machinations of a possibly dying planet, a little longer. The insects had more purpose than just insect work. Info. But info can be hijacked. From deep in space, behind Pluto BANG.

The end

By Peter Stringer

A Late Convoy

She sat next to the electronic driver at the front of the convoy. Six electronic trucks should do it, an anonymous donor, every year. A drop in the ocean. Not for everyone this year.

A MASSIVE CRASH. The back end turned over, pastel colours flung into the air on the neon highway. The convoy stopped. She got out. Dust. Multi-coloured dust coating the long grasses and wild flowers along the highway, for hundreds of meters. It starts raining.

The end

By Peter Stringer

The Lone Wolfese

She Devil protected her child. With a laser sabre: found as a child and kept secret. Found in a dayglow helping of post civilisation. The mad queen’s ‘assistants' were set to procure it. HOW did they know. You must choose your own path? Stay with the partner with coloured playthings or follow me to the ends of the (FART) , “so with me then”.

A hovering basket with secret hidden lasers, a relic from the old times would follow the mother, her sabre for protection. No blaster could harm them, nor exotic blade or giant creature. The She Devil must protect the Precious.

Wandering a destroyed landscape. Lone Wolfese and Basket they called her.

In towns and lost cities she offered the service of the sabre to the Moebius people. In exchange for shelter. One night a town hall building strange chalk drawings of ninja daughters. The town dimming. No one was there. An empty town full old decrepit buildings and chalk drawings.

The next town bath time, a moment of relaxation, with her She eye on the laser sabre.

The infant kept count of the sabres many conclusions. A dark reputation was forming in the destroyed landscapes. A boat.

The Partner was alone in the old decrepit building they had refashioned together. No ‘assistants’ had been calling. There was a ninja chalk drawing in their old townscape. It appeared one, end of winter, lonely Sunday morning.

The creaking metal tanker took masses of people to another coastline, desperate for shelter. The She Devil ever watching. There were so many future people. But they all recognised the mother and basket and kept their distance. CRASH the boat was sinking, future people holding on to anything. The basket hovering troubled over water. A cold mother.

They reached much sand with lemon trees. Three daughters sat watching as the future people dried their belongings in the sunshine. A bright haven. A chalk drawing.

A challenge was recited... all the future people in danger. Each one a chalk drawing in the making.

An orchard the basket safely hidden. An orchard of lemon trees and three hidden daughters switched on their laser sabres. Night time not yet coming. The bright sun hid them. The She Devil entered the orchard snatched many lemons and covered her eyes with an old scrap of wedding garment. Blind to the sunshine she felt with her hearing. She never once turned on her laser sabre. That night she had lemonade with her infant, watching the red fireworks, from the chalk stained village.

The end

By Peter Stringer

Invest in Apps

Everyone’s making an app, it’s something people do.

An app, another billionaire. A billion dollar app. A billionaire had a think.........

What’s missing from the world?.........

Who are people?..........

The billionaire set to work the creatives, and eventually employed new creatives. Water divining , using the built in gyro arms stretched. A cat simulator, using the taptics and a cheap usb plastic wandering tail. Art enabler, photo creates a one of a kind generated colour coded pattern for printing........

What do people want?

The billionaire had no idea what the people wanted. The billionaire knew what the people needed. But a billionaire loses touch with the everyday no longer workaday. If the billionaire is unlucky, never a workaday. But of course billionaire’s work every day; being in charge means always in charge.

What do people need?..........

Nourishments.........

The new creatives brought new ideas to the app business. They argued, brainstormed, eat, drank, went to the pub and met other lucky creatives. They went on holiday and met other lucky ones. They drove the lucky cars. Drank the lucky coffee. Slept in the lucky beds. A less lucky assistant came into the turquoise pod room, the creatives were discussing one of the big companies. The assistant noted that people need just a little company.

An idea was forming, Little Company a name. Little 3d shapes the infralasers in the cameras could copy any shape. A Little 3d world of little 3d shapes... you could choose your own colours, and mould some differences. That could animate your emotions. Boop to your music. A window for sharing in a strange little universe a piece on everyone’s hardware. Fashion contests, the best parallelogram wins. You could open your own disco, be your own dj in your own 3d shared living room. The potential is expansive, Giigle Maps your own destination like a Tardis. Visit anyone around the world. Have triangle competitions on the pyramids. Rectangle races at Stone Henge. Parties in a daft jungle. NO MERCHANDISING, the planet is full.

The end

By Peter Stringer

#creative writing #short stories #art #modern fiction #new fiction #scifination #apocalypse #novel #books #bookshelf #surreal book #short essay

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readingraebow · 4 years

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Goldfinger Section Two

Chapters 12-23

1. As Bond is trailing Goldfinger, he notices a Triumph also trailing Goldfinger. What happens with Bond and the Triumph, who is the driver and what does Bond agree to do? The driver is a woman who gives her name as Tilly Soames, though Bond suspects this might not be her real name. Bond decides it is time to lose her and so he backs into her car. It's not capable of going anywhere so a mechanic takes it. But she is utterly distraught, saying she has an appointment to keep in Geneva and asks if he'll take her the rest of the way. He eventually agrees and she moves her luggage to his car, including a bag of golf clubs. When Bond asks what she's doing in Geneva, she says she's playing in a woman's golf tournament and will then probably explore some of the other courses. This sounds plausible but Bond still wonders if that's what she's really doing.

2. When Bond goes to spy on Goldfinger, what does he find under the tree? What does he learn? So he finds a body under the tree. And it moves. He eventually discerns that it's Tilly and she has a rifle and is waiting for Goldfinger. Which would end very badly for her so Bond grabs her but she tries to fight him so he ends up whispering in her ear that it's Bond and he means her no harm. So then he starts talking to her and asks if she's after Goldfinger. She says that she's there to kill him because he murdered her sister: Jill Masterton. Bond asks what happened and Jill explains that once a month Goldfinger has a girl painted gold. Because he loves gold so much???? So he paints all of them except for their spine because he has to leave some part uncovered or it would kill them. They can't be completely covered in gold or it would fill all of their pores. So once he's done, he has them rinsed off (and saves the gold, I think?????), pays them and then sends them away. Well, Jill called Tilly from the hospital and Tilly rushed over there. Goldfinger had painted her but he painted all of her. He was punishing her for going with Bond. Tilly says she died that night and now she's come to avenge her sister's death.

3. Where does Goldfinger take Bond and what does he want Bond to do for him? Goldfinger drugs Bond and Tilly and takes them to America as "patients" going to see a doctor. When Bond finally wakes and talks to Goldfinger, he learns that Goldfinger has decided to leave Bond and Tilly alive because he wants their help with something. He has been stealing gold for a number of years through different schemes. This time, he wants Bond's help with the last scheme and the biggest. He plans to steal fifteen billion dollars' worth of gold bullion, half the supply of mined gold in the world, from Fort Knox. Yeah, okay. That's going to work.

4. Who is Pussy Galore? Goldfinger invites a bunch of crime families to help with his break in to Fort Knox. Pussy Galore is the only woman who runs a gang in America. She runs a gang of women. She was a trapeze artist and had a team called Pussy Galore and her Abrocats. But the team was unsuccessful so she trained them as cat burglars. It's a Lesbian organization that now calls itself The Cement Mixers and is apparently well respected by the other big American gangs. (How many offensive things can you fit in one paragraph???? Ian Fleming: Hold my beer.)

5. What is Goldfinger's plan? So since it is hot and people are drinking a lot of water, he plans to lace the water supply and drug the entire time. Then, when everyone is asleep, they will infiltrate the town as medics (that's literally why he asked Pussy Galore to join them???? He wants her to provide "nurses"???) and then a team will sneak over to the armory where the gold is kept. To get into there, Goldfinger has purchased a bomb which he will set off after they've moved the sleeping guards out of the way. Then they'll be free to take the gold out of the building, load it into each of their trucks and everyone be on their merry little way.

6. What does Bond leave on the plane? Bond types up details of all of the plans to break into Fort Knox. Then he rolls them up and writes that anyone who delivers the message, unopened, to an address he names will receive a $5000 reward on delivery. Then he seals this up again and writes $5000 reward clearly on the outside. Then he hides it on his person. So while on the plane, he goes to the bathroom and hides the roll in the bathroom, hoping it will be found by a member of the cleaning crew and be delivered for the reward.

7. What happens with Goldfinger and company reach the armory? All of the soldier "bodies" get up and start shooting at them. It seems Bond's message did make it to the right hands and reinforcements showed up to stop Goldfinger. Bond realizes what's happening right on time and grabs Tilly and starts running with her but she wants to stay with Pussy, thinking Pussy will keep her safe. So she tries to break away and Oddjob, chasing them, throws his hat and kills her. He's closing in on Bond when Goldfinger starts his getaway and instead of pursuing Bond, he leaves with Goldfinger. Goldfinger and company escape but the authorities are confident they will catch them.

8. How does the book end? What did you think of this story?Bond is at the airport to head home when his name is called over the intercom. Apparently he needs a shot before he can board the plane??? So he gets the shot and passes out. He wakes up on the plane. It has been hijacked by Goldfinger and company to head to Russia. Well, Bond talks his way out of his restraints and depressurizes the cabin. He wakes up again, this time with Goldfinger holding a gun on him. They fight and Bond ends up killing Goldfinger. The plane stops before Russia and ends up crash landing. Pussy, who was also on board, and Bond were at the back of the plane and were thrown out and then rescued. The book ends with them both in safety and, of course, having sex. (Because James Bond novel. *eye roll*)

Section Two Reading Journal

So. I liked this section better than the first. This section, at least, was all relevant storyline. No twenty page chapters about golf, thank goodness. But I also didn’t really find a lot of this section interesting??? It was definitely a chore to read and I kept going purely because I was getting close to the end and I really wanted to be done.

I definitely thought the most interesting part was Goldfinger’s plan to rob Fort Knox. But that also felt like such a small part of the story? I wish more of the book had been about that and the other crime bosses would’ve been fleshed out more. That’s more the story I wanted to read. That seemed like it had more action.

But, honestly, overall, this book didn’t have a lot of action? It was mostly contained to the last twenty pages and even then it just wasn’t very well written??? I’m really interested in watching this movie now that I’m done with the book. I’m definitely interested in seeing what the movie does differently. It was, after all, the first movie in the Bond franchise so it had to do something right to keep the films going for 50 years? I’ll definitely write a comparison for the movie after I watch it.

For the book? I’m just glad to be done. I had to force myself to keep going with this book and I’m just glad I can finally move on to other things. What a relief!

#trcbooks #color: goldfinger #the color challenge

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cutshawsnidowoa · 5 years

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Building a Better Life for Blind Cats

The post Building a Better Life for Blind Cats by Sandy Robins appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

It’s been five-and-a-half years since Homer, the blind cat forever immortalized in Gwen Cooper’s touching memoir Homer’s Odyssey, passed away. When she thinks back on the 16 wonderful years they spent together, the image that instantly comes to mind of her affectionately nicknamed Homer Bear, is of him sitting proudly, his ears erect with the Empire State Building in the background. Tall. Proud. Indomitable. And then, she thinks of the special purr he reserved for waking her up in the mornings announcing that they were about to spend another day together.

How Homer inspired Gwen to give back

Gwen Cooper’s book, My Life in a Cat House.

The tiny kitten Gwen adopted when he was only 3 weeks old changed her life forever. And, in turn, she has changed the perception of blind cats and how they can function and love like any other furry feline to an audience of millions around the world. Gwen has always been a cat person and had two felines when she adopted Homer. At the time, she was working for a nonprofit organization that focused on recruiting volunteers for all kinds of projects both human and animal. Propelled by this amazing little creature who hijacked her heart, she decided to write about him.

He certainly helped her find her literary voice. It turns out Gwen is a wonderful wordsmith and has gone on to write four memoirs about Homer (and her other felines). She’s been labeled with the accolade New York Times’ best-selling author and thus has a new career. This has given her an incredible platform to educate people about blind cats around the world, changing the previous belief that they were unadoptable.

“From Homer, I’d learned that even the most ‘imperfect’ of creatures is capable of loving with a deep and perfect love. All they need is someone to give them a chance,” Gwen says. “They are no different in their demeanor around the home than any other cat.” Like all cats, Homer loved games, and his favorite toy was a little stuffed worm with a bell in its tail that had first belonged to his older feline sisters.

“He was particularly fond of anything with bells or that made noise,” Gwen adds. There’s actually a story about Homer’s favorite toy called The Worm Has Turned in Gwen’s latest book My Life in a Cat House, which is a collection of cat-centric stories taken from short stories that she publishes as a series online, a kind of regular literary fur fix for her millions of stalwart Homer fans that still engage with her — 1.5 million, in fact — on a weekly basis.

Blind Cat Rescue and Sanctuary

Gabriel from the Blind Cat Rescue and Sanctuary. Photography courtesy Gwen Cooper.

Since the publication of her first book, Gwen has always supported animal organizations by donating a portion of her royalties (and sometimes all her royalties for a fixed time period when a new book is published). One such organization that has benefitted from her generosity is the Blind Cat Rescue and Sanctuary Inc., a nonprofit organization in St. Pauls, North Carolina, that offers blind felines a safe and loving home for the rest of their lives.

According to executive director Alana Miller, she currently has 105 cats in her care. The current spokescat for the sanctuary is a black-and-white kitty named Gabriel, a miracle survivor of Hurricane Irma. He was found living under a car in the aftermath of the devastation, with multiple wounds and suffering from a bad upper respiratory infection and an eye infection that ultimately robbed him of his sight. On finally capturing him, his rescuers also discovered that he tested positive for feline leukemia. That’s when Alana stepped in, offering him a forever home at the Sanctuary.

From Alana’s perspective, Gwen’s books about Homer have definitely changed attitudes toward blind cats for the better. “I hear from many people now that have adopted blind cats,” she says. “Also, many shelters now give them a chance and do not immediately euthanize them.”

Today, Gabriel is a very handsome, happy and healthy 8-year-old cat who no longer has to live in harm’s way on the streets. He’s enjoying his life and all the love and attention he gets from BCR staff and volunteers. His favorite thing, according to Alana, is lying in a soft bed and playing with catnip.

Losing Homer

“With all he’s been through and where he is now, Gabriel is why BCR exists — to be the forever home for our neediest cats,” Gwen adds. When Homer passed away, Gwen poignantly wrote in his obituary that was published in the Huffington Post: “Once in a great while, one tiny creature can have a spirit so big that it spills over and makes the whole world just a little bit better, and happier, and more inspired, than it was before. Even in the darkest places are small lights that can grow and grow until they warm us all. “In the end, and after a prolonged illness, Homer was too tired to fight anymore. And I had to love him enough to let him go to sleep.” In losing Homer, Gwen learned something else, too.

“Listen to your cat,” she says. “In the end, Homer adamantly refused medications. There is a message in that. And when the time comes to end their suffering, don’t wait until the worst day. It’s important to be able to say goodbye properly.”

#pawsforthiscause So what can YOU do to help blind cats in need?

According to Alana Miller, executive director of The Blind Cat Rescue and Sanctuary Inc., a blind cat is not a special-needs or handicapped cat, so there is no difference between adopting them or a seeing cat.

If you volunteer at a shelter you can ask to specifically care for any blind kitties and help promote their adoption on your social media channels.

You can sponsor a blind cat who lives at a rescue or sanctuary.

If you need a gift for someone, you can also arrange a sponsorship in their name.

School children are always looking to help promote causes. If you are involved in your child’s school, suggest a fundraiser for a shelter that works to adopt blind cats in your area.

Thumbnail: Gwen Cooper (pictured with Homer), is a New York Times best-selling author and helps educate people about blind cats. Photography ©Jessica Hills.

About the author

Sandy Robins is an award-winning multi-media pet lifestyle expert, author and pet industry personality. Her feline muses, Ziggy and Tory, like to disrupt the workflow by demanding games of fetch with wand toys and directing food operations in the kitchen. Learn more about Sandy at sandyrobinsonline.com.

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in Catster magazine. Have you seen the new Catster print magazine in stores? Or in the waiting area of your vet’s office? Click here to subscribe to Catster and get the bimonthly magazine delivered to your home.