10/22/2025
Karl Manx is looking for a home!
Karl Manx (aka Stumpy, Stubbs, Stubby, etc) is a 1.5 year old manx cat with no eyes (this may seem obvious, but sometimes it’s easy to forget and so bears repeating that he is completely and totally blind and will be forever).
He is EXTREMELY affectionate and social with people and jumps onto and off of furniture to get in your lap (or on your shoulder, or your computer keyboard) once he knows his way around. He uses his senses of smell and hearing to carefully navigate with eerie precision and awareness. He is the poster child for the Manx personality - extroverted, resilient, playful (sometimes quite vigorously), pushy, almost dog-like. I think he could be harness- and leash- trained fairly easily. He is a big, muscular cat with beautiful grey tabby markings.
This cat lost his eyes to glaucoma when he was around a year old. He was owned by a family and lived happily with another cat at that time. He went to the eye specialist and was given eyedrops, but he did not love having to get medications all the time and the prognosis was not good for the long term, so his eyes were removed. After that he did well for a time, BUT, due to his blindness and inability to read visual cues from other cats, he and the other cat got into a big fight that left the other cat injured, and a human was bitten in the process. After that, he was taken into a rescue where he had to live in a room full of other cats which was really stressful for him. He has reportedly shown “referred aggression” towards people when ramped up due to being in close quarters with other cats. He was originally brought to our clinic for behavioral euthanasia because the rescue could not accommodate him.
Karl has been at our clinic for a month under close observation of his behavior, triggers, stressors and quirks. We have deemed him suitable for adoption to a special home. During his time at our clinic he has been consistently affectionate and interested with every type of person who has approached him. He does like to play rough and he will “love bite” you during play (another manx type behavior) - this is not aggression, he is just a young cat who needs an outlet for his physicality. He did great for his vaccines, but didn’t love being restrained for an attempted blood draw - he would do best with some anti-anxiety medications before blood draws in the future. He occasionally shows signs of mild hyperesthesia where he suddenly seems to get a momentary phantom pain in his tail / back / butt. He does not seem at all stressed by the clinic environment, in fact he seems to really thrive in a busy place. He doesn’t mind the sounds and smells of other animals as long as they do not approach him. He (so far) has respected the baby gate that keeps him in our office during the day. He loves to eat human food - he will climb into / knock over garbage cans, chew through your lunch bag and sn**ch a piece of your sandwich right out of your hands if he can get to it. Puzzle feeders for wet and dry food would be a great way to keep him busy in the future. He really likes his food and he should be left alone while eating - away from kids and other pets.
The ideal home for Karl would be one with:
No other kitties - or a VERY cat-behavior savvy person who is willing to keep Karl separated from other cats completely and indefinitely.
Maybe a special dog? Any dogs in the home MUST respect and stay away from cats. Again, at first, total separation would be a must. We think he could learn to coexist with a dog, but the dog must give him lots of space.
Older kids (and adults!) who understand that he is completely blind and should not be touched before having a chance to hear and smell who is approaching him. Toddlers would not be a good fit for him.
A room of his own. I think that everyone would be happiest if Karl had a room or part of a room of his own, especially at first. He should know that he is totally safe in his room / enclosure and things should stay in the same place. He is very resilient but we also want to set him up for success with the litterbox, in particular. He is used to spending most of his days in our office and nights in his kennel at the moment, although I suspect he would love to sleep in bed with his new people.
People who want to spend a lot of time with their new cat. Karl is extremely affectionate and social. He wants to be ON YOU most of the time. When people aren’t touching him, he is usually quietly “watching” through the baby gate or kennel door he is behind, just waiting for someone to come over and give him some attention.
Owners who understand that if there are any issues with his care, we want to be in the loop and will help out or take him back if needed. He had a rough start in life in some ways, and he has a whole team of people rooting for him to live a long and happy rest of his life - we are here to support his success in his future home.
Karl has charmed every employee at our clinic. Unfortunately we all have too many pets at home already to be able to take him on, otherwise he absolutely would have a home with one of us. We know that the home that he is looking for is unique and rare, but we are hoping that by spreading the work through our network, we can find a place for him. He truly is a magical creature with whom someone will be lucky to share their life!
Please text Dr. Sonja Lapinski @ 503-334-2483 with questions or to set up a meeting. Karl is located in Sherwood Oregon at Guardian Veterinary Clinic.
