CLEVELAND — Two kittens, Olive and Mae, are now on a long journey to recovery after someone reportedly shot the pair in September.
According to a Cleveland Police report, the pair was shot on or around Sept. 18.
Kelly Peoples said Olive and Mae have always been strays, but she had been working to bring the two inside for months.
“We wanted to bring them in and make sure they were cared for and adopt them. We started working to trap them and we worked with Kamm’s Cat Guardians,” Peoples explained.
Traps were set, but one night, neither of the kittens showed up. Peoples has had them on the same feeding schedule since July, so their absence was unusual.
Again, neither showed up the following night – leading Peoples to think the worst.
Peoples and Kamm’s Cat Guardians started posting fliers and asking around if anyone had seen the pair, but no luck.
While the kittens were missing, Peoples said she got a call from a man alleging he had done something to them.
“The person berated me and said a lot of terrible things. [He] basically told me I'd never find them or the kittens,” she said.
On the third night, Peoples said Mae finally popped up in her backyard.
“I could see she had been severely injured. Her left back leg was sticking out sideways. She was actually walking almost, it looked like on her elbow. She did go into the trap to eat,” Peoples said.
Mae was then rushed to the West Park Animal Hospital. Still no sign of Olive.
Peoples told News 5 the veterinarian told her Mae had been shot twice. She suffered two broken legs.
Mae might need one of her legs amputated, but “we're praying that won't happen.”
A few days later, Olive appeared, but Peoples said they were unable to trap her. And then within the same week, they finally caught her.
“She has a fractured pelvis. I believe she has 39 stitches because they had to remove some tissue,” Peoples said. “She too had been shot.”
Peoples said Olive was likely walking around with her injuries for a week. She added bullet fragments were surgically removed.
“They've had more medical care in the past week than I have this year. It's just been so hard to watch them because they're not able to move as much as a small kitten would,” she said. “We have a very close tight knit neighborhood. We're all friends. Great families that look out for one another. Our pet sitter is the family across the street. We care about each other. I was just shocked and sickened that this could happen in my neighborhood.”
In total, getting the kittens started on the road to recovery costed about $8,000. Kamm’s Cat Guardians, along with some donations, covered the bill.
“We were concerned the donations may not come in because of the economy and the way everyone is just holding on to what they have. We get it. We were fortunate that we had our annual fundraiser in August and the money that we raised from that we were hoping to last through the winter because winters are very hard on outdoor cats. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way and that's okay. That's okay because Mae and Olive are going to be okay,” said Kamm’s Cat Guardians President, Kim Sutton.
“Did you all basically drain that [rainy day fund] to save these two kittens?,” News 5 Cleveland Reporter Kaylee Olivas asked.
“Yes. And then some. I actually work a second full time job to support Kamm’s and that little nest egg is gone as well,” Sutton explained. “It’s okay because I get to come and see these guys heal and I'll be part of them growing up and it's all worth it.”
News 5 reached out to Cleveland Police on Thursday for a possible description of the suspect. As of now, the agency does not have one to provide.
“It’s been very emotional. How in God's name could someone have done this?,” Sutton asked. “The Irish Catholic in me says, may God help your soul. The cat lover in me says, I hope karma shows you a visit.”
Kamm’s Cat Guardians and Peoples plan on posting more fliers around the neighborhood this weekend.
Sutton and Peoples are hopeful the shooter will be caught.
“I'm extremely worried that if they don't catch the monster that shot two kittens, who else are they going to get or is it going to escalate? Are you going to go for a child or an adult? It’s scary. It's very scary,” Sutton said. “There's a lot of fabulous people in this world but for some reason there's a**holes like this. This is really eating me alive. It really is. We're losing sleep over this one.”
The suspect, if caught, is facing cruelty to animals and telephone harassment charges.
If you have any information, email the Cleveland Detective handling the case, Michael Smith at msmith8@clevelandohio.gov.
Kamm’s Cat Guardians is working to recover the funds spent on saving Olive and Mae’s lives. If you’re interested in donating, CLICK HERE.
