Rescue Kittens With No Eyes Find Forever Home Together: 'Never Apart'

With over 3.2 million cats adopted from shelters every year and more than 90 million households in the U.S. owning a pet, feline friends are a popular feature in American homes.

Two kittens who both suffered infections that meant they needed to have their eyes completely removed have melted hearts online this week and managed to find their forever home.

Rowan and Bubbly are a pair of bonded kittens that were recently adopted from Anderson Humane Shelter in South Elgin, Illinois.

Both were originally taken in by the Elkhart Humane Society in Indiana before being moved to the Illinois shelter. Juliann Carlson from Anderson Humane told Newsweek: "Rowan came into Elkhart with severe infections in both of his eyes that were not responding to treatments, so they decided to remove the eyes to make him more comfortable. Bubbly was found outside with one of her eyes perforated and the other collapsed after she suffered a severe infection, so her eyes were removed."

After becoming fast friends, the pair instantly started to help each other around. "They've been buddies since they had their surgeries and they both rely on each other for comfort," Carlson said. "Bubbly tends to be nervous when Rowan isn't by her side. You'll notice that they are never apart."

Anderson Humane shared a picture of the two tiny kittens on their Facebook page on September 14 where commenters rushed to share their reactions.

One Facebook user wrote: "As someone with blind kitties, they are SO easy. If you have ever wanted to try special needs, know that they adapt very fast and can handle stairs and everything just fine," while another said: "Can also testify that blind kitties are the most adaptable fur babies."

Indeed, cats are incredibly good at adapting to life without sight. With already fine-tuned senses of smell, hearing and touch, these senses become even stronger in blind cats who utilize them to function on a daily basis.

Not needing much in the way of special accommodations, Rowan and Bubbly love to play and cuddle just like any other kitten. "They are very sweet, laid-back kittens. They play and cuddle with each other," Carlson said. "They love to explore cat trees and they'll play with anything that had a bell attached."

"They are so adorable," said another commenter on the Facebook post featuring the two kittens.

Another reply said: "I love them," and one commenter wrote: "Blind cats are the best."

Luckily for these inseparable kittens, just a day after the post featuring the two blind cats was shared online, they found their forever home and were adopted together on September 15.