CLEVELAND — Two kittens in the West Park neighborhood of Cleveland are on the mend after someone shot them a couple of months ago.
I first brought you the story of Olive and Mae in October.
RELATED: Two kittens shot in West Park, suspect still on the loose
Mae was reportedly shot twice, and Olive was shot once.
Olive underwent surgery to remove bullet fragments and some tissue. She came out with 39 stitches on her back.
“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,” the woman taking care of Olive and Mae, Kelly Peoples, previously 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.”
Peoples anticipated an agonizingly long road to recovery.
However, Olive and Mae are healing much faster than Peoples could have ever imagined.
“So much better. So much better than we could have anticipated. Both of the girls are coming along very well,” she added. “They’re both very friendly, very curious, inquisitive, and they love to play.”
Mae still has some mobility issues, and Peoples is waiting to hear back from the veterinarian if she can keep her back leg.
“Obviously I'm not a veterinarian and I can't make that judgment, but she gets around very well, and nothing stops her. She climbs very high which maybe I shouldn't be saying that, but she does very well,” Peoples added.
Last we saw Olive, a portion of her back was shaved and stitches covered her. She was also wearing a donut around her head.
Olive is now without a donut and the hair on her back is growing back in different shades of lavender.
“Seeing them every day, the day to day really felt like a lot of time, especially the early stages of recovery were very, very difficult. We were spoon feeding. We had an issue with the collar several times. Olive managed to wiggle her protective collar all the way down almost to a tutu. Lots of trips back to the vet to have some help with those things. But it's amazing in one month how well they've recovered and how resilient they are,” Peoples explained.
Getting to this point in the recovery process has cost $8,000, but with the help of Kamm’s Cat Guardians, everything has been paid for.
Following our coverage in October, Kamm’s Cat Guardians said donations poured in.
“We got about $3,000 in donations, which really helped because we spent about $8,000 on all the emergency and ICU care for them. So that really, really helped and we appreciated the donations,” Kamm’s Cat Guardians Board Member, Annette Piechowski said.
Those private donations were spent on follow-up care for the two kittens as well as Kamm’s Cat Guardians’ savings account.
“This was pretty unique. We have had some other situations where we've stuck people with an injured cat or an ill cat that we've helped and we stuck with them to the end,” Piechowski stated.
The organization still checks in with Olive and Mae once a week.
The last piece to this heart and hope puzzle is now finding the individual who shot Olive and Mae.
Peoples said a Cleveland detective went door to door in her neighborhood inquiring about what happened, but Peoples said that’s the last she’s seen of someone from the department.
The Cleveland Police Department told me they have no updates on this case to share this week.
“Honestly, it's frightening because I'm curious, was this the first time? Have they done this before? What is their next target?,” Peoples asked. “I can't believe they would do that to two tiny kittens that were under four pounds. I mean, so little and defenseless. How this could happen and being so close to a school. It also makes me very concerned for children that are playing, people that are walking their dogs. So many people take advantage of the area. I'd hate to think they could be in harms way as well.”
Flyers asking who shot the pair have been put up all over the West Park neighborhood.
“I just wish to God he would get caught and I hope all the publicity that we've posted in the neighborhood is making that person squirm,” Piechowski said.
If you have any information, email the Cleveland Detective handling the case, Michael Smith at msmith8@clevelandohio.gov.
Kamm’s Cat Guardians is continuing to ask for donations. If you’re interested in donating, CLICK HERE.
"I'm just thankful for my neighborhood and my community for drawing together to support us as well as my boyfriend Kevin who couldn't be here right now. To support us through this time, not only financially and medically as Kamm's Cat Guardians and West Park Animal Hospital have done, but my immediate neighbors, the people on the surrounding streets that helped to look for the cats when they were missing have stopped by to offer encouragement. It's just been amazing to see what our neighborhood has done and I can't say enough great things about Kamm's Cat Guardians. We couldn't have done this without their help," Peoples expressed.
