10/14/2022
An open letter to the person who dumped cats at Gem City Vet.
Dear stranger,
On Tuesday, we got a call from our neighbor at Gem City Vet that they saw a carrier by our back door which had been there for several hours. One of our team members rushed over, on their day off, to investigate. When they got there, they found 5 kittens in one carrier and 2 appeared to be dead already. The kittens were rushed to MedVet and all 5 turned out to be alive, but two were so far gone that they had to be euthanized immediately to prevent them from suffering further. They were covered in f***s and urine so the MedVet staff kindly gave them a bath. The carrier was so filthy that it had to be thrown away.
We have no idea when you dropped them off and how long they were alone, trapped in a carrier without food or water. In your note attached to the top, you said that their owner was neglecting them but you didn’t have the time or money to help. We want you to know that we didn’t have the time or money set aside to help them either. But by dropping them on our property, we didn’t have a choice and now we’re scrambling to make plans to save the remaining three.
Their initial veterinary bills will cost at least $2,500. Blinkie will need to have his damaged eyeball removed, in addition to his neuter, and both Commander and DoorDash will need to be spayed. They all have severe Upper Respiratory Infections, ear infections, and fleas. We’ve already started them on medication and given them vaccinations. They are happy in a foster home now and have high spirits and plenty of energy.
We’re glad they will have a chance to survive; it’s our mission to someday give that opportunity to every single cat. However, this was not the right approach to help these cats and you’ve put us in a very difficult situation. We try to carefully manage how and when we take in cats so that we can be responsible with our funds and ensure we have enough to take care of all of the cats already in our programs. We did not have the money set aside for a bill like this, and now we will have to run a last minute fundraising campaign and hope that our community members are able to help us.
In the future, here are better options for you to help cats in need:
If they are being neglected, call the Humane Society of Greater Dayton, who has a humane agent responsible for cruelty and neglect cases.
Bring the cats to us at Gem City Vet during office hours. Our clinic is low-cost so that everyone can afford access to care, even those with limited income. We can help situations like this before it becomes more severe. Our exam fee is only $15 and we could have given low-cost medication or vaccinations on a schedule to work with your income.
Run an online fundraiser or ask your connections to help. We are stretched thin right now and our supporters have already consistently been helping cats in need. Your friends and family may be willing to help you directly cover costs for care.
Contact your County Commissioners. We understand that there need to be more cat programs in Montgomery County. We need help from the constituents here to share these concerns with our county officials so that they can help make changes to keep cats safe in our community.
Get kittens on wait lists for intake at Humane Society of Greater Dayton or call other rescues or shelters to see when they could take in the kittens.
We debated sharing this information, as we absolutely do not want to encourage more dumping of cats on our property. Ultimately, we couldn’t afford not to share what happened. We desperately need help to cover the unexpected medical costs to care for them and find homes for them. We have installed more cameras around the perimeter and if we see this happen again, we will report it to the authorities.
While we are angry and upset, our main intent with this post is to give you information and resources to handle this situation better in the future.
Sincerely,
Karin, Tia, Katie, Antonia, Emma, Lori, and Erica
