Hey There! Markus, originally from Germany and living in Ireland for the past eight years; I'm a linguisti, language teacher, assistive technology instructor and musician. Oh, and I'm blind. I need to mention this, so the following anecdote makes more sense:
Some say: Dogs have owners; cats have staff. Looking at our cat’s behavioural patterns, I certainly support this hypothesis. Nonetheless, our cat “Tibbs” is awesome! She is my GuideCat.
for a while now, Tibbs has accompanied me a bit of the way into town whenever she is around when I am leaving. She walks with me down our road to the junction with the main road. There she waits for me to come back.
On my return, she calls me, comes running to me and walks home with me. Not only does this look kind of cute, the blind guy with his cat; moreover, it is also very helpful as the terraced houses in our row do not have the luxury of a front lawn. Although I have a number of landmarks to reliably find our front door, it is so much more comfortable when this little fluffy thing with the little bell on her collar is running towards our door in front of me. For a while, she used to come in with me; of course, she wants to get in, and I benefit from it.
However, Tibbs has started recently to show me the way to our front door even if she, herself, does not want to come in. She runs to the door, bell on collar ringing, calls me and then walks off as soon as I am at the door. I am not joking; Mrs. B. has witnessed this a few times when she was at home.
Tibbs is now a proper GuideCat!
Some say: Dogs have owners; cats have staff. Looking at our cat’s behavioural patterns, I certainly support this hypothesis. Nonetheless, our cat “Tibbs” is awesome! She is my GuideCat.
for a while now, Tibbs has accompanied me a bit of the way into town whenever she is around when I am leaving. She walks with me down our road to the junction with the main road. There she waits for me to come back.
On my return, she calls me, comes running to me and walks home with me. Not only does this look kind of cute, the blind guy with his cat; moreover, it is also very helpful as the terraced houses in our row do not have the luxury of a front lawn. Although I have a number of landmarks to reliably find our front door, it is so much more comfortable when this little fluffy thing with the little bell on her collar is running towards our door in front of me. For a while, she used to come in with me; of course, she wants to get in, and I benefit from it.
However, Tibbs has started recently to show me the way to our front door even if she, herself, does not want to come in. She runs to the door, bell on collar ringing, calls me and then walks off as soon as I am at the door. I am not joking; Mrs. B. has witnessed this a few times when she was at home.
Tibbs is now a proper GuideCat!
